RIM readies 7in, 10in BlackBerry tablets for 2012
Second time lucky?
RIM seems unwilling to give up on tablets, if what's claimed to be a leaked roadmap is correct.
According to the tabulation of the BlackBerry company's plans, a revamped 7in PlayBook will be out in April. It will sport improved, 3G HSPA+ connectivity, fansite 3NBB reports.
By Christmas, RIM will have released a 10in PlayBook, this one with LTE connectivity in countries that have the cellular infrastructure to support the technology.
Crucial to getting it right this time round, will be PlayBook OS 2.0. Demo'd at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week, this software update finally brings native email, calendar and contacts apps to the platform.
PlayBook 2.0 will support remote management with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion - out in April, according to the leak - and separate work from personal stuff with BlackBerry Balance.
PlayBook 2.0 will be out in February, apparently. Why wait until April to ship a tablet that uses it? Good question, and one that's tricky to answer. You'd have thought RIM would want to get kit out pronto, but maybe it's holding back to see what Apple really comes up with when the Mac maker introduces the iPad 3.
RIM is said to have scheduled the release of PlayBook Admin Service for big businesses in the summer.
The first smartphones based on the BlackBerry 10 operating system will be out in September, it's said, though this had been rumoured to be taking place in May. ®
COMMENTS
I bought the 32g then had to go out and get the 64gb after my daughter refused to give back the 32. Now my wife wants to ditch her android tablet for a playbook. They are very good tablets, I find most of the people that don't like them haven't actually used them. All they need to add for me is Skype and it will do all I need of a tablet.
And the HDMI output works even better than I had expected. I can output a full 1080p movie to the TV while browsing the web on the tablet and it all works perfectly with no hiccups or slow down. So I'll also be using it as a portable media player for the kids when we travel, bring a cable and hook it up to the hotel TV rather than pay their outrageous rental fees.
Best tablet I've ever used
I just picked up a Playbook from PC World for £199 and immediately registered for the OS 2 beta. I can honestly say it's the best tablet I've ever used. Top notch hardware, an OS that flies and the best mobile browser there is. I'm now waiting for news on the QNX based phones because I can't believe they won't be anything except fantastic.
The only problem is the lack of Apps but RIM have addressed that with the Android player, so expect to see thousands of Android apps ported over, solving that issue.
Seriously, for £199 it's the best tech bargain I've ever bought. In comparison, the HP Touchpad (I also bought in a firesale) is a total piece of garbage. (I'll be ditching webOS on that for Ice Cream Sandwich as soon as Cyanogen get it ported).
Can't wait. The orginal playbook is suppose to run OS2 as well so if it gets put in the bargin bin when the next one comes out might just pick up the first gen and use the bridge to get it on line on the move.
I picked up a Playbook before Christmas when they were £170. The hardware and OS are superb, what's lacking is decent apps. Netflix, Skype and Kindle are all missing, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't use at least one of them on other devices. RIM should be paying these companies to the write apps for the Playbook. Also, the BB app store policy of $1=£1 needs looking at as apps are expensive compared to Android an iOS because of it.
"Why wait until April to ship a tablet that uses it? Good question, and one that's tricky to answer."
Because RIM really don't have a clue about what they're doing?
They were fine when they were the only people punting around Blackberry's but now that the market has changed and they're having to compete against others, they're out of their depth.
