RIM showed off its “PlayBook” tablet “for the first time Monday and is set to launch it in early 2011. With it RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple’s iPad,” Omar El Akkad reports for The Globe and Mail Update.
“The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about 0.9 pounds to the iPad’s 1.5 pounds,” El Akkad reports. “And unlike the iPad [so far], it will have two cameras, front and back. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s iPad features a 9.7-inch screen. Obviously, Apple has cornered the market on screens of that size and consigned the also-rans to 7-inch screens or smaller for an extended period of time. About that, we laugh daily.
RIM’s “PlayBook” specs include:
• 7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with “full multi-touch and gesture support”
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
• 0.9 lb or 400g)
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future
• Retail price TBD/TBA
El Akkad reports, “And in another move Monday, perhaps its most aggressive attempt to gain ground on its rivals, RIM launched its own version of an advertising network, designed to give developers a bigger revenue stream and users access to ad-supported apps. RIM has partnered with five ad networks to create an inventory of ads for developers. The strategy aims to put RIM on equal footing with Apple Inc. and Google Inc., which have both purchased ad network firms in the past.”
“RIM is also building another service that allows developers to design in-app payment services,” El Akkad reports. “The new tool comes after RIM struck a deal with AT&T to allow customers to purchase products from the BlackBerry applications store and have the purchases automatically charged to their carrier bills.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Futile.
A little too “me, too”, and a little too late to the party.
A little too “me, too”, and a little too late to the party.
Apple has the supply of 10″ tablets locked up for the next couple of years, so these guys can only go for 7″ and pretend that it’s better. But 10″ is a size much like a piece of paper: 7 is too small and mighht as well be a cell phone. Why would you pay so much for something that’s too small to be useful?
Apple has the supply of 10″ tablets locked up for the next couple of years, so these guys can only go for 7″ and pretend that it’s better. But 10″ is a size much like a piece of paper: 7 is too small and mighht as well be a cell phone. Why would you pay so much for something that’s too small to be useful?
Actually, other than needing to tether with a RIM phone the specs aren’t bad.
But of course it’s the execution that matters. Particularly on this new OS.
Actually, other than needing to tether with a RIM phone the specs aren’t bad.
But of course it’s the execution that matters. Particularly on this new OS.
hmm, “Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.”
hmm, “Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.”
Well…how much does the doggone thing cost???
Well…how much does the doggone thing cost???
Yeah, that’s the ticket, let’s put a couple of cameras on it. Nobody knows what the hell to do with em but the iPad don’t have em so we all NEED two frigin cameras!
Yeah, that’s the ticket, let’s put a couple of cameras on it. Nobody knows what the hell to do with em but the iPad don’t have em so we all NEED two frigin cameras!
I for one, welcome our rimlicker overlords, with their late entrance into the rectum of baggy also rans
I for one, welcome our rimlicker overlords, with their late entrance into the rectum of baggy also rans
what? no price or availability announced? I didn’t hear Lazaridis mention either before he left the stage…
what? no price or availability announced? I didn’t hear Lazaridis mention either before he left the stage…
p.s. the biggest spontaneous applause seemed to be when they announced the BB Java dev tools will be available on the Mac…
p.s. the biggest spontaneous applause seemed to be when they announced the BB Java dev tools will be available on the Mac…
“1024 x 600, WSVGA”
Why the hell do these companies say WSVGA? Who cares! The resolution tells me everything I need to know without alphabet soup.
“1024 x 600, WSVGA”
Why the hell do these companies say WSVGA? Who cares! The resolution tells me everything I need to know without alphabet soup.
No 3G for now…maybe later. Ha. They probably wanted to put that in but freaked at the resulting price.
No 3G for now…maybe later. Ha. They probably wanted to put that in but freaked at the resulting price.
WAWAWIWA!!!!
1 GHz dual-core processor to run a crappy email client, a crappy bricks game and crappy social network clients….
RIM should change its name to RIP
WAWAWIWA!!!!
1 GHz dual-core processor to run a crappy email client, a crappy bricks game and crappy social network clients….
RIM should change its name to RIP
Okay, what is new and innovative here? About the only thing I see that is really different is ability to bill app purchases to carrier bill. Beyond that, nothing of interest. Move along folks!