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.
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!
Why no hint of how you type on this thing? Haven’t seen a keyboard shot yet.
Also, landscape only??
Cover flow? Fuckng hell. The lack of originality literally depresses me.
Why no hint of how you type on this thing? Haven’t seen a keyboard shot yet.
Also, landscape only??
Cover flow? Fuckng hell. The lack of originality literally depresses me.
Buzz word rich presentation – means they don’t know their target market – means they are fishing
Dual Core CPU – means they have a crap OS and needs all that power just to keep up with iPad/iPhone + it has Flash – notice how all the Android phones are the same? Need the highest clocked CPU just to run it?
All done to keep the CEOs in their post for at least another year – they’ll be gone soon
They are only going to fight over marketshare shared with Android + MS + RIM + Palm. iPhone share won’t erode from this.
All of this vaporware – nothing released for another 6 months. LOL. What a joke – these CEOs are well on their way out, incld Mr Narayan from Adobe.
Buzz word rich presentation – means they don’t know their target market – means they are fishing
Dual Core CPU – means they have a crap OS and needs all that power just to keep up with iPad/iPhone + it has Flash – notice how all the Android phones are the same? Need the highest clocked CPU just to run it?
All done to keep the CEOs in their post for at least another year – they’ll be gone soon
They are only going to fight over marketshare shared with Android + MS + RIM + Palm. iPhone share won’t erode from this.
All of this vaporware – nothing released for another 6 months. LOL. What a joke – these CEOs are well on their way out, incld Mr Narayan from Adobe.
Don’t they have a guy somewhere, in a room without windows, who is supposed to come up with new things?
I despair for RIM.
Don’t they have a guy somewhere, in a room without windows, who is supposed to come up with new things?
I despair for RIM.
@amazin
I do like the HDMI connector.
By the time RIM is ready to ship, iPad 2 will be announced.
Buahahahaaaa!!!
@amazin
I do like the HDMI connector.
By the time RIM is ready to ship, iPad 2 will be announced.
Buahahahaaaa!!!
What’s the price and what’s the battery life.
Why is this called a Playbook? Shouldn’t they be making a BusinessBook?
What’s the price and what’s the battery life.
Why is this called a Playbook? Shouldn’t they be making a BusinessBook?
It will be crammed with list-filling features, which, in practise will be unusable, and the battery will last seventeen minutes.
Any “PlayBook” features that do work, will be subject to Apple’s copyright lawsuit(s).
I’m sure RIM is hoping that by the time they have to strip the stolen Apple features from this device, enough customers will be locked in to plans, to ensure a small but notable user base.
I believe that the purpose of this announcement by RIM can be called, “postponing the inevitable”.
It will be crammed with list-filling features, which, in practise will be unusable, and the battery will last seventeen minutes.
Any “PlayBook” features that do work, will be subject to Apple’s copyright lawsuit(s).
I’m sure RIM is hoping that by the time they have to strip the stolen Apple features from this device, enough customers will be locked in to plans, to ensure a small but notable user base.
I believe that the purpose of this announcement by RIM can be called, “postponing the inevitable”.
If they are promoting this think as a tablet for business then why the hell would you call it PlayBook? Boy there are some marketing geniuses up there in Canada..
If they are promoting this think as a tablet for business then why the hell would you call it PlayBook? Boy there are some marketing geniuses up there in Canada..
I love reading the specs… okay just reading specs… so 20th century.
And silly tech marketers, they didn’t answer Q#1: Is it a small tablet or a big phone? Will it come with an expensive contract? Is it a big BB or a 2nd device to carry.
People knew what a a phone was, so it was reasonably within grasp for Google to copy the touchscreen idea and redo the Android UI.
People don’t even really know what an ipad is yet. At least not hardware makers.
But they can come up with impressive specs.
I love reading the specs… okay just reading specs… so 20th century.
And silly tech marketers, they didn’t answer Q#1: Is it a small tablet or a big phone? Will it come with an expensive contract? Is it a big BB or a 2nd device to carry.
People knew what a a phone was, so it was reasonably within grasp for Google to copy the touchscreen idea and redo the Android UI.
People don’t even really know what an ipad is yet. At least not hardware makers.
But they can come up with impressive specs.
oh and “blackpad” was a cooler name. Edgy… i always thought of “black ops”. Okay not IT and consumer friendly… but cooler.
oh and “blackpad” was a cooler name. Edgy… i always thought of “black ops”. Okay not IT and consumer friendly… but cooler.
I’d like to see Apple sue all these knock-off producers for trade dress violations. Talk about unimaginative copy cats!
I’d like to see Apple sue all these knock-off producers for trade dress violations. Talk about unimaginative copy cats!
All Apple has to do is come out with the 7″ iPad and tis will be dead..
PlayBook and they don’t even show any games being played on it..
All Apple has to do is come out with the 7″ iPad and tis will be dead..
PlayBook and they don’t even show any games being played on it..
Do you really need a bezel that big for a 7″ screen? – I think they just copied the size of the one on the iPad.
Do you really need a bezel that big for a 7″ screen? – I think they just copied the size of the one on the iPad.