Research In Motion (RIM) Announces its Tablet - The Blackberry PlayBook

Yesterday, Research In Motion (RIM) introduced its long awaited tablet - the PlayBook. Guess the BlackPad name was not in their game plan which is fine by us.  Like some other tablets, the specs appear to be impressive but we want to see actual performance.  The PlayBook will have Flash 10.1 as well as Adobe AIR apps.  RIM is aiming the PlayBook towards professionals as noted by RIM's CEO Mike Lazaridis.

The PlayBook will be capable of 1080p HD video and will have HDMI output.  It will have WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities but no 3G for now.  The most interesting feature about the tablet is the ability to tether off a BlackBerry via Bluetooth.  However, we would not be surprised if wireless carriers will limit this capability somehow.

Below are the specs:

    * 7-inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
    * BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
    * Cortex A9-based 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
    * Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
    * Ultra thin and portable:
    * Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4"

As for pricing and availability, "the BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be available in retail outlets and other channels in the United States in early 2011 with rollouts in other international markets beginning in (calendar) Q2."