Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIMM,RIM.TO), Monday launched the BlackBerry PlayBook, its first tablet computer. The company is the latest entrant to the tablet computer market and is expected to pose direct competition to Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad. The device is expected to be available in retail outlets in the United States early 2011 with roll-outs in other international markets beginning the second quarter of the calendar year.
RIM did not indicate the price of PlayBook and said it would begin working with developers and select corporate customers next month to begin development and early testing efforts.
The BlackBerry PlayBook will be powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the new BlackBerry Tablet OS which supports true symmetric multiprocessing, and provides a highly-responsive and fluid touch screen experience for apps and content services.
The device will have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, but will to connect to cellular networks through a BlackBerry smartphone. The company intends to offer 3G and 4G ready versions of the tablet in the future.
When connected over Bluetooth, BlackBerry PlayBook users who carry a BlackBerry smartphone can use the larger tablet display to seamlessly and securely view email, the BlackBerry Messenger Social Platform or BBM, calendar, tasks, documents and other content that resides on their smartphone. They can also use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without duplicating data. The content is only temporarily cached on the tablet and and is wiped out completely when the link with the smartphone is cut.
Measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound, the PlayBook features a vivid 7" high resolution display. It includes two high definition cameras for video capture and video conferencing as well as rich stereo sound and a media player. Additionally, it supports both the HTML 5 web standard as well as Adobe's Flash. Apple and Adobe have fought over the Flash technology, as Apple does not allow its iPhone and iPad devices to play video content with Flash.
The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built upon the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture, made by QNX Software Systems, which RIM acquired earlier this year. QNX makes software used to run trains and nuclear reactors and its operating system is considered one of the most reliable, secure and robust in the world.
The OS is fully POSIX compliant enabling easy portability of C-based code, supports Open GL for 2D and 3D graphics intensive applications like gaming, and will run applications built in Adobe Mobile AIR as well as the new BlackBerry WebWorks app platform, which lets apps to be written to run on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Tablet OS will also support Java enabling developers to easily bring their existing BlackBerry 6 Java applications to the BlackBerry Tablet OS environment.
With more than 3.3 million units of Apple's iPad sold in the June quarter, the future for the tablet computer market is expected to be enormous. Other PC makers like Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Samsung, have also said that they will launch tablet computers.
Earlier today, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company also reported the introduction of its BBM or BlackBerry Messenger, which gives developers the tools to build applications that take advantage of the social aspects of the popular BBM service. Developers will be able to integrate various functions of the BBM service into their applications including chat capabilities, content sharing, and invitations. Users will be able to invite their BBM friends to join them in a game and then chat with one another while the game is being played.
The company also previewed the BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware - an application development platform that will enable commercial enterprise and corporate developers to more easily build "super app" enterprise applications for BlackBerry smartphones and announced its next-generation web-based development platform, BlackBerry WebWorks. The BlackBerry WebWorks enables web developers to build full-featured applications for BlackBerry smartphones entirely in HTML-5, CSS and JavaScript.
On September 14, the company announced a new 3G addition to the BlackBerry Curve family of smartphones, the new BlackBerry Curve 3G smartphone model 9330.
On September 16, RIM said that its second-quarter profit soared 67.5% from last year, as consumer demand for its flagship product, BlackBerry, continues to grow stronger.
RIMM closed Monday's last trade at $48.36, down $0.51 or 1.04%, on a volume of 12.96 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock traded up $0.48 or 0.99%.
RIM.TO closed Monday's last trade at $49.67, down $0.44 or 0.88%, on a volume of 1.97 million shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
AAPL closed Monday's last trade at $291.16, down $1.16 or 0.40%, on a volume of 17.24 million shares on the Nasdaq. In the after hours, the stock rose $0.09 or 0.03%.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.