New BlackBerry Tablet Slated For Early 2011

Tablet Designed For Business And Casual Users

For the time being, Apple’s iPad is pretty much the only game in town when it comes to portable touch-screen tablet computers. But don’t expect it to stay that way. Partially because of the iPad’s success, there is much speculation in the tech world that tablet computers will become the “next big thing,” possibly replacing several niche products like e-readers (look out, Kindle) and the small inexpensive laptops known as Netbooks. After all, tablet computers offer a unique kind of interface that makes computing more interactive, they tend to me much smaller and lighter than even ultra-portable laptops, and they’re just plain cool, in a “future-is-now” sort of way. Potential iPad competitors have been preliminarily announced from computer makers like HP, Toshiba, and Dell, as well as smartphone makers like HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. But so far nothing has come to market.

Now it seems the first real iPad contender may come from Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that designs and manufactures the popular BlackBerry smartphones. Mostly due to its popularity in the world of enterprise business, the BlackBerry brand still has a strong presence in the smartphone market. But increasingly advanced mobile operating systems from Apple and Google, in addition to fierce competition in taking place in both the hardware design and marketing arenas, have cut into RIM’s market share significantly since the iPhone first launched in 2007.  

Positioned as a frontal assault on Apple’s iPad, the new RIM tablet, somewhat curiously named the BlackBerry PlayBook, is also aimed at business customers who want to maintain the security and familiarity of their BlackBerry smartphones, while adding additional features such as a larger touch screen interface, more robust computing performance, and greater multimedia capability. Like the iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook will be capable of playing back a variety of media, including music and digital video transfers. And like the iPad, the PlayBook promises fast performance and a capacitive touch screen interface. But the BlackBerry device, which is expected to be released early next year, will have several features not found on the current iPad.

One area in which the PlayBook is clearly one step ahead is in photo and video capture. The iPad can play back digital video transfers, but it has no cameras of its own. The BlackBerry PlayBook will feature two built-in cameras. The front-facing camera will allow for video chat, while the rear-facing camera will take higher res photos and videos. Though it is practically inevitable that the next iteration of the iPad will feature cameras and video chat, it is uncertain whether these features will arrive before or after the PlayBook’s release. The PlayBook’s other advantage is that it will permit Adobe Flash programs. Apple has very vocally positioned itself in opposition with Adobe Flash, and has restricted the Flash capabilities of all of its portable devices.

By releasing a tablet, Research In Motion is clearly going head-to-head with Apple, and it seems like a smart move to make the PlayBook decidedly different. Perhaps the first thing you may notice when comparing the two devices is that the PlayBook is significantly smaller than the iPad. Though not small enough to fit in a pocket, the 7-inch PlayBook is being touted as more portable than Apple’s tablet. It is slightly thinner and quite a bit lighter than an iPad as well, though RIM has not been quite so bold as to suggest that the super-sleek iPad is heavy or bulky. Still, RIM had better be willing to fight the good fight if it expects to take on the giants of Silicon Valley.