The much awaited Blackberry PlayBook finally gets a price and pre-order date. Research in Motion (RIM) has announced that the PlayBook will start at $499 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model - same as the iPad 2. The company states that the device will be available with 20,000 retailers in the US and Canada and the pre-orders will start at midnight on March 22.
The 7-inch device is touted to be the first tablet to deliver professional-grade performance in a consumer friendly package. The ultra-portable tablet which will weigh less than a pound will boast of a high -resolution display, web browsing with Adobe Flash support, multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, Dual-HD cameras and out-of-the-box enterprise support.
Previously Apple and Motorola rolled out the iPad 2 and Xoom respectively, which also boast of similar features, but the PlayBook, will become the first tablet with out-of-the-box enterprise support. But, it also has the smallest screen size of the lot.
The PlayBook will run on the QNX operating system, which will also support Android apps. The QNX OS is well known in the world of technology has it powers some of the most high-end servers in the world and also has a security protocol cleared by the US military. While the tablet version of the operating system may not boast of these features, it is quite clear that it will provide serious competition to Google's Honeycomb OS and Apple's iOS.
The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will be available in three models and will feature a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) starting at $499 in the United States and Canada.
The next most awaited are HP's WebOS based tablets that are promised to be launched in the US summer.
BlackBerry PlayBook Specifications
7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1" x 7.6" x 0.4" (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
1 GHz dual-core processor
BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
1080p HDMI output
Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
1 GB RAM memory
Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR support