RIM Announces the BlackBerry PlayBook – 7″ Blackberry Tablet

At the RIM DevCon today CEO Mike Lazaridis announced the long rumored BlackBerry tablet, now known as the BlackBerry Playbook, a 7″ tablet that connects to WiFi and to BlackBerry devices for internet access and promised 3G and 4G versions in the future. The BlackBerry PlayBook is what Lazaridis calls the, “first professional tablet.”

RIM did not announce any pricing, but did tell the audience in attendance that the BlackBerry PlayBook would be available in the U.S. starting in early 2011 and internationally in the second quarter.

BlackBerry PlayBook Preview Video:

The BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet 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
  • 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″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
  • Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
  • RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

Our own Xavier Lanier is in attendance at DevCon and we expect to bring you more coverage of the BlackBerry PlayBook soon.

BlackBerry Play Book Press Release

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