BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet - First Look
No one is surprised to see a sudden downpour of tablet computers. Future, as they say, belongs to them. Whether you are in computer making or mobile phone making business you got to manufacture tablets to stay viable. Research in Motion (RIM), that's known for its BlackBerry phones has also placed its bets on the tablet race. The Ontario Canada based mobile phone manufacturer recently introduced its very first tablet in BlackBerry PlayBook.
RIM's PlayBook is noteworthy and as expected is being compared against Apple iPad. RIM and Apple have been enganged in a tough fight in smartphone business. Both are known for their iconic phones - RIM for BlackBerry and Apple for its iPhone. The two companies have been keeping analysts, jurnos, bloggers, consumers, and shoppers all on the edge. The tablet battle between the two rivals is not going to be any less fascinating. Given their history, comparisons between the two tablets are simply inevitable. RIM PlayBook runs on 1GHz dual core processor and comes with 1GB RAM that, for now, gives it an edge over Apple iPad. Another differentiator that RIM intends to capitalize on is its full web support. Remember, Apple iPad does not support Flash websites. And Apple didn't turn it off without a reason. The company that's known for designing eye candy devices found that Flash drains the tablet or phone battery and without a long battery life any mobile device would fall flat with consumers. Filtering out Flash websites allows Apple to offer longer battery lifespan to its fans. RIM won't give any details about how long PlayBook battery can last but it's trying to make headlines for its flash support - a strategy clearly targeted to woo shoppers away from Apple iPad. Another highlight of BlackBerry PlayBook is security. Again, the makers are trying to bring their traditional strengths into their newly introduced tablets. RIM's BlackBerry got the popularity it got because of its security features - it instantly became a favorite of corporate and enterprise users. The company is trying to repeat the history with PlayBook by outsellings its competitors on the grounds of security features. PlayBook brings the same access control and data security features that BlackBerry phone users enjoyed. And this is, without a doubt, a great move by RIM to claim its place in enterprise domain. Not too far into the future, companies will replace their laptops with tablets so it's an attractive market for RIM to focus on. BlackBerry PlayBook has also been catching attention for being unbelievably light. The super thin tablet weights just 400g. It gives you a 7" LCD multi-touch capacitative and high definition screen in a frame of 5.1x7.6x0.4 inch. The screen resolution at 1024x600 is also impressive. If you found Apple iPad to be lacking in fun department, you'll find BlackBerry PlayBook a more balanced tablet. It comes with two cameras - a 3megapixel forward facing camera and another 5 megapixel rear facing camera. The front one lets you have have video calls and the rear one puts you in the photographer's shoes. You can take pictures or record videos with PlayBook. The device comes with Micro USB and HDMI ports so you can view photos or videos on larger TV or computer monitor. The tablet runs on BlackBerry Tablet OS which is based upon QNX technology. It offers an intuitive interface and supports multi-tasking. It's also compatible with BlackBerry enterprise server giving you access to corporate data and emails. Overall PlayBook is a great introductory tablet from the makers of BlackBerry. We'll have to see how it stacks up against Apple iPad2 and Motorola Xoom which offer comparable feature set. More on Tablets
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