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New Professional-Grade Tablet Delivers Unmatched Power and Web Performance
San Francisco, CA – BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today redefined the possibilities for mobile computing with the unveiling of its new professional-grade BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® Tablet OS.
Perfect for either large organizations or an “army of one”, the BlackBerry PlayBook is designed to give users what they want, including uncompromised web browsing, true multitasking and high performance multimedia, while also providing advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a breakthrough development platform for IT departments and developers. The incredibly powerful and innovative BlackBerry PlayBook is truly a game-changing product in the growing tablet marketplace.
“RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “The BlackBerry PlayBook solidly hits the mark with industry leading power, true multitasking, uncompromised web browsing and high performance multimedia.”
The Tablet You'll Want to Take Everywhere
This beautifully designed and incredibly powerful tablet is ultra portable, ultra thin and super convenient for both work and play. Measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound, the BlackBerry PlayBook features a vivid 7” high resolution display that looks and feels great in your hand. With such a unique mix of utility, performance and portability, you’ll want to take it everywhere.
The New Benchmark in Tablet Performance
At its heart, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a multitasking powerhouse. Its groundbreaking performance is jointly fueled by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the new BlackBerry Tablet OS which supports true symmetric multiprocessing. Together, the abundant processing power and highly sophisticated OS enable the BlackBerry PlayBook to provide users with true multitasking and a highly-responsive and fluid touch screen experience for apps and content services.
Uncompromised Web Browsing
With support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, Adobe® Mobile AIR® and HTML-5, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides customers with an uncompromised, high-fidelity web experience and offers them the ability to enjoy all of the sites, games and media on the web. For more than a decade, the mobile industry has worked to bridge the gap between the “real web” and mobile devices through various apps and technologies and, in fact, a significant number of mobile apps today still simply serve as a proxy for web content that already exists on the web. The BlackBerry PlayBook closes that gap and brings the real, full web experience to mobile users while also opening new and more exciting opportunities for developers and content publishers.
High Performance Multimedia
The BlackBerry PlayBook features premium multimedia features to support high-quality mobile experiences. It includes dual HD cameras for video capture and video conferencing that can both record HD video at the same time, and an HDMI-out port for presenting one's creations on external displays. The BlackBerry PlayBook also offers rich stereo sound and a media player that rivals the best in the industry.
BlackBerry Integration
For those BlackBerry PlayBook users who carry a BlackBerry smartphone*, it will also be possible to pair their tablet and smartphone using a secure Bluetooth® connection. This means they can opt to use the larger tablet display to seamlessly and securely view any of the email, BBM™, calendar, tasks, documents and other content that resides on (or is accessible through) their smartphone. They can also use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data. This secure integration of BlackBerry tablets and smartphones is a particularly useful feature for those business users who want to leave their laptop behind.
Enterprise Ready
Thanks to the seamless and secure Bluetooth pairing experience and the highly secure underlying OS architecture, the BlackBerry PlayBook is enterprise ready and compatible (out-of-the-box) with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. When connected over Bluetooth, the smartphone content is viewable on the tablet, but the content actually remains stored on the BlackBerry smartphone and is only temporarily cached on the tablet (and subject to IT policy controls). With this approach to information security, IT departments can deploy the BlackBerry PlayBook to employees out-of-the-box without worrying about all the security and manageability issues that arise when corporate data is stored on yet another device.
QNX Neutrino Reliability
The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built upon the QNX® Neutrino® microkernel architecture, one of the most reliable, secure and robust operating system architectures in the world. Neutrino has been field hardened for years and is being used to support mission-critical applications in everything from planes, trains and automobiles to medical equipment and the largest core routers that run the Internet. The new BlackBerry Tablet OS leverages and builds upon the many proven strengths of this QNX Neutrino architecture to support a professional grade tablet experience and to redefine the possibilities for mobile computing.
An OS Built for Developers
The Neutrino based microkernel architecture in the BlackBerry Tablet OS delivers exceptional performance, high scalability, Common Criteria EAL 4+ security, and support for industry standard tools that are already familiar to hundreds of thousands of developers. 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 announced today (which will allow apps to be written to run on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry® 6). 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.
Key features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook include:
• 7” 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:
o Measures 5.1”x7.6”x0.4” (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
o Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.
Availability
The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be available in retail outlets and other channels in the United States in early 2011 with rollouts in other international markets beginning in (calendar) Q2.
RIM will begin working with developers and select corporate customers next month to begin development and early testing efforts.
The BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK is planned for release in the coming weeks and developers can register for early access at
http://www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos.
For more information, visit
http://www.blackberry.com/playbook.
[ This Message was edited by: tranced on 2010-09-27 22:27 ]
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Posted: 2010-09-27 23:15:28
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Looks interesting I like the idea you can pair it with a blackberry and use the push services. We'll see if developers will make half decent apps for this.
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Posted: 2010-09-27 23:38:20
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Certainly looks interesting!
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Posted: 2010-09-28 09:36:12
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Yes please, one thing though i cant see any mention of storage space?
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Posted: 2010-09-28 10:10:17
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On 2010-09-28 10:10:17, p900 lover wrote:
Yes please, one thing though i cant see any mention of storage space?
Saw some live pics where it said 16GB so im guessing they'll do various sizes?
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Posted: 2010-09-28 11:30:43
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NOTE: This is - in prototype form - using the Texas Instruments OMAP 4440: this is a Dual-Core Symmetric Multi-Processing [SMP] 1Ghz cpu: each core is capable of SMP and running at 1Ghz. Oddly enough though that the SAME Cortex A9 cpu from TI is capable of running at 1.5Ghz.
TI's OMAP4440 processor boasts new upgrades, raises the bar for mobile design
Mobile video teleconferencing, stereoscopic-3D and gesture recognition capabilities gain from OMAP™ 4 technology upgrades, including speeds of 1.5 GHz per CPU core
DALLAS (Dec. 8, 2010) – Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN) today announced that the OMAP4440 applications processor enhancements deliver impressive performance improvements beyond the OMAP4430 processor, including a
1.25x increase in graphics performance, a 30 percent decrease in webpage load time, a 2x increase in 1080p video playback performance and clock speeds as fast as 1.5 GHz per ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™. These marked performance advantages, along with other feature enhancements, reaffirm the OMAP™ 4 platform's ability to drive today's most coveted Smartphone and tablet user experiences, such as 1080p stereoscopic 3D (S3D), 1080p video conferencing and gesture recognition. For OMAP4440 processor details, visit:
http://www.ti.com/omap4440.
"The increased performance given by the OMAP4440 applications processor illustrates TI's ability to push mobile computing possibilities with the right processor architecture enveloped in the right platform, " said Remi El-Ouazzane, vice president, OMAP platform business unit, TI. "We seized an opportunity to enhance the platform capabilities driving the OMAP4430 processor's success today. As OMAP4430 processor-based products hit the market in first half 2011, we're arming our customers with a huge performance boost via an easy migration to OMAP4440 processor for their next wave of exciting devices. The resulting user experiences will radically impact how consumers continue to integrate mobile technology into their daily lives."
OMAP4440 processor: Primed for upgraded mobile user experiences
The OMAP 4 platform is a highly-optimized system-on-chip (SOC) leveraging two ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore general-purpose processors, reaching
speeds of 1.5 GHz per core, complemented by two ARM Cortex-M3 cores to power-efficiently offload time-critical and control tasks. High-performance multimedia capabilities are provided by programmable cores including a
POWERVR™ 3D graphics engine, TI IVA 3 for high-definition/multi-standard video, TI image signal processor (ISP) for high-quality/high-megapixels imaging, TI low-power audio processor and TI digital signal processor (DSP) based on the TI C64x DSP for natural user interface and signal processing innovations optimized for mobile applications.
[ This Message was edited by: Prom1 on 2010-12-10 02:31 ]
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Posted: 2010-12-10 03:16:49
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I'm definitely buying this to go with my BB 9780. Anyone else see this incredible device perform in early Alpha release thus far with only Flash Air apps?
C+/C++, WebWorks [HTML/HTML+Flash development coming February 2011], Adobe Air, and Java/JavaScript support. this is going to ROCK.
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Posted: 2010-12-10 03:29:36
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On 2010-12-10 03:29:36, Prom1 wrote:
I'm definitely buying this to go with my BB 9780. Anyone else see this incredible device perform in early Alpha release thus far with only Flash Air apps?
C+/C++, WebWorks [HTML/HTML+Flash development coming February 2011], Adobe Air, and Java/JavaScript support. this is going to ROCK.
Got the 16GB model. It's no iPad but I still love this thing and its potential.
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Posted: 2011-04-22 05:03:43
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Why is the ipad better in your opinion?
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Posted: 2011-04-23 20:54:21
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On 2011-04-23 20:54:21, p900 lover wrote:
Why is the ipad better in your opinion?
PlayBook:
No native spell check. When using the BlackBerry Bridge to create/reply/forward emails via a BT Paired BlackBerry its there.
Applications are still mimimal and those that come pre-installed as highlighted are mostly web-based (small install footprint and uses data on the web). Poynt uses GPS fix from a connected BB.
Camera's are incredible - but we need a BBM application (BlackBerry Bridge although advertised in PB commercials is not available yet, ARRGH!!), or some video chat application.
^ RIM gave the production manager full control over this unit and he's done VERY well considering less than 12mths from drawing board to finished product - not to mention the original product manager jumped ship 2mths into the game so really only 10mths.
Unfortunately TAT was acquired too late in the game to create a unified UI on the unit so an outside consultant company was brought in early in the game.
iPad was meant to be "better" than laptops at certain things and it does just that - until SSD's become standard across their lineup - a Tablet is NOT going to replace my laptop until extensible media is used and I can code applications NATIVELY and use distributed computing!!
The PlayBook is a traditional tablet in every sense of the word "traditional"
Web access only and needs to "tether" for other features.
Future builds will improve upon the PLayBook and features soon enough. 6 builds thus far (3 pre-launch by 1week) - RIM is working hard and NOT waiting for bug reports but listening to customers along the way.
Like Apple ... RIM uses its products internally and across the world externally. Nokia does not, Samsung doesn't, LG doesn't, and many others don't. I'm talking about an 80% majority of their global employees here.
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Posted: 2011-04-24 19:00:59
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