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Connecting the dots: RIM may launch its Black Pad Monday

Research in Motion has been quietly touting a big press event Monday in San Francisco and it appears its Black Pad may be the main event.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

Research in Motion has been quietly touting a big press event Monday in San Francisco and it appears its Black Pad tablet may be the main event.

Officially, RIM isn't talking about the event. It's way secretive, but we're told it's important. The RIM press briefing is expected to go down Monday before its developer conference in San Francisco. At the event, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis will deliver the keynote at Moscone West.

So why are we willing to bet that the Black Pad is coming soon? Like Monday.

We're starting to get pitches from folks that will start supporting the Blackberry Black Pad. The big caveat is "when it launches." Seems obvious no?

Let's see. Key enterprise vendors---the ones most likely to support the Black Pad---like Citrix are planning to support RIM's device. Citix's Receiver app is already a hit on Apple's iPad so it's a no brainer that the company would support every tablet out there. And now we're getting pitches on tablet strategies pegged to the Black Pad.

If you connect the dots it appears the Black Pad is coming next week. After all, RIM's first mission will be to pitch developers on its tablet.

Update: The Wall Street Journal adds a few other details. The 7-inch Black Pad is likely to ditch the BlackBerry OS 6 for a platform from QNX, which was recently acquired. Dropping BlackBerry OS 6 would be a big move. I'd read that as a potential vote of no confidence. After all, iOS and Android can run tablets.

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