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Topic: BlackBerry

BlackBerry World 2012: 4G PlayBook due out this year

Summary: RIM is not ready to give up on tablets just yet, but have consumers and businesses?

Gloria Sin

By Gloria Sin for The ToyBox |

Just when you think Research in Motion wouldn't possibly bring another BlackBerry PlayBook into this world (check out Larry Dignan's recap of RIM's woes), CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed a 4G version will be coming by the end of 2012 at BlackBerry World yesterday.

Early specs on the 4G PlayBook revealed at a pre-conference breakfast attended by the Canadian Reviewer suggest the new slate will be getting a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip built-in. It is expected to look similar to the first-generation PlayBook, though there is no word yet on whether it will be another 7-inch or 10-inch device as rumored. (A RIM rep confirmed to me last week at CES on the Hill that both a 7-inch and a 10-inch PlayBook will be coming to market this year, but did not specify which size is the 4G version.)

According to Engadget, Heins was careful not to specify the 4G technology that the new slate will have under its hood, but did preface his announcement by "saying that his company admittedly has a glaring lack of LTE devices." Hmm...

Of course, the bigger question is after the mess of the first-gen PlayBook (from the lack of native email at launch to the almost-firesale prices just to clear inventory late last year), will consumers and businesses be willing to give the new and improved PlayBooks another go?

[Source: Canadian Reviewer via Engadget]

Related:

Topics: BlackBerry, 4G, Security, Smartphones, Tablets, CES

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14 comments
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  • If nothing else, RIM should be commended . . .

    . . . for not giving-up on tablets; unlike other groups such as HP.
    Restricted_access
    Reply Vote

    • HP hasnt given up on tablets at all. They are showing some very nice W8

      tablet prototypes around. Im definately interested in looking at them if they have any x64 based ones this year.
      Johnny Vegas
      Reply Vote

  • they are trying

    rim is fighting and that is what matters. there are too many people hung up with apple stocks going to 1000 story and if rim makes a comeback that dream is like 300 per share for apple very soon so you find denials everywhere but the fact is they will bounce back next year.
    augustus.rome
    Reply Vote

    • No what matters is if you have the right vision and the ability to execute

      on it. Everything RIM has shown in the last 3 years is that they dont. QNX is not it and they cant get their little minds around that. So yes consumer and business have given up on them and rightly so. And quite obviously so has the market. Theyve earned their failure the old fashioned way, by failing, being given another chance, failing again, being given yet another chance, failing yet again, being given a last chance, and failing so hard it hurts. They jumped aboard the fail train and are determined to ride it to the end of the line.
      Johnny Vegas
      Reply Vote

  • Meeting demands

    Wasn't one of the knocks that Playbook didn't have carrier chip for remote connectivity? Yet another think now updated. Next up will be a 10" model that will likely ship with BB10 OS.

    I guess Microsoft better ship their whole plan for Windows 8 tablets as NO ONE is buying Windows tablets. At least Playbook continues to make sales and get Apps developed for it.
    MobileAdmin
    Reply Vote

  • The Playbook rocks

    The playbook deserves a better position in the market than what it has right now. I own a playbook (os 2.01) and an iPad II. I am using the playbook as my main tablet because I simply prefer the way it feels and I can carry it anywhere because it is smaller. The iPad is great because their are a lot more available apps. But the interface simple makes more sens to me and I just hate the stupid physical button of the iPad. As soon as an apps also becomes available for my Playbook, I let go the iPad. I just hope their would be a better Google Maps apps available and that Side-installed Android apps where more stable.
    gbouchard99@...
    Reply Vote

  • I'm an Android-boy but love my Playbook....

    If they came out with a 10" Playbook, I think I'd buy it. I think that's one of the limiting factors for Playbook. My wife has a TouchPad and loves it. But she admitted that if the Playbook was 10" she'd go for it. That and more apps.

    Oh, and ADVERTISE!!!!!
    tallbruva
    Reply Vote

  • What APPS?

    All I'm reading in comments about RIM is, Where are the APPS? Has anyone bothered to look at Blackberry APP World? There are thousands for almost every imaginable activity. One big difference there are APPS that actually have real productivity value instead of play time and amusement. My Playbook is a solid travel replacement for my laptop.
    TrajMag
    Reply Vote

    • you are right

      same here
      augustus.rome
      Reply Vote

    • Not enough apps...

      I know there are apps in App World.... I put some there! :-) But what you're hearing about apps is the selection. There are thousands of apps in App World but most are not for Playbook. Even if they were all for Playbook, Blackberry needs to "convince" iPhone and Android users to switch from "hundreds of thousands of apps" to a platform with "thousands of apps".
      tallbruva
      Reply Vote

  • I don't need 4G

    I just want to be able to sync my Playbook with Outlook, and delete e-mails from it, without removing them from the server. In RIM's infinite wisdom, they removed that ability from the tablet. It's not that they don't know how to do it; you can do it on any BB phone. The only thing I can think of, is they have a "Dept. of How can we irritate our base?"

    It is a great tablet, but what were they thinking, when they removed something that doesn't cost them a dime, and that their phone users have been using for years? They just don't listen.
    JAG39
    Reply Vote

  • If RIM had shipped a 10" Playbook first time round

    I'd own one already.
    dowlingm
    Reply Vote

  • I wish people would let go

    The native email was always there. You just had to have a BB phone as well. I actually think it was a smart idea on the assumption that the majority of PB buyers would own a BB phone. I know that I'm in minority on this.
    I also like the 7 inch form and the fact that I don't have to pay for 2 data plans. Give me a 4G BB on Verizon first please.
    harrim47
    Reply Vote

  • Amazed by the improvement of the Playbook OS2 and Maxthon Android Browser

    Playbook OS2 is what should have been delivered April last year. But that is water under the bridge.

    I am very impressed by the Android app integration by the Playbook. It is seamless. The Maxthon (Android) browser is much better than the native browser. I will not use the native browser ever. Maxthon gives me a better experience than the Chrome. It imports my Chrome bookmark (I did that on the PC Maxthon) exactly looking alike, so I know where things are. Then I open a Maxthon Sky account. I sync my bookmarks to my Playbook and my mobile (Maxthon has a browser for PC, mobile and tablet, an integrattion/capability I think it is second to none).

    From the Maxthon browser, I can get a full web experience. I can get the full Google Maps function which you cannot with the native browser.

    Maxthon has HTML5 so I anticipate this will open a huge window for the Playbook for HTML5 apps. It is going to spell trouble for Apple. Once people realize they can get apps for free from an Open Source, why pay high price?

    Playbook is now a full functioning device. Hope 4G Playbook will allow a new round of review so consumer can see what an improvement it has made and it is definitely a good choice for tablet.

    Of course, Playbook QNX is a precursor of what the BB10 phones will be. I can feel the power now. I can't wait to get a BB10 phone to go along with my Playbook.
    Beavertail
    Reply Vote
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