The Apple vs. Microsoft battle bores me. Let’s talk Apple vs. RIM, or iPhone vs. BlackBerry if you will. Research in Motion has just unveiled PlayBook, the tablet computing device set to compete for lap space against the iPad. Already being called a more “professional” or business-y version of Apple’s product, what does this device offer to win prospective buyers away from Steve Jobs’ glossy offerings? Here’s the Chatter on PlayBook.
Chris Foresman @ ArsTechnica
“RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazardis [sic] used his keynote speech at the 2010 BlackBerry Developer Conference on Monday to show off the company’s new BlackBerry PlayBook touchscreen tablet. Lazardis [sic] called the 7″ widescreen device the ‘first professional tablet,’ touting its BlackBerry enterprise integration and full web experience with HTML5 and Flash 10.1 compatibility.”
Matt Burns @ TechCrunch
“RIM did make it clear the that PlayBook is fully compatable [sic] with BlackBerry Enterprise Servers right out of the box. This is of course the bread and butter of RIM’s products. The tablet can also tether directly with a BlackBerry device via Bluetooth. More on that will likely drop shortly.Of course we’re missing one very important factoid: price. There’s no mention of it yet. Any guess? One last note: why would you call the first ‘professional-grade’ tablet the PlayBook?”
Jared Newman @ PC World
“Amazon is picking winners and losers in smartphones and tablets, and it’s already deemed the BlackBerry PlayBook a winner by promising a Kindle app. The news of Kindle for BlackBerry PlayBook landed within hours of Research in Motion’s big tablet reveal… even though the PlayBook won’t arrive until early next year. Amazon says the upcoming Kindle app supports the mantra of ‘Buy Once, Read Everywhere.'”
Jonathan Ratner @ Financial Post
“‘This set of hardware specs beat anything available to date on the tablet market,’ Steven Li at Raymond James said in a research note. ‘We believe the PlayBook tablet shows RIM is starting to compete effectively on hardware specs… RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky’s preliminary estimates suggest RIM may sell six million PlayBooks in its first year. That equates to 13% of the addressable tablet market in 2011.'”
Shayndi Raice @ Digits, The Wall Street Journal
“Best Buy is in talks with Research in Motion to carry the BlackBerry maker’s new tablet computer in its stores, Chief Executive Brian Dunn said Tuesday. ‘When it comes to market, we’re going to be very happy to offer it to our customers,’ Mr. Dunn said at an event to discuss Best Buy’s holiday plans. The comments help clear up how RIM might distribute the tablet. The BlackBerry PlayBook will lack the ability to connect to cellular phone networks, making it less attractive to the wireless carriers that are RIM’s main distribution channel.”
