Research in Motion (RIM) hasn’t kept the BlackBerry PlayBook much of a secret, but there was one specification it saved to announce at CES — the PlayBook will be a 4G device.
Wireless carrier Sprint Nextel will offer a version of the BlackBerry PlayBook that runs on Sprint’s next-generation network. The 4G PlayBook is expected to be available this summer. A release date for the Wi-Fi-only version has yet to be announced, but RIM indicated it would be available early this year.
Unlike most of the iPad competitors, PlayBook does not use Android, but will run on the BlackBerry Tablet OS that uses QNX technology. The tablet has a touch screen smaller than that on the iPad, and is geared toward business users.
Other specs include:
– Multi-touch capacitive screen (7-inch, 1024 x 600).
– Measures 5.1 x 7.6 x 0.4-inches and weighs 0.9 pounds.
– Features a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM.
– Front-facing camera shoots 3MP.
– High-definition rear-facing camera takes 5MP shots.
– Adobe Flash 10.1 enabled, built-in HTML 5 support.
Video reports and commentary are available on the BlackBerry blog.