Mobile Technology

BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gets price and release date

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RIM has revealed pricing and availability information for its new 7-inch Playbook tablet
RIM has revealed pricing and availability information for its new 7-inch Playbook tablet
The Playbook has a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 resolution, WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen capable of high resolution video playback
The Playbook is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB RAM, with either 16Gb, 32Gb or 64GB versions available
There's a 3 megapixel camera to the front and a 5 megapixel camera to the rear
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RIM has announced that consumers can place orders through Best Buy for its PlayBook 7-inch tablet from today. Weighing less than a pound (425g) and measuring up at just 0.4-inch (10mm) thick, the Wi-Fi enabled device will come in three storage flavors, and is expected to be in stores in the U.S. on April 19.

RIM says that the BlackBerry PlayBook is the world's first professional-grade tablet, delivering "industry-leading" performance which includes multitasking capabilities, support for Adobe Flash 10.1, high definition multimedia, and out-of-the-box enterprise support. The device is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, for suggested retail prices of US$499, US$599 and US$699 respectively.

As you may have noticed, the pricing follows the same pattern for the Wi-Fi version of the bigger iPad 2. Is it worth waiting to see pricing information for the similarly-specced HTC Flyer, which is due to arrive shortly? Or perhaps the slightly bigger Optimus Pad/G-Slate from LG is more to your taste?

For those who can't wait to get their hands on RIM's highly-anticipated new baby, Best Buy is currently taking orders in the U.S. The company has revealed that the PlayBook will also be available from:

  • AT&T
  • Cbeyond
  • Cellular South
  • Cincinnati Bell
  • Office Depot
  • RadioShack
  • ShopBlackBerry.com
  • Staples
  • Sprint
  • Verizon Wireless, and
  • BlackBerry from Wireless Giant
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  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
3 comments
Mr T
No mention of an SD card slot, so have they made the same mistake as Apple and not provided expandability?
Neil
In related news: After taking a year to do a tear-down-and-copy of the iPad, 45 other manufacturers announced their \"highly anticipated\" tablets too...
Atul Malhotra
i have a slightly diff take
buy a high end snooty product like the Samsung 8.9 or 10 OR the Ipad
club it with a 250 USD thing like the ZTE light 2
only when u ACTUALLY OWN AND USE both u will realise some relatively less known companies have mouth watering products at rock bottom prices