Amidst great looking Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom and the impending iPad 2, Research in Motiona4ぎa4г BlackBerry PlayBook has an uphill battle to fight this year.
But I dona4ぎa4д think RIM is going to あhave much problem getting people excited about its device. The 7-inch PlayBook is a surprisingly sleek tablet entry from a company that I (and many others) had previously lost faith in after the release of the lackluster BlackBerry Torch. I had a bit of hands on time with the tablet on the show floor of the Consumer Electronics Show last week, and I was immediately struck by how fast and media-centric it was. The PlayBook definitely isna4ぎa4д just for business users.
In the video below, you can see for yourself just how responsive the PlayBooka4ぎa4г interface is. The tablet is running an operating system based on software from QNX, a company RIM bought earlier last year, which looks nothing like the clunky BlackBerry software the company is known for. It feels like a modern OS, and ita4ぎa4г definitely something that will be able to go toe-to-toe with the tablet-friendly Android 3.0 release and iOS on the iPad.
The video also demonstrates how RIM has incorporated touch sensitivity into the devicea4ぎa4г screen bezel. When inside an app, you simply have to swipe up on the bottom bezel to get back to your home screen. Swiping on the left or right bezel when playing media easily takes you to the next item. Ita4ぎa4г not exactly intuitive for first-time users &8212' both iOS and Android have taught users to look for a physical a4ぎAhomea4ぎ button when inside an app &8212' but I think it will be worth the learning curve for most.
RIM still hasna4ぎa4д announced how much the BlackBerry Playbook will cost, and ita4ぎa4г expected to be available some time in the coming months.
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Companies: QNX, RIM
Companies: QNX, RIM
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
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