Remember all those grand plans Research In Motion (RIM) had for its BlackBerry PlayBook line of tablet PCs? Well, whatever remains of those plans will have to be carried out by the 32GB and 64GB models. Somewhat surprisingly, RIM has reportedly decided to discontinue its 16GB PlayBook, essentially conceding defeat to the likes of Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet in the sub-$200 category.
Research In Motion grossly underestimated what a big deal it would be to release a tablet with what some consider critical missing features, namely native email, calendar, and contacts support. The PlayBook was met with mixed reviews; some were willing to overlook the PlayBook's failings, others decided not to pull any punches in their criticisms. Give RIM credit though, the powers in charge stuck it out, and regarding that fire sale over Black Friday, it appears to be a sign of things to come rather than a declaration that RIM wants out.
Before you go and drop a couple of Benjamins on a Kindle Fire from Amazon or $250 on a Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble, there's something you should know. Research In Motion is slashing the price of its BlackBerry PlayBook to $199 at Best Buy, Staples, and a bunch of other popular retailers, putting it in direct competition with the two aforementioned tablets.
For the record, the Maximum PC Lab keeps both feet planted squarely in the present tense. We don’t believe anyone should buy hardware based solely on its future potential. So what then to make of RIM’s nascent and decidedly half-baked Blackberry Playbook? Unless you’re 1) a Blackberry owner, 2) don’t care about apps or games, or 3) a devoted BB fanboy, the answer is: not much.
According to sources that spoke to BGR, RIM will be launching the BlackBerry PlayBook on April 10th in retail locations. The software is reportedly the last holdup, with a gold master build expected to be completed by the end of March. This is the first solid date we have heard for this device, albeit from an unofficial source.
Apple’s snub of Adobe Flash has had no impact on the latter’s popularity among other smartphone and tablet vendors. If anything, it has probably whetted their appetite for the Flash Player. According to Adobe, at the end of 2010 there were more than 20 million smartphones with Flash 10.1 - the first truly mobile-optimized version of the software. But if you think that’s impressive, then get ready for the bigger, more impressive numbers that await you after the jump.
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