BlackBerry World has put RIM’s PlayBook tablet front and center. A couple of days ago, we learned that Angry Birds, Video Chat, and Facebook apps were all making their way to the PlayBook, and now a few more news items have popped up. RIM has posted video of actual Android apps running on the tablet and it appears that a 10-inch PlayBook may be in the works. It’s not all good news, however. Carriers continue to be a problem for RIM. Sprint has delayed the PlayBook.
Sprint: The PlayBook may not hit Sprint as soon as RIM had hoped. According to eWeek, the carrier has delayed the PlayBook indefinitely. “The launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet has been delayed for all Dealers,” states the document, which was posted to the site May 3. “The new launch date will be communicated as soon as it is available.” No reason was given for the delay, so we don’t know if it is a problem on Sprint’s end, or RIM’s. Sprint announced it would support the PlayBook some time ago.
Big 10-inch: BGR reports that RIM is planning to release a 10.1 inch version of its PlayBook later this year. We couldn’t be more excited about this news as one of our only problems (full review here) with the PlayBook, aside from its lack of apps, is its size. It will be great to see what a 10-inch version of BlackBerry Tablet OS is like.
Android apps: Finally, RIM has also posted a YouTube video demonstration showing actual Android apps running on the PlayBook. The tablet appears to run them quite fluidly. If RIM actually gets emulation software to work on its platform, the PlayBook may become one of the best supported devices on the market and gain a crucial leg up on competitors who are also going it alone like HP with Palm WebOS. We look forward to testing this out as soon as its available.
