[OnlyFone.com]

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced a new product to compete with tablets like Apple�s iPad, and tons of other Android based tablets with their very own PlayBook, the BlackBerry Tablet.

Before introducing the specifications, I wanna raise some questions about PlayBook. They are following-

1. Will it run on 3G network in Canada?

2. Will it use Micro SIM card or Normal SIM card? If it doesn't take SIM card, then what'll be the medium to connect network??? CDMA chip?

3. Is it compatible with multi-tasking?

4. Is it unlockable like BlackBerry cell phone?

5. Will it work on CDMA network e.g. Verizon and GSM/3G network e.g. AT&T simultaneously?

6. Will it use MS office package?

7. What about BBM?

8. What will be the 3G/4G frequency? Dual band or quad band?

9. Is there any possibility to run android apps?

10. Will it connect with BES?



Full list of specifications are as follows:

1. 7-inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support

2. BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing

3. 1 GHz dual-core processor

4. 1 GB RAM

5. Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording

6. Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV

7. Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA

8. HDMI video output

9. Wi-Fi � 802.11 a/b/g/n

10. Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

11. Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts

12. Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java

13. Ultra thin and portable:
* Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4" (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
* Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
* RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

I can answer questions number 6 & 7.
6. It will NOT use the MS Office package but instead DataViz's Documents To Go, which RIM acquired a few months back.
7. BBM will be done by bridging to your BlackBerry smartphone.

[anon(728548)]

3.) this tablet can do multitasking better than any tablet out there in my opinion
10.) Out-of-the-box compatibility with BlackBerry� Enterprise Server

BlackBerry - 4G PlayBook Tablet PC. Get BlackBerry 4G PlayBook Tablet

[aawilson]

2) Sprint is announced as the first carrier to have the CDMA model, but I don't see whats stopping ATT from getting a (I would guess Micro) SIM card version.

[aawilson]

1) Wait, Rogers uses GSM don't they? See this post for a Rogers Tab Life conference featuring the Playbook.

[acwyau]

First models will be wifi only, models with 3G won't be introduced till later.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[gregerator]

Word is (from CX) that ATT labs should have them in testing by now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[OnlyFone.com]

I can answer questions number 6 & 7.
6. It will NOT use the MS Office package but instead DataViz's Documents To Go, which RIM acquired a few months back.
7. BBM will be done by bridging to your BlackBerry smartphone.

Thanks a lot for the info.

[luqman24]

2. Will it use Micro SIM card or Normal SIM card? If it doesn't take SIM card, then what'll be the medium to connect network??? CDMA chip?

I believe it will be Micro because if its a normal sim card, users can remove it from their phones and use their existing data plan on their PBs which will result in loss of $$$ for the carriers. So I'm guessing Micro simcards for Tablets and the normal simcard for phones.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[anon(3158896)]

will there be any memory storage space for music, videos, etc.... how about a microSD slot?

also, with the BB bridge, will you be able to use the data connection from your phone, onto the PB?

[gregerator]

The PB will come in 3 versions initially 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. There is not an SD slot that we know of (has not been listed in any specs nor can a slot be seen on any pics) However, the SD card on your BB should be accessible from the PB. If that helps.

[anon(3158896)]

The PB will come in 3 versions initially 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. There is not an SD slot that we know of (has not been listed in any specs nor can a slot be seen on any pics) However, the SD card on your BB should be accessible from the PB. If that helps.

thanks for the info... sounds very promising. hopefully the PB will support android apps.

Another question... will the PB use a regular sim card, or the micro-sim card used with apple products?

[gregerator]

I believe it will be Micro because if its a normal sim card, users can remove it from their phones and use their existing data plan on their PBs which will result in loss of $$$ for the carriers. So I'm guessing Micro simcards for Tablets and the normal simcard for phones.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No one's quite sure but this post from luqman seems right on. That's only for any GSM 3G or LTE versions tho. The WiFi only version has no need for a SIM slot.

[anon(3158896)]

No one's quite sure but this post from luqman seems right on. That's only for any GSM 3G or LTE versions tho. The WiFi only version has no need for a SIM slot.

blah... i hope it uses a regular sim card. gsm's main advantage is the open freedom of using it on any carrier. the micro sim card makes that a lot harder as some companies don't use the micro simcard. as far as i know, i believe the galaxy tab uses a regular sim card.

it would also be nice if rim made their sprint PB with World roaming capabilities (sim card). I mean if its a professional grade tablet, aimed at consumers and businesses, wouldn't they want the device to give business users the ability to roam overseas with it? no other cdma tablet presently has that.

[gregerator]

The ability to change carriers with a SIM card is slightly negated by the different bands of 3G. Your 2 main GSM carriers are ATT and TMO. ATT runs 2100, TMO 1700. And you'd have to unlock your PB. Which means you would have bought a carrier branded PB instead of a regular WiFi version. Why buy the carrier version if you weren't going to use it on that carrier? Tethering will give you net access outside of WiFi areas already.

[anon(3158896)]

The ability to change carriers with a SIM card is slightly negated by the different bands of 3G. Your 2 main GSM carriers are ATT and TMO. ATT runs 2100, TMO 1700. And you'd have to unlock your PB. Which means you would have bought a carrier branded PB instead of a regular WiFi version. Why buy the carrier version if you weren't going to use it on that carrier? Tethering will give you net access outside of WiFi areas already.

well what if i want to use my PB in europe but dont want to pay the outrageous international roaming charges? i would then buy a sim card from the local provider in that country and use that with my PB. i could do the same with the Micro sim card theoretically, but that type of sim card isn't popular, and therefore, hard to find.

and tethering is an option, fortunately, but the necessity to have your cell phone nearby just to be able to browse the net on an internet tablet just seems kind of limiting and dissapointing. based on your arguement, why have sim cards at all in any device?

all i'm saying is that as a business user, when i travel i want to bring my technology with me, and i dont want to be limited due to simple oversights. adding a sim card to the device shouldn't be a problem, even if its for sprint. the bold 9650 already has the newer qualcom chips that have dual mode radios for the gsm and cdma stacks built into one. how hard can it be? for a professional grade device, professional grade specs should be in order.

also, if you want to argue that the carriers will lose money because they'll insert their sim card from their phones into the PB doesn't seem logical because there are phones out there today that use the micro sim card. its not like the micro sim card of the PB is a proprietary technology. the iphone uses it, and as far as we know, the PB doesnt have a PIN so it probably doesnt talk with rim's NOC and therefore you can take the iphone's micro sim card and put that in the PB and voilla, you have internet. one of the world's most popular phones uses a micro sim card, the same type that PB wants to use to prevent users from sharing their phones internet... doesnt make sense to me. if they were really concerned about this they should try to use the cardless sim #'s that they were proposing for apple a while back.

[gregerator]

I rarely venture out of state so your concerns are way over my head. Sorry I couldn't be of help.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com