Research in Motion rattled off a slew of product updates at its Blackberry World conference Monday, including new Bold smartphones, the Blackberry 7 OS, and a couple of key apps for the Blackberry Playbook tablet.
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, launched last month by RIM has been relatively successful thus far despite being almost universally slammed as being an incomplete work in progress in initial reviews. Well, one of the missing features will soon be added when the Video Chat app becomes available.
Research in Motion's having a rough couple of weeks. First, the Blackberry Playbook got panned by critics, snubbed by AT&T and dissed by Verizon Wireless. Now, RIM is angering Wall Street by slashing its Q1 forecast, thanks to weak smartphone sales. It didn't help that a Nielsen survey found Blackberry falling out of favor among consumers as Android desirability grows.
Though there were some concerns about tech company earnings this week as Microsoft, SAP and other bellwethers reported results, the IT sector has helped drive markets to a solid start for the second quarter.
Research In Motion warned that its first-quarter smartphone shipments are likely to be lower than expected, cutting its earnings forecast for the quarter.
The latest Appcelerator/IDC mobile survey has uncovered a growing well of frustration among Android developers, with underwhelming tablets, OS fragmentation and multiple app stores cited as the main worries.
Research In Motion's (RIM) much-anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook tablet hit stores this week in the United States and Canada. RIM has reportedly shipped some 50,000 PlayBooks -- a mere fraction of the hundreds of thousands of iPads Apple sold on its recent launch day, but a healthy chuck of gadgets nonetheless.
I bought a Blackberry PlayBook yesterday, but I'll probably return it.
The BlackBerry PlayBook's hardware earned a seven out of 10 "repairability" score from iFixit, well above the teardown Web site's earlier four out of 10 grade for the iPad 2.
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet from Research In Motion goes on sale today, with what seems to be little consumer interest, mediocre reviews and few chances to match the success of Apple's iPad.
Potential changes to wireless data services for very small business in the United Arab Emirates will affect the entire industry and not just BlackBerry services, Research In Motion said Saturday.
Research in Motion executives came out in force Thursday evening in New York, playing hosts at the industry launch of the PlayBook tablet in an effort to convince market watchers and potential users that the device is a serious contender in an arena dominated by Apple's iPad.
RIM has taken the wraps off the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and so far the reviews seem to be mixed. Shortcomings aside, though, the tablet has a number of qualities that make it uniquely suited for business use.
Research In Motion's iPad competitor, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, goes on sale April 19, but it's not ready for prime time. Reviewers who got their hands on the PlayBook early posted their thoughts on the tablet -- and it's not good news for RIM.
To say that Research in Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook is a study in contrasts is an understatement. After extensively testing a PlayBook ($500 for 16GB of storage, $600 for a 32GB version, and $700 for 64GB) that was running not-quite-final software, I'm impressed by its convenient size and novel navigation, but I found the tablet's sometimes primitive native software and selection of apps frustrating.