BlackBerry PlayBook pre-orders start at RadioShack

By on Apr 13, 2011 at 6:44 PM
mobile April 13, 2011

We just received confirmation that RadioShack has begun accepting pre-orders for RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. You can reserve yours for now $499, and RadioShack says it will be available starting on April 19th. The PlayBook sports a 7-inch touchscreen display with 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. It’s powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, runs RIM’s sleek new QNX operating system designed for tablets, has 1GB of RAM, and offers both a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera and a 3-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chat. We’ve had plenty of hands-on time with the PlayBook and are excited by the concept, but we’ll take a much deeper dive once we review the device. If you love what you’ve seen so far, however, feel free to hit the jump for a link to RadioShack’s pre-order page.

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31 Comments

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  • Anonymous

    $49? non-refundable?

  • Aaa

    Why would you buy this?

    • Anonymous

      simple, its better than any tablet currently on the market…don’t believe me, compare the specs.

      • Anonymous

        not just the specs, the performace beats any android tablet and ipad out there(currently) im an android fan, but when i played witht his at a conference in LA, i was blown away, it truly is what a tablet is supposed to be

      • Anonymous

        Then why isn’t it available? If it was the best tablet when you “played with [it] at a conference in LA” (FYI: “LA” is Louisiana, so I’m guessing you meant “L.A.”) then why didn’t RIM just release it? Perhaps it’s due to atrocious battery life, since I’ve noticed that RIM hasn’t published any battery life figures on the PlayBook’s web page.

      • Anonymous

        If you were more “normal person” and less “geek,” you’d know that what’s important is performance, not “specs.”

      • Anonymous

        you know us in California we dont know to read or write, anyway yes battery life they would not comment on. the battery life from my experience is OK, not great but then again all depends on what you are doing with your device, if you havent checked it out yet, then you would know that it actually multitasks, not the crap stuff that the ipad does, and not even close to android, this is simultaneous apps running, and you can even keep something playing through HDMI when you are doing something else on your tablet, which is amazing

      • Anonymous

        Battery Life 10-12 hours, it has been reported MANY, MANY times. Hasn’t been released yet because of a) OS optimization and b) apple has pushed forth too many orders for touch screen glass which has put everyone else behind. This has been reported MANY times as well, specifically here, on BGR, where you, Mr. Perspectively, seem to spend most of your time commenting on RIM articles even though you can’t stand the company. The playbook is the real deal, OS, specs, portability, etc….not saying your beloved ipad isn’t cool too, but just have the balls to admit when a company does something well. k.

    • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

      Why wouldnt you buy this?

    • http://twitter.com/stulaw11 Jon Klurfeld

      Um because you need a Blackberry to even use contacts, calendar, or email.

      Missing BASIC smartphone/tablet standard apps; thats why not to buy it.

      Its nothing better than what’s already out. Its a new look, but offers nothing no one else already has spec-wise.

      • Anonymous

        Klurfeld…you DON’T need a blackberry to run everything you’ve stated…

        a)why do u need contacts when your phone is with you 100% of the time? please explain this to me. For emailing, maybe? but then again, you should already have your contacts saved in your email account.
        b)there will be MULTIPLE calendar apps at launch
        c)email- playbook views the ENTIRE web, flash, html5 etc, etc…thus, hotmail, gmail, outlook ALL work out of the box on the playbook.

        The playbook is a great device, please don’t comment until you’ve used it. Don’t be biased just because you like apple. Respect a product when it is done well, have a little bit of vision, there is a world outside of mac

      • http://twitter.com/stulaw11 Jon Klurfeld

        Because I like Apple? I don’t even own ONE Apple product right now. Done talking out your ass?

        AGAIN I said Email APP. You sound like a true RIM fanboy now; you dont need apps, just use the browser. That is NOT always the most convenient method. Why load up gmail, then login and wait for it to load when you can click an icon and it’s right there?

        What if you work in a secure environment like BB users tout and dont have a simple web portal you can just log into from the web anywhere? What you said is an excuse not a solution or answer as to why its missing such a basic feature.

        You just answered your question why you need contacts. No reason to have to enter every contact into every email account you use if there was a proper contact app.

        These are shortfalls, no need to get so butt-hurt defensive about it.

      • lorem ipsum

        Put a shirt on. Idiot.

      • http://twitter.com/stulaw11 Jon Klurfeld

        And you sound like a faggot with nothing intelligent to say

    • 2much

      Because it’s an awesome tablet. Heck, I’d even buy it just because it’s not an iPad.

  • http://www.droiddoes.com/ Norm

    I’m conflicted here. It runs DROID apps, but not the DROID OS. I half want it and half want to hate it. What do I do? Goofan? PAPI? HELP?!?!?!?!?

    • Anonymous

      U should slit your fucken wrists u putz

  • Piogan

    I want to buy one and I would pre-order it but I dont understand why RIM has been hiding the playbook’s battery life. They tell you all you want to ask but nothing about how many hours does the battery last in normal use. If the battery last from 8 to 10 hours, I buy it, if is less than that, I’m sorry.

    • http://twitter.com/pozi240 Andrew Poziomka

      The battery life is 10 hrs plus, this has been well documented on many sites.

    • Anonymous

      10-12 hours, reported many times.

  • Ericg1840

    Best buy has been doing pre orders for 2 weeks

  • Cornbread

    This might be a sleeper. The specs are nice, the size arguably better than the ipad. Somehow RIM in all of their dinosauriness seems to stay relevant, quite shockingly. No glitz, no glamour, people just love those ugly slabs full of chiclets. Probably cause they are better as a phone than many, read iPhone and message better than any.

    • Anonymous

      I agree with you that the playbook might be a sleeper.

      For RIM to build a no glitz, no glamour device just makes sense, as this is a professional grade tablet . Just look at the thinkpad. It has virtually the same design as it was 10 years ago, yet they sell really well.

  • Xdupx

    Anybody know if the playbook will support .cbr files(comic books)???

  • keymaker

    So what else does this tablet do other than just surf the Web over WiFi. Specs translate to nothing if the software isn’t right.

    • Pavel Bure

      Let’s see…

      This Tablet (Playbook) is running on an operating system (QNX) that far surpasses anything iOS and ANDROID could only dream of.

      This Tablet OS was built from the ground up to take advantage of Touch Screen Technology. So far, QNX is currently being used in the Space Shuttle, Nuclear Reactors, Automobiles heck even the Mars Rover. Yes that’s right, the Mars Rover that’s on the planet Mars doing it’s scientific work.

      Not bad for an OS called QNX which is now powering the soon to be launched BB Playbook and future (past OS 6.1) Blackberry Smartphones. Nope…no more old school Java Based OS.

      Is iOS or Android even a consideration when you think Nasa, Nuclear Reactors and other CRITICAL MISSION IMPORTANT operating systems? NOPE, NADA.

      All you losers that keep saying Blackberry outdated this, outdated that…will soon get seriously bitch slapped in that your iOS and ANDROID OSes will now be outdated in comparison to the power of QNX.

      Still hating…it’s called GOOGLE IT! That’ll will ultimately bitch slap all you haters back to where you belong!

      Still don’t have a clue? Look up RTOS! Real Time Operating System. Something that iOS and ANDROID are NOT!

      • keymaker

        LMAO keep dreaming pal LMAO.

      • http://twitter.com/Sweetrobbo Robby andrews

        Sounds like HP/Palm and their idea for WebOS. QNX may just very well be better, but it’s not going to hit that sweet spot that Apple is hitting right now. Everyone can keep coming out with “better” tablets, but iPad2 is still better in terms of the familiarity and usability. You can say that Apple is simple, but the general public, who determines the real winner, will not want to have to hook up their BB to the Playbook. They want a product to turn on and work. I personally want a real competitor in the tablet market, and I don’t think this is it.

      • 2much

        Well, the Chevy Cavalier easily outsold Lexus I’m sure. But that doesn’t meant that Chevy had/has a better product, and Lexus still does ok. Hmmmm……

  • Aaa

    Still steaming pile of berries

    • 2much

      Wow, you must be the guy at parties where everyone is just waiting with baited breath, for pearls of wisdom to fall from your lips.

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