RIM to launch 10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook this fall; OS 7 devices delayed?

By on May 4, 2011 at 4:57 PM
Exclusive May 4, 2011

With BlackBerry World 2011 coming to a close, you knew there had to be some unannounced news waiting to come out of the conference, right? We have been told by multiple sources that RIM is planning on releasing its followup to the BlackBerry PlayBook around the holidays this year. That’s clearly less than a year from the April launch of the original PlayBook — and the 4G versions aren’t even out yet — but there is a key differentiating factor here… the screen size. It’s entire possibly that RIM wants to play in both segments of the tablet market, and the PlayBook 2 could probably be thought of as an additional PlayBook model as opposed to the second-generation tablet. We have been told this tablet will be in the 10-inch range as opposed to the current model, which sports a 7-inch screen. The first model is selling pretty well according to some analysts, and a bigger version of the tablet along with an update OS that includes an email client, BBM and more could really hit the sweet spot. That’s all we have on the upcoming PlayBook 2, but hit the break for some details on BlackBerry OS 7.

This information is unconfirmed, but we have been told that the just-announced BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 won’t be launching until mid-August at the earliest. We previously reported the device would launch in the June / July timeframe and it still looks like that was the original plan, but apparently the launch was delayed for reasons unknown. Additionally, we were told that the rest of RIM’s 2011 lineup we exclusively leaked and previewed won’t be announced until BlackBerry’s DevCon conference on October 18th. Apparently the higher ups at RIM have been vocally unhappy about the “disproportionate” reallocation of resources to the PlayBook away from the OS 7 lineup. We’ll see how this all shakes out soon enough.

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
98 Comments

Related Articles

  • http://twitter.com/BrSwa Brandon

    And they say Apple makes you look like an assh*le with their release schedule… Launching an updated product within 6 months of your original at the very least a douche move.

  • KB

    Seriously Blackberry? I’ve been putting off my upgrade for 3 months waiting for BBW and the announcement of some new BB phones and you announce ONE phone that won’t even be released for several more months at the earliest. I love my BB curve, but this is ridiculous. BB is more worried about the playbook than anything else. Each new iPhone and Android that comes out leaves them further behind. I’m getting an Android…. maybe in a couple years I’ll try BB again if they start making phones instead of tablets. Get your shit together Blackberry.

    • Sean76

      I so agree…

    • Ted

      Each new iPhone and Android that comes out leaves them further behind. I’m getting an Android….

      I somewhat disagree with this statement. There may be some overlap but for the most part that’s like saying that for every Prius sold that’s one less sale of a Ford F-250 pickup, Different demographic, needs and preferences between BB and the currently popular iPhone and Android phones.

    • Ted

      Each new iPhone and Android that comes out leaves them further behind. I’m getting an Android….

      I somewhat disagree with this statement. There may be some overlap but for the most part that’s like saying that for every Prius sold that’s one less sale of a Ford F-250 pickup, Different demographic, needs and preferences between BB and the currently popular iPhone and Android phones.

    • Ted

      Each new iPhone and Android that comes out leaves them further behind. I’m getting an Android….

      I somewhat disagree with this statement. There may be some overlap but for the most part that’s like saying that for every Prius sold that’s one less sale of a Ford F-250 pickup, Different demographic, needs and preferences between BB and the currently popular iPhone and Android phones.

  • Anonymous

    OH wow, OK I never thought about it like that before. Makes sense dude.

    http://www.anon-toolz.at.tc

  • Mnhockeycoach99

    A you freakin kidding me? I’ve been waiting for this Bold Touch phone to be released since early this year. If it gets pushed out from June to mid/late August (and knowing RIM, September or October), I’m going to be pissed!! NOTE TO EXECS AT RIM – YOUR MAIN PRODUCT IS HANDSETS….so start putting some new ones out into the market. You have to be an idiot not to realize that your quarterly revenue is down because carriers are still peddling last years crap.

  • Anonymous

    Whaaa? I Love the 7″ Tablet… Whats the point?

  • QNX Please

    Not a bad idea at all, instead of being like Steve Jobs and telling people what size is the best, offer both sizes and let the market decide. 7″ is great for portable use, but a 10″ would be better for home use.

  • fittrdr

    I can tell you firsthand that RIM has cause me along with others i’m sure more than enough frustration anticipating when they will release their new lineup of phones, particularly the Blackberry Monaco Touch (aka Storm). It is especially disappointing knowing what Apple and the other device makers are doing. Now we have to wait until Oct 18th to learn.

  • http://twitter.com/ProductForum Jonathan Middleton

    They really should be focusing on getting the 7inch version right, there are too many niggling issues still to deal with.

  • DMG

    Rim needs to get their 7″ model right first. While the PB right now is decent, its got too manyt issues to even be talking about releasing another one.

  • Ofcdl

    Hmmm…other than to IT Managers Blackberry is now irrelevant. Not even on the radar. Releasing a half done Playbook a few weeks ago was theirnlast chance and the blew. Too much momentum going against them now.

    • Mnhockeycoach99

      Irrelevant huh? I didn’t realize that selling 52.3 million units (a 43% increase over the prior year) and having an annual revenue of $19.9 billion (33% growth) made them irrelevant. Looks to me like they are doing just fine… considering their large financial growth (also keep in mind the last 1/2 of the year they were focused on the Playbook so there weren’t any new handsets released)..

  • Anonymous

    OK, wow, Looks like RIM is turning up the heat. Amazing.

    http://www.anon-toolz.at.tc

  • Broblk

    I have found that the dealers are horrendous re showing the Playbook.. I’ve been to several stores.. and the Playbook is NOT connected to the Internet.

    Then I found the interface awkward but that could just be me..

    the real reason I’m holding back tho is my brother is a market stock guy and from what the markets show the stock is slowly sinking into the sunset… I reluctant to buy another Palm…

    only comments from a novice..

  • http://dianabol.blog.com/ Dianabol

    hope they can get rid of the huge ugly frame.
    steroids blog

  • Tuscano77

    I love my BB Curve 9300 (although a bit slow the form factor is great) and would really like to buy a BB Playbook. But priced at $499, RIM is smoking crack to think that someone wouldn’t rather just buy an iPad 2 with more apps and better construction. Plus you get a 10″ screen size versus the 7″… Smaller device, should mean less $$$ out of pocket for the consumer right?? They want to compete against Apple and Android, RIM needs to get their sh*t together. Hurry up RIM and get the new phone lineup on the market with a better OS, faster specs and get more competitive with your prices!

    • http://www.facebook.com/tkresila Tyler Kresila

      Agree and Agree. I had a BB Bold 9650 until recently when I got a DROID X. The Blackberry form factor is my absolute favorite. I may give it another try at some point. I’d like to anyway.

      As for the PlayBook… no thanks. I’ve already got iPad 2 anyway. It was the first on the market.. well in terms of quality to price ratio anyway…

      As odd it may sound, right now I’m looking at the Nook Color. Throw in a Class 10 microSD card and the latest build of Honeycomb or CM7 and I think it looks alright. More of a project to play around and what I can do with it really but still – for $250!? That sounds like fun to me.

      The whole point of this rambling? I think tablet makers can honestly do better than $500 base price. Yeah – it’s not too bad… I bought iPad 1 and 2 so I think it’s worth it – but I would like it to be a little more reasonable… $350? $400? Base price? Perhaps someday there will be a quality tablet at a $350-400 price point.. until then.. my iPad 2 or playing around with something cheap.

  • http://www.moretablet.com MORETABLET

    It looks like the screen size of around 10 inches will become a common size for most tablets.

  • Cory

    Is RIM that small of a company they don’t have enough “resources” to have one group work on the PlayBook and another working on updating their O/S’s and Cellphones?

    • Tyler

      Apparently, or they’re just incompetent

  • Asd

    test comment on gamma

  • 1magine

    Its the end of May.  No launch date for the new Bold yet.  No announcement of any other device.  I hear so many clocks ticking for RIM, it sounds like Pink Floyd.

1 2
blog comments powered by Disqus