Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

4G BlackBerry PlayBook to launch this month despite RIM’s torrid tablet past

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:30PM EST
BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Research In Motion (RIMM) has not found success in the tablet market quite yet. The struggling smartphone vendor crossed over to the tablet space last year with its debut slate, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and it was met with mixed early reviews. There was nothing mixed about the half-billion dollar charge RIM had to take in the third fiscal quarter last year due to unsold PlayBook inventory, however, and RIM would later slash the PlayBook’s price in an effort to move units. In spite of the company’s torrid past with tablets, CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed that a 4G version was still in the works, and now we may finally see it launch later this month.

A screenshot of what is claimed to be an internal memo from Canadian carrier Bell points to a July 31st launch of RIM’s revamped tablet. MobileSyrup reports that the slate will include 4G LTE connectivity in addition to HSPA+ and Wi-Fi, and it will be powered by an “enhanced” 1.5GHz dual-core chipset. Finally, the report points to a $550 off-contract price tag, though that may not last terribly long if history repeats itself.

[Via Engadget]

Read

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.