4G PlayBook gets official
Headed to Canada August 9
Published: 3 August, 2012
READ MORE: US | Research In Motion | Tablet
It hasn't been a good year for RIM but following much doom and gloom the company has officially announced the 4G LTE version of the PlayBook and confirmed that it's going to be available in Canada on August 9. You'd be forgiven for forgetting what a PlayBook was given how long it has been since the original arrived with a whimper. However with the addition of faster mobile internet connectivity and a processor upgrade it looks like the Blackberry-maker is hoping to jog a few people's memories.
The new and improved PlayBook is set to come with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, compared to the original's dual-core 1GHz chip. Apart from the fact it's only going to be available with 32GB of internal storage the rest of the specs remain the same and it's still set to be packing 1GB of RAM, a rear-facing 5mp camera as well as a front-facing 3mp camera underneath its 7" display.
As far as generating interest in a tablet goes it seems one of the least desirable specs for the general consumer has been 4G LTE connectivity though it might make a niche for itself with business users. As for the the rest of the specs, even with the improved processor, there isn't really anything to recommend it over other tablets.
When it lands in August it's going to be offered by Bell, Rogers and Telus, there's no word yet on how much will cost. The new PlayBook isn't just destined to be released in its native Canada and over the "coming months" is set to hit markets including the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
With BlackBerry OS 10 delayed until 2013 this is one of the few interesting products Blackberry fans have to look forward to this year. This week has also seen images of a 10" tablet from RIM leak though its specs have not been revealed yet so it's too early to tell whether it has any chance of turning its tablet fortunes around, but that will largely depend on the success of the new operating system.
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