RIM Announces BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet 184
siliconbits writes "Today, at the BlackBerry Developers Conference in San Francisco, company President and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis kicked off the event with the widely-anticipated news that RIM is developing a tablet PC of its own. Called the BlackBerry Playbook, the device is a 'Flash-loving,' 'device-paring,' 'enterprise ready' tablet, says RIM, with a 7-inch screen. It is 9.7 millimeters thick and features a 1024x600 widescreen display. It also supports 1080p through HDMI and has a USB port."
The tablet will run on a dual-core, 1GHz CPU and have 1GB RAM. Its browser will be WebKit-based, and the device will be running a brand new operating system developed by QNX software. The tablet won't have 3G access of its own when it launches, but will be able to tether to existing BlackBerry devices via Bluetooth.
Must really hurt to be MS these days (Score:3, Insightful)
Looks like all the handhelds are getting grown up OSes. I bet this really pisses off ballmer.
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Yes, POSIX based OS and Webkit based browser, just like iPad and Android... Only thing really different is the kernel.
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LOLWHUT?! (Score:3, Informative)
Really. QNX is many, many years BEHIND Linux right now.
Yeah, they have a microkernel with hard-realtime support and good maximum latency (which Linux can't match just yet).
However, if you look closely - it's not so great. Unix subsytem, filesystem and network stack all run inside one big process. So if it crashes it's almost as bad as kernel crash in Linux.
QNX's support for massive SMP (more than 8-16 CPUs) is bad, its scheduler is not quite good enough.
Various elements of QNX stack are hindered by microker
Re:LOLWHUT?! (Score:4, Insightful)
QNX's support for massive SMP (more than 8-16 CPUs) is bad, its scheduler is not quite good enough.
How will they ever compete in the handheld market?
Re:Must really hurt to be MS these days (Score:4, Informative)
I bet MS has a better SDK on release than RIMM though.
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/tablet.jsp [blackberry.com]
App Dev *only* via HTML5/CSS or Flash.
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Probably, but I think this is really strategic move on RIM's part, at least for the 1st iteration of the tablet. (remember, the original iPhone was webapps only)
To write a cross-platform Mobile app, developers already have to learn iOS, Android etc. .... what would they think if RIM had introduced a new Blackberry SDK (that's incompatible with the J2ME-based SDK for BB phones)?
The fact is, these SDKs take time to develop and to get right. It's clever for RIM to leverage the widespread expertise in Flash. Y
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Only if drives the stock price up. Microsoft is going to buy RIM.
hmm (Score:2, Troll)
spec tradeoff (Score:2)
Re:hmm (Score:5, Informative)
Dual-core Cortex A9 processor: The A9, at the same clock speed, is 20-30% faster than the A8. This has two of them. We're looking at almost triple the iPad's processor power.
1GB of RAM vs 256MB
QNX-based multitasking OS - depending on how they dumbed it down, could be way beyond iPhone OS
1024x600 at 7" vs 1024x768 at 10" - I think the pixel density on the PlayBook is at least a bit higher.
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I love my iPhone but if someone decides to make an Android phone with a focus on quality rat
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Other than the 7" screen, this thing not only meets but surpasses the iPad's specs.
Wow just wait 'till I get my hands on one of these. No seriously, I mean we'll have to wait since it's not actually in stores until 2011. So, um, wanna play a game on my iPad while we wait ?
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The RAM... the RAM!
I just hope these specs trickle down to smartphones some time soon - these toy tablets are just too big for my pockets, and I already have a real tablet PC. But a smartphone with these specs, and a 3.7" 1024x600 or higher res screen... Want.
Re:hmm (Score:4, Interesting)
Companies want to ship now or as close to it as possible. If there won't be a sizable quantity of 9.7" screens until next spring it's not going to be possible to make a tablet using those dimensions. I haven't tried using a 7" tablet device, but the only difference is that the iPad has an extra 168 pixels, which may make a difference, but how much of one I can't say. It may also make the device somewhat less precise as there's a smaller physical area to register touches on, but that can be compensated for in software and Android has definitely been coming along quite well. How well the QNX works on the BlackBerry tablet is another matter, but it doesn't have to be a huge hurdle.
The processor and RAM are probably the most ambitious I've seen in terms of a tablet so far, but it may not be much better than what future Android tablets or the next generation iPad has by the time this device actually ships. Some of the specs are better than the current iPad, others aren't, and hardware specs aren't always the best indicator of devise usability of usefulness anyhow. The devise isn't even available yet, so it's somewhat useless to try to compare it to the iPad since no one has had extensive hands on with it yet.
Re:hmm... 7 inches (Score:5, Insightful)
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iPad probably 8 inches not 7 (Score:2)
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I don't get the 600 pixel limit either.
More puzzling is that the iPad isn't widescreen - as a media consumption device i'd expect 720p content to display without scaling.
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This is a little 'tin foil hat' but I've thought that companies could plant those rumors to then release such a device to get press as "beating Apple to the punch" as it were. Frankly I don't see Apple doing a form factor between the iPad and iPhone, what would be the point ? The iPad was already criticized for being an overgrown iPod Touch, the in-between tablet really would be.
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Why is it so hard for someone to just finally release an ipad competitor that at least tries to match the specs? 7 inches is barely above smartphone level.
I have an Android tablet (M721 with Android 2.1) with a 7" screen. It's plenty big for just about anything, and it actually fits in cargo pockets and little sleeves on a backpack. Unlike the much-too-large iPad. I can hold it in one hand without a problem, it's light and not so big that the weight is cantilevered out there.
Sometimes things CAN be too big (although that's not what she said...)
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They're being very sane here. They know the iPad will eat them alive if they try to compete directly, so they're trying to find somewhere to get a foothold from which they can attack.
this is fucking hilarious (Score:2, Funny)
They keep designing for yesterday.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey RIM, pssst! There is nothing wrong with having the boring, but secure, reliable but quick, phone that just works. NOTHING.
You are being distracted into oblivion by people who WONT BUY YOUR TABLET ANYWAY.
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There is nothing wrong with having the boring, but secure, reliable but quick, phone that just works. NOTHING.
Yes there is.
There's no growth nor margin (i.e. money to be made) in the market you're describing. Believe it or not, it actually matters to RIM management and shareholders. As long as they keep making good handsets, I don't mind their ventures in the tablet market.
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Maybe not growth, but there will always be a margin; tho it may be razor thin compared to what it was a decade ago.
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Once this thing comes out with 3g/4g capability I can see many businesses wanting to adopt this. But since the projected release is Q2 2011, the 3G won't be ready till late 2011 early 2012--Plenty of time for other companies to design something better.
Typical RIM...showing up late to the party with a 12-pack of Zima's after everyone's had their
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a lot of people and businesses will like the idea that they don't have to pay for an additional data connection.
seems smart to me. You have a phone with a data contract. Why would you want to shell out another $15ish/month for another device to connect to the web when you are away from home/office wifi.
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Holy crap.
That's a worse fail than their development SDK.
HTML/CSS or Flash *only*.
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/tablet.jsp [blackberry.com]
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Why? We dont need this. We need a Storm 3 that WORKS! Why is RIM ignoring the market that made them successful? Let Apple have the consumers, let Droid have the geeks. Business needs a phone that just works, dammit. Oooh, a tablet. I can read my email with larger fonts? WTF?!?!?
Hey RIM, pssst! There is nothing wrong with having the boring, but secure, reliable but quick, phone that just works. NOTHING.
You are being distracted into oblivion by people who WONT BUY YOUR TABLET ANYWAY.
It's likely that the QNX team (recently acquired by RIM) will be making this product. So I don't think it will change the focus and quality of the current offerings.
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Why? We dont need this. We need a Storm 3 that WORKS! Why is RIM ignoring the market that made them successful? Let Apple have the consumers, let Droid have the geeks. Business needs a phone that just works, dammit. Oooh, a tablet. I can read my email with larger fonts? WTF?!?!?
Hey RIM, pssst! There is nothing wrong with having the boring, but secure, reliable but quick, phone that just works. NOTHING.
You are being distracted into oblivion by people who WONT BUY YOUR TABLET ANYWAY.
It's likely that the QNX team (recently acquired by RIM) will be making this product. So I don't think it will change the focus and quality of the current offerings.
Shades of BeOS and Palm, except Palm didn't capitalise on their purchase.
Ya RIM confuses me (Score:2)
I -love- my Curve 8330. Old hardware though it may be, it works great. Their scrolly based interface is easy to use and the phone was designed to get shit done. It is a business phone. It's call quality and signal quality are great, it is solid, it is everything I want in a phone. No it isn't shiny or hip, but I didn't buy it for that. I, or rather my employer, bought it as a business communications device, something it is fantastic at.
They seem to have problem understanding that is the market, that is why
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RIM should be careful not to lose the business market as well. More and more businesses are working on getting private or corporate iPhones, Android devices or Windows phones into their IT ecosystem. And not just small nimble businesses with some enthusiasts IT guys and a geeky CIO; I'm talking megacorps with byzanthian IT organisations and conserva
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Not likely, as Apple have never been much for big corps. Soho and mom and pop perhaps, but wall street towers? nah.
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I know a looot of people who work at RIM. They all know that they have to keep the enterprise market locked down. But that's mostly to do with the BES. Hardware wise, they've already long surpassed what "enterprise" needs. To keep growing, they NEED to grab some part of the consumer market. All that RIM growth the last couple years? That's just been them leveraging t
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I'd never, EVER use it as my personal device nowadays, especially since web browsing sucks hard on it and the OS isn't supported anymore. However, it's a perfect business phone that's all work, no play (except for BrickBreaker). My Nexus One covers the play part pretty well. :)
And that is why RIM is going to lose. Enterprise is all fine and dandy, but you need the consumer market. The folks that grew up with iOS and Andriod devices are going to want a single device with those capabilities. They will not want to carry two devices like you do. Hell, my employer pays for part of my mobile contract and there is no way that I would carry an additional phone that they've chosen (they've tried).
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So maybe people will buy it.
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No, the iPhone has quite limited enterprise features - the ability to mass deploy changes and lock them down tight is all but non-existent
Missing from the release (Score:2)
A few things I'd like to have answered
1. What's the battery life on this bad boy.
2. Why no cell network connection out the gate.
3. Some sort of estimate on price.
I'm glad they're doing a redesigned OS for this. The tablet market should get real interesting in the next few years.
"Play"book (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"Play"book (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really. It panders to business speak ... "oh, we'll take a page from their playbook" - eg: referring to strategy, not a gaming platform.
I know a bunch of alpha salespeople / marketers that are gonna love this thing, even if it is crap.
Re:"Play"book (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really. It panders to business speak ... "oh, we'll take a page from their playbook" - eg: referring to strategy, not a gaming platform.
I know a bunch of alpha salespeople / marketers that are gonna love this thing, even if it is crap.
RIM should create a phone called the "New Paradigm". I wish I could say I'm aiming for a 'funny' here but I used to work at a place where 'Buzzword Bingo' was a way us engineering-peons really passed the time during meetings.
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"Synergy" would also be a good name for the same reason. Absolutely would appeal to their core userbase.
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Leverage and Core Strength.
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Not a phrase I'd ever come across before in the UK, so I googled it, "playbook" refers to a notebook containing (American) football plays, which would explain why it is a US-business speak phrase.
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A business device has no need for flash, unless one wants the firm to pay broadband for advertising. My favorite thing about the iPad is that I do not have use my limited broadband to download the flash ads. Sucks for firms that use flash ads, but that is their choice. Mostly I do not block non-flash ads.
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Enterprise Ready (Score:5, Interesting)
RIM is touting this as enterprise ready, but a lot of the features seems more geared towards a toy gadget (being able to play all sorts of video and audio formats, 1080p output, etc) and less as a business tool. I don't know of many companies that will willingly hand their employees (after already giving them a Blackberry phone) an add-on device that seems like it's geared to kill productivity.
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You can probably use that 1080p for presentations. It's not as if a laptop with Powerpoint necessarily will be more suited for it.
Where's the mention of the price? (Score:4, Interesting)
One thing I seem to have missed is the price.
How much is this thing? $500?
It's just like that Android tablet by Samsung - why is there no announcement on price? Even subsidized prices if you must. Rumored pricing has it expensive, though.
And now this thing comes out with a ton of nice specs, but no pricing.
Heck, at least Jobs announced the iPad's price when he did the iPad keynote.
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My first through when reading the specs was the "symmetric multiprocessing support". I'm not sure tablets really need dual cores. My first thought when seeing that in something like a 7" tablet is they can't get their software to run smoothly enough on a single core, which would be worrying.
But the thing that REALLY stands out is the battery life. I isn't mentioned anywhere, but that was one of Apple's big selling points on the iPad. The fact that it has dual cores makes me think it's not going to last lon
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Dual core is always nice. That way, OS functions (like touch processing/gesture recognition, backgound anything, etc) can be separate from the application process giving consistency/no jumpy lag. Especially if you're watching something as intensive as a 2 megapixel video.
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You'd have to factor in the cost of a blackberry too. They seem to be really plugging BlackBery phone integration with this thing.
Which is a bold move, they've got the market share that this isn't a stupid decision. Between BB6, and this, I think BlackBerry's got some fat quarters ahead of itself. Even if this thing is stupid expensive, this isn't meant for the teenager who got a blackberry pearl so they could text on a QWERTY keyboard and maybe play Tetris.
Cost of blackberry does not always factor in (Score:2)
You'd have to factor in the cost of a blackberry too.
Not if you already are, or plan to become, a blackberry user.
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Heck, at least Jobs announced the iPad's price when he did the iPad keynote.
Apple also shipped about 60 days after showing their device off. I don't see any of these guys doing that either.
Perfect Tablet (Score:3, Informative)
Triple core ARM setup with HD video playback
Symmetrical rectangular ABS plastic frame with shatterproof glass
- docking port/HDMI on the bottom
- USB3 on left and right
- evenly spaced screw beds around the sides for accessory bodies/attachments
- VESA plate for the back
PixelQi display (indoor/outdoor/e-ink)
Stylus or touch input
Front and rear 3 to 5MP cameras
- allow slack for the rear camera connection so the lens can be integrated into a larger body
Built in stereo mic
Built in stereo speakers
Mini PCI slot instead of built in 3G
GPS with compass
Accelerometers
Keep things squared off and let the consumer decide if they want to buy cheap silicone to round it off. That makes it easier for vendors to design bodies to add laser scanners or extended batteries or label printers or whatever.
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PixelQi display (indoor/outdoor/e-ink)
I think this and single or even multi pixel illumination will be the biggest movement in the nearish future displays. The whole concept of blasting full brightness/power for a black screen (with current backlight displays) is just insane/dumb for mobile applications.
I think the coolest, but probably not very useful, future of PixelQi type displays is the possibility for true color displays....as in each pixel can be any color of the rainbow, emitting the wavelength of that color rather than the poor gamut o
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http://wetab.mobi/en [wetab.mobi]
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or just get a wetab http://wetab.mobi/en [wetab.mobi]
Word is that it sucks bad [German] [heise.de]... (Ships without the promised Android compatibility layer, without hardware video acceleration enabled, without Flash...) Pity, it's a nice concept...
yet another tablet (Score:2)
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I don't see market for all this stuff. Who need a cell phone (or 2), netbook, ebook reader and tablet at the same time? I predict gadget saturation.
If saturation does happen, we'll welcome it! I'm tiring of waiting for $200 price tags for netbooks, Android smartphones and tablets. Amazon's ereader finally got way under that mark, an my wallet is itching for more supply so I can demand low prices.
Subsidized contracts bring lock-in and force you into data plans even if you just want a lightweight wifi device to carry with no 3G service. Maybe next year's christmas gifts will include these cheap tablets?
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You've already missed the boat. I paid $137 for my eeePC 701 (Buy or Overstock, I forget which one). Unforuntately, you really can't get a TRUE netbook anymore, just notebooks with netbook stickers.
Never before have I seen such a perfect example of feature bloat destroying a niche.
Suprising (Score:2)
That actually looks pretty good. It's got all the must have features any new tablet will have to provide, and if direct access to the Blackberry servers, not having 3G for huge offices could be usefull for some corporations. Might as well use their in-building wireless with all it's controls.
I don't see this as an iPad competitor, but Android, as long as it comes out REALLY early in 2011 and has decent battery life and reasonable price. Doesn't need to be cheaper considering they're after the business ma
Will compete with iPad v2 - it's all about cost (Score:2)
I do think their recent acquisition of QNX combined with their copying the looks of WebOS are strategically wise, but so was the hype on the original "Storm" but their hardware implementation was a
Until I can buy one, who cares? (Score:2)
Sick to death of announcements about tablets that I can not buy. As usual, no news about price, or release date.
Until I can buy one, these types of announcements are just annoyances.
Application memory limit (Score:2)
Lazaridis said it wont require new data plans, new security or anything new.
I wonder, since they're not changing their security, if they'll stick with a 64Meg application memory limit
QNX. (Score:2)
A new interesting competitor significantly different from the endless stream of linux-based mobile devices (unless qnx, like windriver now uses linux).
Interesting to see how it competes. i hope they keep the high reliability they are famous for.
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New? QNX has been in the embedded market for over 18 years! Hell, they have more experience with multitasking and unix on small devices than Apple!
The SDK does not look so promising though, HTML and Flash? WTF?
Where's my native code?
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Have you seen their current OS? An upgrade is badly needed and QNX is pretty good.
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Re:Foleo? (Score:4, Interesting)
You mean while they charge you $39.99 for tethering?
Are there really people with 4-digit UID... (Score:2)
... who think that QNX is "brand new"???
I was snickering at that "brand new OS" myself, for all of what it took me to read next four words, and I thought "Wow, that's cool! Smart move!"
Anyone else remember those 3.5" QNX demo floppies, with kernel, GUI and functional browser on top?
Paul B.
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No. We 4-digit people all downloaded those floppies and used them on our parents' Windows boxes so that we could feel morally superior to Windows users while also not having to actually convince our parents to run Linux on their computers. Ah, memories.
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bought by Palm
And, when I say Palm, I mean RIM. Brain not working today.
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I thought this was obvious but, "Brand New OS*."
* Not our current offerings also has so many customizations it might as well be.
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... who think that QNX is "brand new"???
Nobody said QNX was brand new.
They said the tablet was running a brand new OS developed by QNX.
Meaning, this isn't the QNX you got on floppy, it's an OS built by those same people, but specifically for RIM for a tablet.
And, really, if someone is going to write an OS for a tablet, it should be somebody who created an OS that had a multiple tasking, windowing system with a web browser that could fit on a 1.4" floppy. It means that the overhead of the OS can fit into a small footprint.
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Also RIM _OWN_ QNX now-adays so I assume they will use it for their phones aswell.
You mean right after they came out with a new phone OS, they'll get rid of it?
That'll play well with developers.
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I think the GP has a point. QNX was only bought off in April, so it didn't really leave a lot of time for RIM to "make the switch" for their smartphones. But, I'm pretty sure that they plan to bring QNX goods to their smartphones, which need a big boost IMHO.
On a side note, I think RIM has more to worry from Google than Apple (though I'm sure someone here has already said that, right?). Android is going to eat their lunch in the Enterprise... all it takes is one good, focused competitor (Motorola???) to
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Bluetooth tether? I did this between my phone and laptop for a while. Any time my pocket was near the laptop, I could click a button and have internet access connect.
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You must have never used a tablet for any serious amount of time...
If the bezel on the iPad was any smaller, it would border on useless due to inadvertent touches. The wide bezels gives you an area to actually grab/hold the tablet. Otherwise, you're touching the touch screen and all hell breaks loose. It's not always feasible to cradle or rest the tablet on a surface. (E.g., reading in bed)
While a narrower bezel would look "cooler", it has no basis in reality. Some concepts remain concepts for a reason.
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Previous QNX hardware? (Score:2)
Please point out the previous QNX consumer hardware that indicates the experience needed to make an "awesome" tablet?
Because I am not getting the connection between industrial RTOS experience and producing a consumer tablet.
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Because I am not getting the connection between industrial RTOS experience and producing a consumer tablet.
Note that the first product of Sharp, known today for electronics, was a mechanical pencil. Don't be so quick to look down your nose that you lose focus.
Hardly...the GUI sounds very bad (Score:3, Funny)
The OS is built on the QNX Neutrino architecture
Interacting with the thing is going to be just about impossible [wikipedia.org]. All we need now is for the marketing guys to describe it as a "quantum leap" and their utter failure to understand the physics terms they are using will be complete...particularly ironic given that the owner of RIM financed the creation of the Perimeter Institute for theoretical physics in Canada!