Blackberry joins iPad competition race with Playbook

With Apple set to unveil iPad 2 any time now, competition in the tablet market has never been stronger with most major manufacturers setting 2011 as the year to launch rival slate computers.

Currently running the show with everybody’s must-have status gadget, Cupertino may now be staring at some credible competition. Not from the Samsung Galaxy Tab but rather the anticipated Blackberry Playbook which demoed at the recently heldMobile World Congress. Gadget enthusiasts have been exclaiming their excitement over the new Blackberry operating system which will run forthcoming Research In Motion phones and the Playbook itself.

Set to have a 1Ghz Dual Core processor: the Playbook should comfortably handle demanding applications alongside the two inbuilt full HD video cameras, HDMI output, WiFi (obviously), and its unique selling point – support of Flash, HTML5 and Adobe.

Blackberry phones were once the handset of the boardroom, and to an extent they are still proprietary executive favorites. But Apple’s versatile iPhone recently caught it up, offering more in the line of entertainment whilst handling business-related applications and programs satisfactorily. With that in mind, RIM has done exactly what they needed to with this tablet: they have simply made it pleasurable to use.

With Research In Motion on Monday announcing plans to launch high-speed LTE and HSPA+ versions of its first tablet, the BlackBerry Playbook, it brings the total number of upcoming PlayBook models to four: in January, RIM announced Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + WiMax versions. Networks haven't been announced yet, but with the news, all of America's biggest carriers could technically offer the tablet: Verizon and MetroPCS support LTE; T-Mobile and AT&T have HSPA+; Sprint has WiMax. The non-LTE carriers have also committed to future 4G LTE networks, the main global standard.

"We are now building on the BlackBerry PlayBook's many advantages with support for additional 4G networks that will allow enhanced business opportunities for carriers and developers and unparalleled mobile experiences for users," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion, in a statement.

The enterprise-oriented tablets will also support Bluetooth tethering, mobile hotspotting via smartphones, and BlackBerry Bridge, a software that allows use of Blackberry Messenger, calendar, and e-mail. No pricing details have been announced, yet.