The RIM Playbook Tablet – will it be a success ?

We posted a story yesterday on the new, upcoming Blackberry Playbook which looks to be an impressive piece of kit. Today, publications across the net are talking about the product, with many saying that it is destined to fail. Why?

Research In Motion are well known to always target the business user, they have a huge following with this audience and sell many smartphones based around their class leading email support. The PlayBook Tablet has been marketed with a key focus on the graphics power, with RIM saying that this will be a great gaming machine for the consumer. This could very well alienate business users from even contemplating the device.

While the hardware specifications look fantastic on paper – a Cortex A9 based dual core 1GHZ CPU with 1GB of Ram, twin cameras, conferencing support, wifi, OpenGL – it is missing one basic feature. 3G. We have no idea why they have omitted this important aspect but it is another reason why the core BlackBerry audience may very well ignore the device.

The screen size has been mentioned by several publications as being too small however we feel the size is right. Even Apple are going to be releasing a smaller version of the iPad with a 7 inch screen – market research has shown that many people find a 9.7 inch screen too big.

As a fully functioning multi application device, RIM need to sort out a few key areas – the browsing experience, which has been a bone of contention for many users so far, and a wider selection of applications. With Apple and the iTunes store, they face stiff competition and that is before companies like Samsung start to roll out similar ideas for their Galaxy S tablet.

We feel however that the biggest challenge The Playbook will face, might very well come from the Cisco Cius (pictured above) which is going to be targeting the audience that RIM seem to be forgetting about. The business user. This Cius will run Google's excellent Android operating system and it will also integrate from the ground up with the current Cisco infrastructure. The expected launch time is similar to the Playback, Q1-Q2 2011.

KitGuru says: The Tablet market is a hotbed of opportunity and a potential billion dollar earner for all of these companies. Who will get it right? Who will fall on their ass? 2011 is going to be interesting.

Become a Patron!