RIM finally unveils new PlayBook
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion announced Thursday the launch of a long-anticipated new version of its PlayBook tablet.
The 4G LTE, 32-gigabyte device will be released in Canada only on Aug. 9 and will roll out in the U.S., Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean in the “coming months,” the company said.
This will be the first RIM tablet to support 4G technology. It will include a 7-inch display, front- and rear-facing HD video cameras, HDMI out and stereo speakers. The company said the PlayBook will automatically adjust to connect on HSPA+ where LTE is not available.
It’s been more than a year since the struggling mobile device giant launched its first tablet, and rumors of the new device have been swirling for months.
The first Playbook was not a huge hit with consumers and, as Reuters noted among others, did not include basic features like email.
Ontario, Canada-based RIM shipped about 250,000 PlayBooks in the first quarter of this year, down by half from the same period last year, the company said in a recent quarterly earnings report.
Pricing details for the new PlayBook have yet to be released.
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