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RIM's PlayBook disappearing from online retailers in the US
If you want to get your hands on RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, you might be running out of time. It seems that the QNX-based device is no longer available in the US from retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, RadioShack and Staples, with Amazon and RIM's own online store being the exceptions. We're wondering if this means newer PlayBooks are in the works -- we've already seen updated 4G LTE models out in the open and recent OS updates indicate the company hasn't given up on the much-maligned PlayBook. Potential upgrades include the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS, and hardware improvements wouldn't be a bad idea (Perhaps a flip-out keyboard addition a la Microsoft Surface?). In any case, RIM might want to move fast if it wants any chance of competing in the increasingly crowded tablet space.
Has RIM canceled the 16GB PlayBook? (Update: it has)
If you're an indecisive fan of the BlackBerry PlayBook, your purchasing decision might just have been made a little easier. We're hearing reports that customers have been advised only existing stocks of the 16GB variant remain, and the firm will be offering just the 32- and 64GB models going forward. The speculation is that this is down to the lower profit margins on the smallest memory version, however this is not confirmed. We've contacted RIM for the official word in the meantime, and will update accordingly. Update: RIM's PR has responded with the following statement: RIM will no longer be making the 16 GB model of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The 16 GB PlayBook will continue to be available for distributors and retailers while quantities last. We continue to remain committed to the tablet space and the 32 GB and 64 GB models of the BlackBerry PlayBook continue to be available from our distributors and retailers around the world. There is more value for our customers in the higher capacity models (32 GB, 64 GB), and as such we have decided to focus our efforts here.
Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android Updates Motorola's Photon 4G was the recipient of a minor over-the-air firmware revamp that offers improvements to responsiveness and voice calls, and offers more bug fixes and other enhancements. [via PhoneArena] Want another bug fix update? The HTC EVO 3D is the next contestant, rolling out its second OTA refresh in as many weeks. This time it appears that a new "Corporate 4G" widget and a new radio have been added. [via AndroidCentral] Gingerbread 2.3.4 is now rolling out to Bell's Motorola Atrix 4G OTA. [via MobileSyrup] Now that its official Gingerbread support page has gone live, Verizon's Motorola Droid 2 will likely be receiving Android 2.3 in the very near future. [via AndroidCentral] Sasktel's HTC Incredible S is now the beneficiary of Android 2.3.3 in an OTA install. [via MobileSyrup] Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery Remember that Gingerbread update the HTC Droid Incredible was supposed to get? The official version's been leaked out and is awaiting your download. Just remember the follow the directions and back up your device before proceeding. [via AndroidPolice] Speaking of leaked versions of Gingerbread, the Droid 2 Global has one now. More info can be found here. [via Droid-Life] The Motorola Droid 3's been successfully rooted. As it turns out, there may be a couple different methods to do so, so check out the link to learn how to do it. [via XDA and AndroidCentral] An official build of Android 2.3.4 for the Samsung Captivate has been leaked to XDA. [via Phandroid] Other platforms The Nokia N8 was recently blessed with Symbian Anna, but a few camera-related upgrades were left out. No need to fear, as an "experimental" update is now being offered, which adds continuous auto-focus and tweaks the UI to allow for faster access to the camera -- among other improvements, such as a boost to 30fps. Check out the change log here. [via ZOMGitsCJ] Given last week's news about webOS, we were concerned the newly-launched Pre3 would be DOA, with no promise of future updates. HP's proving this isn't the case, however, as the device got a minor update that brought the phone's help center live and fixed a few bugs along the way. [via PreCentral and PhoneArena] Research in Motion released an upgrade to its Tablet OS for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Unfortunately, it's not the 2.0 version we saw leaked screenshots of earlier this week, but it still brings a nice feature to the tablet: differential updates. This means that in future OS refreshes, only the affected sections will be changed. In addition, the new version, dubbed 1.0.7.2942, will improve WiFi connectivity via WEP and enhancements to BlackBerry Bridge. [via RIM] WP7Mod showed a video of the HTC HD2 booting up with Windows Phone Mango's RTM build installed. We've been told that it's almost ready for any daring souls interested in a new challenge for their Windows Mobile device. [via WMPowerUser]
BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.6 update brings Flash 10.3 and AIR 2.7 to PlayBook
Nah, it ain't the update that'll bring a standalone email client to your BlackBerry PlayBook, but at least it's some positive news in an otherwise gloomy arena surrounding RIM. Version 1.0.6 of the BlackBerry Tablet OS was just cut loose today, bringing support for Adobe's Flash 10.3 and AIR 2.7 software. In other words, users should see improved Flash performance, and they'll also be able to tap into a new array of apps crafted with AIR 2.7. Oh, and for the security mavens? There's a few built-in updates to safeguard you and yours. It's available over-the-air right now, and if you don't see an update just yet, be patient -- it's en route, we swear.
The Engadget Interview: Ryan Bidan, BlackBerry PlayBook senior product manager
RIM held a little PlayBook party here in New York yesterday, giving us a chance to hang out with Ryan Bidan, the company's senior product manager for the seven-inch tablet. In addition to chatting with us about battery life, connectivity, and pricing, Ryan clarified the PlayBook's app development model -- although devs can choose to work with native code, Java, Adobe Air, and HTML5 / WebWorks, the idea is for the ultimate user experience to be seamless, and RIM is considering offering standard UI widgets for each environment. We also had to ask about those swirling rumors of Android support, and while we commend Ryan for his practiced non-answer, we can't help but feel we detected a hint of a smile on his face. Or was that just another tray of snacks going past? Check the video and decide for yourself.
BlackBerry PlayBook to ship with full versions of Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover (video)
EA Sports isn't one to give things away, but that's exactly what it's doing on RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook. We still haven't heard a concrete ship date for this thing, but EA swears up and down that these two titles will be finalized by the time it goes to market. Both Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover will come pre-loaded on the device, with both being full, unabridged versions; in fact, NFS will feature a new mode specifically designed for getting into the game quickly on this very tablet. Smartly, there's even a "slo mo" mode which slows everything down to enable accurate control even during hectic rides on the subway. We've lauded the PlayBook before, but we were duly impressed with just how well this thing handled multitasking. Even with NFS running in the background, we were able to play back a video in the foreground with nary a bit of lag during the transition. Tetris was predictably Tetris, and it only works when holding the slate vertically. We've got to confess that the inclusion of these two titles is quite the gesture, and considering the first four letters of this product's name, we'd say it's more than fitting. Hop on down to see a demonstration video of both, showcased here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. %Gallery-116754%
BGR: BlackBerry PlayBook to possibly use Android's Dalvik virtual machine, might run Android apps
RIM's been hyping AIR apps and web apps for the PlayBook for a while now, but there's a chance much bigger things are in the works: BGR says the company wants to add in Java compatibility for legacy BlackBerry apps, and that among other options it's considering using the Dalvik virtual machine found in Android to get there. That makes a lot of sense -- Dalvik is one of the most advanced Java(ish) virtual machines out there, and it's open-source, so RIM could conceivably take it and tweak it to work with existing BlackBerry apps, which are built in Java. Clever, clever. But that's not all: BGR goes on to speculate that using Dalvik will also allow the PlayBook and future QNX devices to straight-up run regular Android apps, which is obviously a much bigger deal than simply using the same virtual machine. Exactly how or why BGR's making that leap is unclear, since running Android apps on the PlayBook would require porting much more than just Dalvik, but it's out there. In fact, it's been out there since December 7, when Fortune picked up a note from Gleacher & Company analyst Mark McKechnie suggesting that RIM was planning to offer Android compatibility, so we're curious if this rumor's just taking another trip through the internet meat grinder. Honestly, our bet is that RIM is far too proud to offer Android compatibility and that it's just investigating Dalvik as a Java environment, but we'd love to be proven wrong -- we'll see what happens.
RIM shows off PlayBook's browser chops, SDK in latest round of teaser vids
It looks like RIM's really sticking to this "you don't need an app for the web" mantra for its hotly anticipated PlayBook -- at least according to the latest crop of videos the company has outed. In what is no doubt an attempt to drum up some buzz before a swarm of other tablets descends on CES, the company has chosen to highlight its latest browser improvements to prove just how "real" the web is on the PlayBook. HTML5 video playback looks super smooth, as does Flash video in the desktop YouTube site. Impressively, the entire Facebook experience works exactly like it does on the desktop -- even supporting Facebook chat, which the iPad's browser can't handle. They demonstrate Flash games working without a hitch, so you can breathe a sigh of relief, Farmville-addicts. The second video explores the SDK -- no doubt in an attempt to reiterate the ease of programming for the PlayBook -- and while there's a good bit of technical jargon, we have to say that the Fantasy Football app shown off looks pretty sweet. Why RIM can't somehow manage to bring these improvements to its already-shipping BlackBerry line, we still can't quite comprehend, but we'll be visiting the RIM booth as soon as the show opens to see the latest improvements for ourselves. In the meantime, peep the videos after the break.
BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video)
RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie actually declined to show off the his company's tablet today on the Web 2.0 Summit stage, but in private he was more than kind, treating us to a nice long glimpse at the BlackBerry PlayBook in a quaint hotel hallway. We only got to heft the one-pound slate for a few seconds, but we got the basic feel of the device in the hand -- warm to the touch, solid if a little plasticky, with a responsive glass touchscreen up top and a bottom that's mildly rubberized. Balsillie didn't bother to locate the "module cavity" for us, but he did try to explain where those 5300mAh lithium ion cells might hide -- we suspect the CEO exaggerated only slightly when he told us "it's all battery and glass inside." He then wrenched the device forcefully from our unprepared hands (at least that's how we like to think it went down) and proceeded to let us film a brief film showing off the QNX and Air-based OS juggling a spreadsheet, photo gallery and some beautiful underwater footage all at the same time. Hit the break for that hastily-shot video.
BlackBerry PlayBook and iPad go head-to-head in a browsing showdown
We've only ever seen brief glimpses of the BlackBerry PlayBook in action so far, but a new video posted up by RIM comparing its tablet's web browsing performance to the iPad certainly has us hungry for more. Seriously -- PlayBook pretty much run laps around the iPad while loading pages, and even its Flash performance seems decent, which is a first for a mobile device in our experience. Of course, the video was made by RIM and we're sure the specific pages were picked to make the PlayBook look as good as possible, but that's fair enough -- now if we could just get our hands on one to verify these claims for ourselves, we'd be happy as clams. Video after the break.
BlackBerry PlayBook vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Tab vs. Streak: the tale of the tape
What a day -- yesterday, that is. Research in Motion finally announced its long-awaited BlackBerry tablet, the 7-inch PlayBook (thankfully not named the BlackPad). While there's still quite a few missing details, and nary an unit in site for us to try first-hand, we've still got a sampling of specs for this little guy to go tête-à-tête on the quantitative field of proverbial battle, at least as it can be seen so far (that early 2011 release date is still a ways off). Looks very promising so far, lined up against Apple's iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and the Dell Streak, but our known unknowns -- i.e. price, app support, and overall feel of using the QNX-built operating system -- are what will really make or break the slate. Until that time, enjoy our number-crunching below: BlackBerry PlayBook Apple iPad Samsung Galaxy Tab Dell Streak Screen size 7 inches 9.7 inches 7 inches 5 inches Resolution 1024 x 600 1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 480 Pixel density (approx.) 170 133 170 187 Platform BB Tablet OS iOS 3.2.2 (4.2 in November) Android 2.2 Android 1.6 (2.1 / 2.2 in future) Adobe Flash support 10.1 Not Supported 10.1 Not supported Processor 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 1GHz Apple A4 (ARMv7) 1GHz Cortex A8 1GHz Snapdragon Graphics Unknown PowerVR SGX 535 PowerVR SGX 540 Adreno 200 RAM 1GB 256MB 512MB 512MB Internal Storage 16GB / 32GB (unconfirmed) 16GB / 32GB / 64GB 16GB / 32GB 2GB Expansion Unknown None microSD microSD Connectivity 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Cellular data 3G and 4G promised for future 3G optional (GSM) 3G (all carriers) 3G (sold via AT&T) GPS None 3G models only Yes Yes Camera 3MP front, 5MP rear None 1.3MP front, 3MP rear VGA front, 5MP rear Weight 0.9 lbs 1.5 - 1.6 lbs 0.84 lbs 0.49 lbs
RIM introduces PlayBook -- the BlackBerry tablet
Today at Research In Motion's annual BlackBerry Developer Conference, CEO Mike Lazaridis announced the company's new tablet -- the PlayBook. The tablet will utilize an OS created by the recently acquired QNX (just as we'd heard previous to the announcement) called the BlackBerry Tablet OS which will offer full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5 (which is all tied into RIM's new WebWorks SDK). Lazaridis was joined on stage by the company's founder, Dan Dodge, who said that "QNX is going to enable things that you have never seen before," and added that the PlayBook would be "an incredible gaming platform for publishers and the players." RIM also touted the PlayBook's ability to handle Flash content via Flash 10.1, as well as Adobe AIR apps. The new slate -- which Lazaridis described as "the first professional tablet" -- will sport a 7-inch, 1024 x 600, capacitive multitouch display, a Cortex A9-based, dual-core 1GHz CPU (the company calls it the "fastest tablet ever"), 1GB of RAM, and a 3 megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5 megapixel rear lens (and yes, there will be video conferencing). There was no mention of onboard storage capacity during the keynote, though the devices we just spied in our eyes-on post are labeled 16GB and 32GB on their back panels. The PlayBook will be capable of 1080p HD video, and comes equipped with an HDMI port as well as a microUSB jack, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The device clocks in at a svelte 5.1- by 7.6-inches, is only 0.4-inches thick, and weighs just 400g (or about 0.9 pounds). In terms of interface, the OS looks like a mashup of webOS and the BlackBerry OS, even allowing for multitasking via what amounts to a "card" view. Interestingly, RIM and QNX boasted of the PlayBook's multimedia and gaming functions, but Mike Lazaridis also described the tablet as "an amplified view of what's already on your BlackBerry." That's due largely in part to a function of the tablet which allows you to siphon data off of your BlackBerry handset via Bluetooth tethering and display it on your PlayBook (a la the ill-fated Palm Foleo). While the PlayBook doesn't seem to rely on phone content alone, the press release from the company says that users can "use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data." RIM didn't hand out any solid launch dates beyond "early 2011," and of course, there was no mention of retail price. We've got a slew of content after the break, including the PlayBook spec rundown, the company's press release, and a full video of the device (and UI) in action -- so take a look! %Gallery-103424% %Gallery-103422%
RIM's 9.7-inch Blackpad rumored for November launch -- yes, Blackpad
We were secretly hoping that RIM's acquisition of the blackpad.com domain name was nothing more than a joke (or a preventative measure, at worse), but it sure sounds as if that'll be the name the folks in Waterloo go with come this winter. According to unnamed sources who have unloaded new information to Bloomberg, RIM's first tablet will actually be "introduced in November," though there's no clear indication as to when it'll ship. Said sources have also stated that the device will sport a 9.7-inch display, inbuilt WiFi and Bluetooth, and a downright comical Blackpad label. We get the BlackBerry link and all, but really? Here's hoping for a last minute change of heart. [Thanks, Simon]
RIM takes control of blackpad.com, laughter takes control of our minds
A quick WHOIS confirms that RIM's taken control of blackpad.com -- yes, it's long been rumored as a potential name for the BlackBerry tablet, but we're certainly hoping Waterloo's just parking a domain name to keep squatters at bay, because, seriously, we just got over the iPad jokes, you know? P.S.- And might we see whatever this is at the RIM / AT&T event on Tuesday? Consider our interest piqued.
RIM's Blackberry Tablet might be seven inches, feature dual cameras and 1GHz CPU?
The rumor mill's been churning out quite the picture of RIM's Blackberry tablet over the past several months, and it's a research analyst who's most recently picked up the brush -- Ashok Kumar of Rodman & Renshaw, to be precise, who anticipates a 7-inch touchscreen device with a 1GHz processor, plus front- and back-facing cameras for video chat. Since that's a good 1.9 inches smaller than the slate rumored a couple months back, this latest spiel fills us with doubt... but hey, it's not like we had confirmation that RIM was even producing such a device, anyhow. It may be a while before we find out for sure, as Kumar told investors that even should the company succeed in an attempt to move up the schedule, the device still wouldn't launch until the end of the year.
WSJ: RIM testing Blackberry tablet for potential release by year's end
We're not sure why the Wall Street Journal just posted up a piece talking about BlackBerry OS 6.0 and the Bold 9800 QWERTY slider as though we haven't been running leaked pictures and videos of them for months now, but whatever -- the story also apparently confirms RIM's Foleo-like tablet plans and says the device could be out by the end of the year. Sounds like RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis decided the tablet market is a little clearer than he's been letting on. As we've heard in the past, the tablet will tether to your phone for connectivity instead of sporting its own 3G connection, which is interesting, given that RIM is notoriously proud of how little bandwidth its phones use, and we're guessing a full-screen tablet experience might use just a little more data than the average Pearl. Plus, it would be pretty wild if RIM ended up validating a Palm product idea so seemingly doomed that the company killed it dead just four months after it was announced in 2007 -- we're not saying the times haven't changed dramatically, but we'd note the Celio RedFly has thus far failed to blow up the universe. We'll see -- the WSJ also says the tablet is in the "early stages of development," so anything can change.
