As the tablet market continues to explode, we’re finally hearing that the RIM’s PlayBook is due in the very near future. According to a leaked Office Depot screen shot from Boy Genius Report, the 16GB, Wi-Fi BlackBerry tablet will be released during “week 17” – which puts it somewhere around late April. As BGR points out, the timing seems dead on, since the next week is the BlackBerry World conference in Orlando.
If the image is legit, then earlier reports that RIM would undercut the iPad’s pricetag with the Playbook were off target. According to the memo, the PlayBook will match the iPad’s initial $499 price.
Regardless of its price, the PlayBook was one of the most impressive tablets we saw at CES this year and easily one of the most capable platforms that could break into the corporate market. There will be some challenges though, and we met them this week: HP’s webOS TouchPad and Dell’s Windows-based device. The PlayBook will have a leg up with its release date, and we officially can’t wait for week 17 to arrive.
