Isaiah's Tech

The rumours were right and today, June 5, Sprint has released the WiFi-only BlackBerry Playbook in the US. The tablet features a 7-inch display, 16GB of storage, a dual-core 1GHz CPU, an HDMI output, dual cameras, and an OS made by QNX which is pretty good. The tablet is available right now for $499.99 so you can get one there if you want to.

[Mobile Burn]

BGR has managed to pick up some exclusive information regarding some future RIM devices. First off, they're hearing that the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 might not launch until mid-August which is definitely pretty far from now. Furthermore, the rest of their OS 7 devices won't be announced until their DevCon conference which is on October 18th. Wow, they're definitely keeping us waiting.

That's not all though. Apparently, a new and larger Playbook will be available later this year - unless it gets delayed. The company's next tablet is said to be a 10-incher and this one will be available for the holiday season. Other details are unknown right now but maybe it'll be packing a new quad-core CPU if we're lucky.

[BGR]

As expected, the new BlackBerry Bold is official. It's above and it's being called the Bold 9900 / 9930. Specs for this one include a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, a QWERTY keyboard, an optical trackpad, a 1.2GHz CPU, a 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording, 8GB of internal storage, NFC, HSPA+ support, 768MB of RAM, a 10.5mm body that weighs 130 grams, and OS 7. The new OS will, unfortunately, never hit a previous BlackBerry since they're probably too underpowered to handle it. I assume it'll be on all of the new smartphones that RIM launches this year though.

The Bold 9900 / 9930 has already been announced by one carrier in the US and it's T-Mobile. This one will be available later this year and it looks like it might be ready for a Summer release - I'm guessing July. Check out Engadget if you're looking for a hands-on with the device.

That's not all that was announced today. RIM went on to talk a bit about the Playbook. Gizmodo mentions that RIM will be releasing an update for the Playbook tomorrow that'll give users a Facebook app and, more importantly, a video chat app. Of course, this will only be over WiFi since that's the only model currently available. To cap things off, Mobile Burn has mentioned that WiMAX, LTE, and HSPA+ models of the Playbook will be available this year. At least that's something to look forward to, right?

BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 Official: BGR
BB OS 7 Announced: GSM Arena

Verizon has a bunch of devices that they're just about ready to launch. Their online catalog has told us that the BlackBerry Playbook, the XPERIA Play from Sony Ericsson, and the WP7 powered HTC Trophy are all on the way soon. Furthermore, the BlackBerry Bold 9650, Curve 3G (9330), and the Motorola DROID 2 are all on their way out soon since they've almost ran out of them. Of course, all of their successors should be on the way soon.

Moving along, there's the HP Pavilion dm1 and the Compaq Mini CQ10 notebooks which are both packing LTE if you're willing to pay a hefty monthly fee. Speaking about fees, the LTE tablet plans will cost you $20 for 1GB, $35 for 3GB, $50 for $5GB, and $80 for 10GB - and yes, that's monthly.

[Engadget]

It looks like RIM's BlackBerry Playbook will be hitting a few more places in the future and Sprint might be one of them. Before you get excited keep in mind that this Playbook is just the WiFi model and not the 3G or even the 4G model that you might be waiting for. This model could be hitting Sprint on May 8th, which is in a few weeks, and the pricing should stay the same so it's not that big of a deal.

[BGR]

Yes, it's true! RIM is now shipping their BlackBerry Playbook tablets in North America if you head over to your local Best Buy or their website. The 7-inch dual-core CPU packing tablet is running a new OS made by QNX and it should support Android apps in the future. The tablet will be pretty good for you if you use a BlackBerry as a smartphone. Check them out on Best Buy right now: 16GB here, 32GB here, and 64GB here; it'll cost you $499, $599, and $699, respectively.

[Engadget]

Okay, so maybe the HP Touchpad is not your thing because you're not willing to wait until the Summer or maybe because you love RIM and you look forward to the BlackBerry Playbook supporting Android apps. Whatever the case may be, Bell has just put up the sign-up page for this tablet. The prices are already known and Bell is confirming that it's "Coming Soon". This will be available in under a week, on April 19th. Check it out on Bell.

[Mobile Syrup]

Still waiting on the BlackBerry Playbook from RIM? Well, you can now pre-order one from Radio Shack if you have $499 handy for the 16GB WiFi-only model. The choice is yours if you want to pick this up over an iPad 2 which has a 2.7-inch larger display and a countless number of apps. However, don't forget that the Playbook runs an OS made by QNX and will support Android apps in the future. Furthermore, you can check out reviews for the Playbook now - all you have to do is Google it. Check it out on Radio Shack.

The tablet that you might be waiting for is almost here. The BlackBerry Playbook is now available for pre-order at Office Depot. Prices are the same as the iPad 2 so now you have a choice to make. The 16GB model will cost you $499, 32GB for $599, and 64GB for $699. For now they're only WiFi models so you're going to have to wait a bit more for those 3G and 4G models. Check it out on Office Depot if you want to pre-order one.

Update: BGR has just pointed out that the Playbook will be available at Office Depot starting on April 19th - as expected!

[CrackBerry]

RIM has just announced something extremely great for future BlackBerry Playbook owners and Android app developers. The Playbook will officially support "over 25,000 BlackBerry Java apps and more than 200,000 Android apps." That's great news for everyone because it seems like nowadays it's all about the apps. The bad news is that the Playbook won't be able to run Android apps initially at launch and they'll be demoing the ability to run Android apps at BlackBerry World on May 3 to 5 in Orlando.

[CrackBerry]

3 UK may have just leaked some juicy information regarding some upcoming smartphones. Apparently, Samsung is prepping a Galaxy S2 Mini for the future and the launch is reportedly set for April on the carrier. Specs are going to include a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen display, a 5MP AF camera with an LED flash, a VGA front-facing camera, HSDPA connectivity, WiFi n / Bluetooth support, GPS, a 1.4GHz CPU, WiFi hotspot capabilities, and Android "Gingerbread" with the Touchwiz UI. This is classified as a high-end handset and I'm actually looking to pick this one up because I really like 3.7-inch displays. Don't worry, there's more!

Moving along, it looks like the Symbian^3 based Nokia X7 - that won't be hitting AT&T anymore - will be headed to 3 UK this June, along with the LG Optimus 3D. In May you can expect the 7-inch HTC Flyer tablet and in June you'll be able to pick up a WiFi-only BlackBerry Playbook. Interesting stuff, I'm looking forward to them all!

Wow, another huge Staples leak has just been spotted and it's coming from their training guide - the one below is coming from a "major retailer" as well, but it could also be Staples. If this isn't the year of the tablets then I don't know what is. The leak shows several tablets that'll be launching this year. We'll just go in order starting with the Motorola XOOM which could be launching this week (March 17th) for $649; it's looking like this one will be the WiFi-only model. Next up is RIM's BlackBerry Playbook which could be launching on March 27th for $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), and $699 (64GB). Keep in mind that this date might have moved to April. There's also word on the 7-inch Dell Streak 7 which will be launching in late March / April as well; price for that one should be $449 as well - it's already available on T-Mobile.

Now, for the coming soon tablets we have a bunch of them running on Android "Honeycomb" which is great news. We have the 8.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab which should be announced next week, the Dell Streak 10, a 10-inch Acer, and a 10-inch Toshiba. It's unknown what the 10-inch Acer tablet will be but it could be the Eee Pad EP101TC, which is a complete guess. The 10-inch Toshiba has been teased by them since January but they have yet to make it official. There's also word on a 10-inch HTC Android "Honeycomb" tablet that's on the way. This one hasn't been announced yet but I'm definitely looking forward to it!

Last, but definitely not least there's word on the 10-inch HP Touchpad running on the next version of webOS along with an unannounced 7-inch model. This will likely get announced at the company's next event which is in a few weeks. Amazing stuff!
[DROID-Life, Pre Central]

An upcoming tablet that should be making its way onto the scene soon has just been spotted and tested by the FCC. It's RIM's BlackBerry Playbook and the FCC has confirmed that it'll come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models - exactly like Apple's iPad and iPad 2. Which carrier is this for? Well, we don't know because this is just the WiFi-only model. Launch should be in Q2 which kicks off next month (April). Check it out at the FCC.

[Engadget]

Coming from Mobile Syrup is confirmation of what we already knew. Yes, The Source has just confirmed that the BlackBerry Playbook is headed to Bell in Canada and it should be hitting the other two big carriers as well (Rogers and Telus). They should all be launching it for the same price but it would be more exciting if there was a price war.

[IntoMobile]

Mobile City is back at it again. This time they are actually now taking pre-orders for the upcoming BlackBerry Playbook tablet at $599.99. According to the e-tailer, the retail price is $899 but there's no word on how much internal memory this comes with. The rest of the specs are exactly what you'd expect though. Pre-order one now if you think it's better than the iPad 2.

[Liliputing]

Coming straight from RIM is word that their BlackBerry Playbook will be getting WiFi + LTE and WiFi + HSPA+ models - along with the already-announced WiFi + WiMAX model. Unfortunately, these two new models won't be available until the second half of the year which means sometime from July to December. RIM is looking like they're really taking the competition seriously and they know that they're definitely going to do something big if they want to be relevant in the tablet war. With the next iPad and all of these Android powered tablets on the way, they're going to have a tough time.

[Engadget]