RIM sets price for PlayBook in Australia

Jun 8, 2011 2:54 PM
Filed under Hardware

Available within a fortnight.

Introducing the PlayBook. Its multi-touch screen supports 1080p HD video.	A slide from RIM's marketing. The device features most of what you would expect from a tablet - ...	The PlayBook is 5.1" x 7.6" x 0.4" (130mm x 194mm x 10mm), and weighs 400 grams. It connects via ...
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Research in Motion has announced plans to sell the PlayBook tablet in Australia from 20 June at a starting price of $579.

The company will sell the WiFi-only devices with 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB storage respectively from retailer Harvey Norman.

The device will also be available from mobile carriers Telstra, Optus and VHA.

Users of the tablet will require a BlackBerry handset to be able to connect the PlayBook to a mobile network.

This could open the possibility that telcos would bundle BlackBerry plans with the PlayBook to encourage mobile data and secure email use on the tablet device.

Representatives from VHA and Optus were tight-lipped when queried on this possibility today.

Telstra was unable to respond at the time of publication.

The tablet received mixed reviews when it launched in the United States in April.

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1 comment in this discussion

"We've had a 16GB Playbook for about a month. So far, so good, however very light on apps. My team are looking at utilising the Playbook as an integrated support tool via their BB Torch handhelds, ..."

By em3

Tags

rim, sell, playbook, australia, telstra, vha, optus, harvey norman

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Comments: 1

em3

Jun 8, 2011 5:41 PM

We've had a 16GB Playbook for about a month.
So far, so good, however very light on apps.

My team are looking at utilising the Playbook as an integrated support tool via their BB Torch handhelds, however very limited access to any worthwhile support software at this stage and still quite a few bugs in the Playbook OS.

RIM Support have been fantastic. They answer their phones and have helped my staff with queries and issues on at least 5 occasions. Very impressive and they actually know what a Playbook is / how it works.

The 7 inch screen is very clear and well-sized. Multi-media is on par with iPad and audio is provided by stereo speakers on the front panel.

Swiping and gestures are similar to BB Torch, iPhone, etc.

Integration with BB handheld email, calendar, etc is excellent - single mailbox but shared across multiple devices without any additional configuration.

No 3G SIMs and data plans, it shares internet via BB or WiFi automatically when in range.

Availability of Android apps (to be announced soon by RIM) will provide a 'App Player' style access on the Playbook which will open up this device to be most useful.

We're now integrating the Playbook with our private cloud platform so customers and our engineers can manage cloud applications via tablet.

Cheers,

Darren.

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