We all know that Research In Motion is working on a tablet which could be a competitor to the Apple iPad and a story out of the Wall Street Journal suggests that the “BlackPad” may be formally announced next week at the company’s annual developer meeting.
The publication cites “people familiar with RIM’s plans” but it also nailed the EVO 4G announcement before it was officially introduced at CTIA. Often times, these unnamed sources are high-ranking executives in the company who are trying to build up buzz for the device or event.
Next week is the RIM BlackBerry Developer Conference, so it would be the perfect time to introduce a new platform and get developers ready to create apps for the BlackPad. We’ve heard that the BlackPad could launch in November, so the timing does seem about right.
We still don’t know much about this potential Apple iPad competitor, which is surprising considering all the leaks RIM has had with its BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackPad could just be a companion device to the BlackBerry, which means it could have WiFi and Bluetooth but it will skip the 3G connectivity because it will use the smartphone’s mobile data connection.
The Wall Street Journal said it will have a 7-inch screen like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and it should have at least one camera. Other specs like the processor or screen resolution aren’t know.
The company may not use the BlackBerry 6 operating system which was just introduced with the BlackBerry Torch, as the BlackPad may run QNX software. This would further lend credence to an introduction next week because devs would need some time to optimize apps for the tablet experience.
Well, it should be an interesting conference next week in San Francisco. You can be sure that the IntoMobile team will be there giving you up-to-the-minute updates on the BlackPad, BlackBerry and whatever else RIM has in store.
[Via The Wall Street Journal]