Monday was a big day for RIM as they announced the long-rumored BlackBerry PlayBook. tablet, previously known as the BlackBerry BlackPad (Cobalt), and powered by the recently-acquired QNX operating system. The media jumped on to praise the device, but there was also a good amount of criticism circulating the blogosphere.
There are no doubts in my mind that PlayBook is an awesome piece of technology. Scrap that, it’s the fastest and most powerful modern tablet announced to date. However, does that necessarily mean it will be a smashing success? Will it succeed at all?
Let me briefly guide you through platforms competing with BlackBerry Tablet OS:
- iOS – Apple’s platform that is used on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The iPad was and still is a huge success for the Cupertino-based company. iOS is a closed system but it does have a huge following thanks to the great user experience. iOS is also boosted by the runaway success of the iTunes AppStore, which offers customers a highly integrated distribution portal for all kinds of mobile apps, allowing them to pay with a single click. With the most mobile apps of any other app store in the world, Apple’s iOS is the clear leader in consumer-focused smartphones and tablets.
- Android – Google’s ever-growing platform that will be used by quite a few tablet makers in the coming months and throughout next year. We know Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG, Dell, Acer, ViewSonic and Archos are already on board with more companies waiting in line. For now, Android isn’t yet optimized to deal with the larger screen sizes and higher screen resolutions used on tablets, but work is ongoing in Google’s Mountain View headquarters to bring the next, tablet-optimized, version of Android to market. In fact, tablet makers are likely already playing with the still-in-development versions of Android. The Android OS boasts an impressive catalog of mobile apps, but has yet to roll out a convenient and integrated distribution and payment platform for apps and media.
- MeeGo – the joint venture between Intel and Nokia, both of which will do their best for MeeGo to succeed. Intel wants its chips in tablets and Nokia needs a platform for high-end devices. If they execute properly and show us something really cool in Dublin, media (IntoMobile included) will love them. The two companies definitely have resources to pull this off. Meego will be the spearhead of Nokia’s plan to break into the US smartphone market starting next year.
- webOS – as you know, HP now owns Palm and their webOS. Again, everything is about execution here. webOS is an awesome starting point and I’m sure HP will find a way to impress us at the upcoming CES in January (maybe even before?). webOS had the potential to unseat the iPhone as the king of smartphones, but was unfortunately tied to hardware that was just too weak to keep up with the multi-tasking monster that is webOS. Palm’s Apple-esque marketing strategy was also a shot in the proverbial foot – there aren’t many companies that can successfully market a product the way Apple does, and there’s good reason for that. HP also has sufficient resources to make webOS a success.
- Windows – speaking of resources, let’s not forget about Microsoft. Although their marketshare has been falling for the last couple of month, the Redmond giant knows it can’t miss the mobile market. Despite management mis-guidance on Windows Mobile’s attractiveness to potential smartphone customers, Microsoft has finally realized the error of its ways and is hard at work to launch the completely revamped Windows Phone 7 platform. It’s not yet clear how Windows Phone 7 will affect the tablet market, but the fact that WP7 isn’t free will likely have an affect on adoption.
As you can see from the list above, RIM is facing a tough competition. If it’s all about the money (and it isn’t) – they don’t stand a chance. They rely on their own proprietary (and closed) system, something only Apple and HP do. But RIM is not Apple nor HP. RIM has an installed user base of enterprise customers that are only now starting to consider non-BlackBerry solutions for business. That’s why the PlayBook is so important right now. It may still be a long time before we see the BlackBerry tablet getting any hands-on time from the media, but RIM has announced to its enterprise customers that they will have a tablet as well – no need to go running to Apple or Google for competing tablet solutions.
There’s an argument to be made about QNX. From what I’ve read, it’s a rock-solid OS, but that again, doesn’t mean people will embrace BlackBerry’s tablet. Back in the days, IBM’s OS/2 was way more powerful than what Microsoft was offering. As we all know, OS/2 is history today, whereas Windows is still dominating the desktop/notebook market.
I’ve already questioned RIM’s prospects before, now I’m asking you – do you think the BlackBerry PlayBook has a future? Can it compete with other tablets? Sound off in the comments!