A tip sent into skatter tech suggests the BlackBerry PlayBook may land at Verizon Wireless. The tipster sent in the URL for a website that is apparently a registration page for a beta program to demo the PlayBook on Verizon’s network. The portal landing page confirms the beta program is closed and contains links to a FAQs, a Confidentiality agreement, a Privacy policy and Terms and Conditions.
The about page has all the salient details about RIM’s tablet as well as the obligatory Verizon logos. The source of this information tracked down the domain name information for this website and confirmed that it is owned by Marketing Werks, a marketing agency that has worked with Verizon and RIM in the past. Various documents also refer to a Verizon Corporate Customer Pilot Program as well as the well-known BlackBerry BetaZone program.
Earlier this year, Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion, confirmed that a version of BlackBerry PlayBook will launch with Sprint 4G connectivity. This tablet will go head-to-head with other 4G tablets including the Motorola XOOM and the LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab. Sprint may not be the only carrier to offer the BlackBerry tablet as a recent rumor hints at the existence of an AT&T-branded PlayBook that will run on the carrier’s 3G network. That same source also suggested RIM is working on an LTE-enabled model.
While we have heard rumors of various PlayBook models, none of the previous leaks point to Verizon as a potential carrier. This above document is the first leak that hints at this variant of the PlayBook. A Verizon version would make sense for RIM as the Canadian company would want to maximize its distribution channels to compete with the XOOM, the Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad.
Before you get your hopes up, the FAQs on the website confirm that “Verizon is working with RIM on overall support of the BlackBerry PlayBook, however Verizon has not made any public statements or announcements.” This beta program may simply be a pilot to test functionality of the device on Verizon’s network. It is not necessarily a concrete confirmation that a subsidized, branded model is coming down the pike for customers of Big Red.
Thanks to Sony for sending this in!
[Via Skatter tech and PlayBookWithoutLimits]