Telecom Lead America: Research In Motion (RIM) has
launched 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in Canada.
The launch will be a big boost for regaining confidence among
developers and enterprise users who got a bad news when RIM said the launch
of new smartphones and BlackBerry 10 OS will be delayed.
The 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will come with 32GB
of memory storage and will be available from Bell, Rogers and TELUS in Canada
on August 9, 2012.
Additional variants of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet
supporting various high speed cellular networks are expected to be available in
the coming months from carriers in the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America
and the Caribbean.
RIM did not mention about its launch plans in Asia.
Asia Pacific will lead the 4G LTE market by 2016. Large
gains will be in South Korea and Japan. The Asia & Pacific region will
overtake North America in number of 4G/LTE subscribers. Asia & Pacific will
have more than 53 percent of 4G/LTE subscribers. Globally, the total number of
subscribers will be over 560 million by 2016.
Fifteen carriers in Asia & Pacific now have live LTE
services, with affordable pricing models that prompt robust subscriber growth
in this region. 4G/LTE subscribership will increase from 9 million in 2011 to
over 560 million in 2016. In 2016, 4G/LTE subscribers will account for 8.8
percent of worldwide mobile subscriptions, according to Parks Associates
The new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook allows customers to
work productively and connect to the Internet, as well as access their email,
on-line apps, media and content, from more places than ever.
David J. Smith, executive vice president, Mobile
Computing at Research In Motion, said the new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook offers
premium features, including a 7 inch display, front and rear facing HD video
cameras, HDMI out and stereo speakers.
It features the latest BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2 software.
The 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet gives customers
access to high speed mobile networks around the world (LTE and HSPA+).
It can be managed with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and
includes BlackBerry Balance technology, which allows a user to use a BlackBerry
PlayBook for both work and personal purposes by keeping business information
highly secure and separate from personal information.
