BlackBerry PlayBook : Actual Unit Photos, Specifications, Features, First Impressions

Just last night, Oliver Pilgerstorfer - Senior Public Relations Manager of Research in Motion Asia Pacific - and VirtusioPR gave us a preview of the much talked about BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Oliver showed us the stunning hardware and walked us through the device's spanking new operating system, powerful multitasking and browser capabilities and full HD recording and playback features among others.


Oliver with Mark Milan of TechPinas


Oliver giving a preview of BlackBerry PlayBook



All that happened inside this really cool BlackBerry PlayBook bus --


It's a different gadget preview experience, really. Quite nice.


I have to hand to Oliver and VirtusioPR Team for the cool roving event. I had fun.

BlackBerry PlayBook Overview:

Research in Motion touts BlackBerry PlayBook as the world’s first dual core, multi-processing, multi-tasking, ultra-thin, enterprise-ready, professional-grade tablet.

The BlackBerry PlayBook, which is set to be released in the US on April 19, 2011 with price ranging from $499-699, is designed to give users uncompromised web browsing with full Adobe Flash support, true multitasking and high performance multimedia, while also providing advanced security features that the BlackBerry brand is known for, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a breakthrough development platform for IT departments and developers.

Actual Unit Photos:













Complete Specifications:

Dimensions
Height: 5.1" or 130mm
Width: 7.6" or 194mm
Depth: 0.4" or 10mm
Weight: 0.9lbs or 425g

Screen and Display
7-inch LCD display, 1024 x 600 screen resolution
Multi-touch capacitive screen

Processor
1 GHz dual-core processor
1 GB RAM
Symmetric multi-processing

Browser Capabilities
Games, media, apps and everything the real Internet offers
Full Adobe Flash 10.1 enabled
Built-in support for HTML 5
No-compromise rendering of text, graphics and video

Connectivity Support
3G network access using your BlackBerry smartphone as a modem
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR

Amplified BlackBerry experience
Wirelessly connect to your BlackBerry smartphone for real time access to:
• Email, calendar, address book, task list and BBM

Multimedia Features
3 MegaPixel forward-facing camera
5 MP rear-facing camera
Codec support for superior media playback, creation and video calling
1080p HD video; H.264, MPEG4, WMV HDMI video output
Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports

Video-conferencing
Crystal clear HD display
Rich stereo sound
Dual HD video cameras

Business Features
Out-of-the-box compatibility with BlackBerry Enterprise Server
Seamless pairing for a secure window into your BlackBerry smartphone
Corporate data access
Secure and manageable

BlackBerry Tablet OS
Powerful, user friendly QNX technology: "It’s what the World Wide Web runs on." - RIM
Multi-processing for true multitasking

Application ecosystem
Rapid development environment
Reliable BlackBerry Tablet OS, powered by QNX technology
Supports POSIX OS, SMP, Open GL, BlackBerry 6, WebKit, Adobe Flash,
Java and Adobe Mobile AIR

Key Features:

Here are the 7 key features of BlackBerry PlayBook according to Research in Motion,

1. Ultra portable, ultra thin and super convenient for both work and play - Measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound, the BlackBerry PlayBook features a vivid 7” high resolution display that looks and feels great in your hand.

2. Multitasking powerhouse - Its groundbreaking performance is jointly fueled by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the new BlackBerry Tablet OS which supports symmetric multiprocessing, to provide users with true multitasking and a highly-responsive and fluid touch screen experience for apps and content services.

3. Uncompromised Web Browsing - With support for Adobe Flash Player 10, Adobe Mobile AIR and HTML-5, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides customers with an uncompromised, high-fidelity web experience and offers them the ability to enjoy all of the sites, games and media on the web.

4. High Performance Multimedia - Includes dual HD cameras for video capture and video conferencing, an HDMI-out port for presenting one's creations on external displays, rich stereo sound and a media player that rivals the best in the industry.

5. BlackBerry Integration - It will also be possible to pair the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry smartphone using a secure Bluetooth connection (BlackBerry Bridge) to allow users to seamlessly and securely view email, PIM and BBM content that resides on (or is accessible through) their smartphone.

6. Enterprise Ready - BlackBerry PlayBook is enterprise ready and compatible (out-of-the-box) with BlackBerry Enterprise Server (via BlackBerry Bridge – secure Bluetooth pairing and VPN support). When connected via BlackBerry Bridge, the smartphone's email and PIM content (BIS and BES) is viewable on the tablet. Users can also respond to messages, etc. The content actually remains stored on the BlackBerry smartphone and is only temporarily cached on the tablet (and subject to IT policy controls if the smartphone is on a BES). When the BlackBerry Bridge connection is broken all that data is wiped off the BlackBerry PlayBook.

7. QNX Neutrino Reliability - The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built upon the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture, one of the most reliable, secure and robust operating system architectures in the world.

TP First Impressions

Harware

BlackBerry PlayBook is really compact. I think it's only around half the size of Apple iPad with footprint of approximately half a sheet of short bond paper.

The device is only 10 millimeters thin and yet you'd be surprised at how solid it feels in the hand. Made of glass and metal, BB PlayBook case exudes an aura of class and durability.

The back has a matte finish, which makes it easy to grip and quite resistant to fingerprints.

One thing I particularly like about PlayBook's design is that the 'black margins' on the sides of screen has a function other than serving as a place where you can rest your fingers while using the device. With BB PlayBook, you can use the margins to quickly switch between apps, close apps and launch the apps catalog, among other things. More about 'margin-screen' gestures when we get our review unit.

Software

Disclaimer: The device that was previewed is a pre-production unit.

While both BlackBerry 6 OS on BlackBerry Torch (read TechPinas' BlackBerry Torch Review via the link) and BlackBerry Tablet OS on BB PlayBook share that over-all BB feel, I think that they are hardly alike.: BlackBerry PlayBook is NOT running a smartphone operating system. RIM didn't name it's platform BlackBerry Tablet OS for nothing.

There are three things I absolutely love about PlayBook's OS:

1. True, compromised multitasking - This means that you can actually play music or HD videos in the background while surfing the web or playing a 3D game. You can even do all of those side by side in one screen -- if ever you find that practical.

2. It amplifies your BB smartphone experience - If you want to instantly take your BlackBerry smartphone experience to a higher level, all you have to do is to wirelessly connect it to the tablet. With BB PlayBook, you get a better email, calendar and BBM experience, to name a few.

3. Full HD playback and Flash support - This means that you get a full multimedia and full web experience on BlackBerry PlayBook. No compromises. Even Youtube on PlayBook looks exactly the same way as you would see it on a notebook.

More about this tablet on TP soon. Kindly stay tuned for updates.