Hasta La Gadget!

The PlayBook may not have taken off in the consumer market, but its enterprise-friendly features may help it find a home elsewhere — especially now that it’s packing a speedy 4G radio. Fresh on the heels of the LTE edition hitting Canadian shores, Intergraph has unveiled its Mobile Responder app that turns RIM’s slate into a formidable tool for police and other emergency responders. The app taps into the company’s Computer Aided Dispatch system, which pulls in data from police databases, keeps dispatch centers just a tap away and allows the immediate filing of incident reports. The suite is getting its first public demo next week at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Nova Scotia. For more, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading PlayBook Mobile Responder app puts police tools in a finger-friendly package

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

PlayBook Mobile Responder app puts police tools in a finger-friendly package originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM has launched the 4G LTE version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, adding high-speed wireless data connectivity to the 7-inch QNX tablet. Much rumored over the past year, the LTE PlayBook will arrive in Canada on August 9 initially, before broader availability follows “in the coming months” in the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Initially it seems only one version of the PlayBook will be offered with 4G LTE, packing 32GB of storage. It will drop on Bell, Rogers and TELUS, though other “high speed” variants will follow on; that’s presumably going to include LTE for Verizon and/or AT&T in the US, and whatever HSPA+ or LTE carriers are on offer in the other launch countries.

Aside from the LTE support, the new PlayBook is functionally identical to the existing model we reviewed last year. That means HDMI output, a dual-core TI processor, front and rear cameras and stereo speakers. The PlayBook OS 2.0 update also addressed some of the early criticisms, such as the tablet’s reliance on a tethered BlackBerry phone for email and other data.

Pricing for the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook is yet to be confirmed, and will likely depend in no small part on what carrier subsidies are on offer. Meanwhile we’re also expecting a 10-inch version, though that’s yet to be officially announced.

4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook official: Canada on August 9 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Apple iPad may as well be called the Teflon Tablet for now, since challengers can’t quite stick. Thanks to those 17 million iPads shipped in the second quarter, Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple held on to the 68 percent of tablet market share that IDC credited to the company in the previous season. That may not sound like a change in the status quo, but it’s a significant jump from the 62 percent Apple had a year ago — and not very good news for anyone else. Android is still holding on at 29.3 percent, although that’s slightly underwhelming given the surge of extra devices in that time frame. The real hurt was dished out to Windows 7 tablets and “others” like RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook, both of whom were cut down to just 1.2 points of share each in the spring. We’ll see if the newer crowd moves the needle for Android in the summer, although the well-received Nexus 7’s current scarcity won’t help its chances — and both Microsoft as well as RIM are in holding patterns for the next several months.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Strategy Analytics: iPad keeps riding high in Q2 tablet market share, Android doesn’t budge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been holding out for a BlackBerry PlayBook with LTE connectivity, you apparently won’t have to wait much longer. MobileSyrup has scored some info that shows the long-awaited tablet will finally be landing next week, or on July 31st to be exact. That date comes by the way of Bell Canada, just one of the carriers planning to offer the LTE variant of the tablet when it does go on sale.

The 7-inch slate will come with 32GB of storage, so it looks like RIM was serious when it said it would no longer 16GB as an option. Better yet, the processor will also see a bump to a 1.5Ghz dual-core model, although it’s not clear if it’s the same TI OMAP processor or perhaps one of Qualcomm’s offerings with an integrated LTE modem. The other specs remain the same, including 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 3-megapixel front-facing camera, plus PlayBook OS 2.0.

If you want a LTE connected PlayBook, you’ll be paying $549.99 unsubsidized. If that sounds fair, then you only have to wait a week or so, and you can take comfort in the fact that RIM will upgrade the tablet to BlackBerry 10 when the operating system launches early next year, assuming the company can overcome its financial and market troubles.

[via Engadget]

LTE BlackBerry PlayBook due on July 31st for $550 is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Awhile ago we had confirmation of the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook, and not long after that we saw it visit the FCC. Well, it looks like the tablet is finally on its way to retail outlets. The folks over at Mobilesyrup managed to get their hands on a screenshot of the launch plans for the tablet. The 4G LTE-capable tablet is scheduled to hit retail outlets in Canada on July 31st and will carry a price tag of $549.95 (539 USD). No word on a US release date though.

As for the specs of the tablet, it will have a 7″ 1024 x 600 display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, 1GB of RAM, 5-megapixel rear camera, 3-megapixel front facing camera, a 4,800mAh battery and will only come in a 32GB version. Not sure how well it’s going to sell in this day and age, especially when RIM isn’t exactly on top of its game but this LTE tablet should make a good alternative for those of you who don’t want to pick up a Windows/Android/iOS device. Anybody looking forward to the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: RIM confirms 16GB Blackberry Playbook discontinuation, 16GB Blackberry Playbook appears to have been discontinued,