PhoneLon

The Blackberry Playbook tablet PC from manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) will attempt to grapple back the market from Apple, which has found huge success with its iPad. The good news is that RIM has actually hit the perfect balance of high tech functionality and software user-friendliness and if you are looking for the first real alternative to the iPad then this is most definitely it.

Although the BlackBerry Playbook release date has yet to be officially announced it is likely to hit the market in March / April 2011. It features a seven inch LCD display with a native resolution of 1024×600. Onboard a 1GHz processor with two physical cores will give it more power than the previous generation of tablets and make sure that it can handle multiple tasks without breaking a sweat.

The BlackBerry Playbook review reveals two cameras, one on the front and one on the rear, provide two different ways to shoot pictures and record video. The five megapixel camera on the rear will be for dedicated snapping whilst the forward-facing three megapixel unit will be great for making video calls in high resolutions. When you have captured pictures and recorded high-def video you will be able to play it back on an HDTV thanks to the Playbooks’ HDMI output. This will also make it perfect for running on the fly presentations, enhancing its business-based functionality.

Connectivity will enhance BlackBerry Playbook review results as it comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which should make it a capable internet surfing machine. Its seven inch screen supports multi-touch interactions for pinch-to-zoom and kinetic scrolling. It will also have a browser which can run Flash and HTML5 websites, which means it will be as capable as any desktop computer when it comes to going online. This gives it the edge over the iPad, which does not support Flash.

The BlackBerry Playbook review ratings are set to be decent, thanks in part to its entirely new operating system, which will be simply known as the Playbook OS. This has been adapted from software created by QNX, a firm acquired by RIM and subsequently amalgamated into its operations. This software is superficially similar to other tablet platforms such as Android and iOS, allowing for web browsing, gaming and downloads. However, it is also much more capable at multitasking thanks to a type of tabbed system which will allow users to scroll sideways between open apps. In demonstrations five or six programmes have been kept running smoothly, with HD video playback, gaming and media operations all able to operate side by side thanks to clever programming and the grunt of its dual-core processor.

The best way to assess whether or not the BlackBerry Playbook price is acceptable for a device which is slightly smaller than the iPad, albeit the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, will be to get your hands on one and attempt a direct comparison. It is thinner than its rivals and thus likely to be more portable, dipping just under one centimetre thick. It is also aimed at being held in a landscape fashion, although auto-rotation of the display orientation via integrated accelerometer should also be present.

The BlackBerry Playbook price has not yet been revealed but it is thought that it could be up to ?100 cheaper than iPad for an  equivalent model, which will make it a very attractive proposition indeed once the release date arrives. With the burgeoning tablet PCs market on an upward trend and with Android 3.0 just around the corner, RIM will need to work hard to ensure that this device makes an impact and that the Blackberry Playbook price is attractive.

It seems everyone is trying to break the tablet PCs market at the moment, details of HP’s Palm Topaz tablet have been leaked online today - rumoured to be one of HP’s own who let slip of the top secret gadget info, something that bosses are understandably furious about. The competition in the tablet market is fierce at the moment with the next few months to bring  the Motorola xoom and Apples iPad 2 making every detail and feature count.

So whats all the fuss about?

The HP Palm Topaz is set to be the first webOS powered tablet featuring a dual core 1.2 GHz proccesor and supporting Palm’s Touchstone wireless charging. It will also have new features such as a dedicated kindle app, a tap-to-share feature, which allows users to share files by bumping two devices together, and a music service in partnership with Amazon.  There seems to be a front facing 1.3MP camera but no back facing camera which seems a little strange and something that may let it down when compared to its rivals and has a micro USB port at the bottom.

Are HP trying to put the Topaz up against the IPad? Well it seems so with a 9.7 inch capacitive screen and clean cut button free casing but the hardware goes above and beyond what the current ipad can offer! They are also covering themselves with a smaller 7-inch model called ‘opal’ which makes their slogan “something big, something small, somethign beyond” make sense, to take on the smaller tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy tab.

The first verison that comes out will be a Wi-Fi only verison of the Topaz but should be followed by HSPA, CDMA, and LTE versions. Apparently the Topaz will have 8 hours standby time and will be availiable in 16, 32 and 54GB variants.

The release date and price of this amazing tablet is yet to be announced but keep an eye on the blog and we will keep you up to date with all the information.

What do you think of the Topaz? Do you think it deserves the tagline- “Something big, something small, something beyond”? Let us know what you think in the comment box below!

Reviewer Dana Wollman of the Associated Press writes that the Mac App Store “has made downloading software on a Mac computer as easy as it is on an iPhone.” Wollman calls the Mac App Store “revolutionary,” noting that it “has encouraged software developers to create apps no one ever thought of before and encouraged consumers to take chances on software from developers they’ve never heard of.”

As General Electric builds technologies that transform the way we live, it’s channeling the equally transformative power of iPad, iPhone, and in-house apps to generate new business possibilities. Says Linda Boff, Global Director of Marketing Communications at General Electric: “We’re always thinking about what’s next. How can technology make lives better and help our customers be more efficient? iPad and iPhone are wonderful ways to inspire us and help us get GE there.”