Tablets

SAN FRANCISCO--RIM put the rest of the world on notice that it's not just a boring, yet eminently reliable, buttoned-up smartphone maker anymore.

As was widely rumored, RIM did unveil its first non-smartphone device today at the opening keynote event at its DevCon developer conference here. The company is calling it the PlayBook.

The PlayBook is aimed at people who do more work than play--RIM's calling it "the first professional tablet"--but the company is certainly not ignoring the world outside of the office. In fact, even though RIM is playing very heavily to its reliable, … Read more

Judging from the number of times the words "professional" and "uncompromising" came up during today's Research In Motion announcement, we think it's fair to say the PlayBook isn't positioned to take on Apple as a budget alternative to the iPad. Instead, RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is poised to attack the iPad on the basis of specs, such a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, micro-HDMI output, symmetrical dual-core processing, and support for 1080p HD video playback. It also features both rear-facing (5MP) and front-facing (3MP) cameras, capable of HD video recording and still photos.

The PlayBook also distinguishes itself from other tablets with its size, featuring a 7-inch screen (1,024x600) that falls right between the iPad's 9.7-inch screen and the 5-inch screen of the Dell Streak. In all, the PlayBook's dimensions measure 5.1 inches tall, 7.6 inches wide, and 0.4 inch thick, weighing just under a pound.

On the software end, the PlayBook runs an OS designed from the ground up by BlackBerry, which is compatible with a number of BlackBerry services and apps. The BlackBerry tablet OS also supports Adobe Flash 10.1, WebKit, Java, Open GL, and Adobe Air. Supported video formats include H.264, MPEG4, and WMV, up to 1080p HD resolution (scaled down to the screen's lower native resolution).

Though it seemingly isn't required for users to have a BlackBerry smartphone to use the PlayBook, it certainly doesn't hurt. Existing BlackBerry users can pair with the PlayBook over Bluetooth to provide them with a secure gateway to connect with their BlackBerry e-mail, contacts, calendar, and tasks. In theory, pairing with a BlackBerry phone also allows the PlayBook to take advantage of the phone's cellular data connection for surfing the Web or streaming media, though carriers have yet to weigh in on how far users can take this tethering capability. On its own, the PlayBook features an integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connection.

With all of these specs, the PlayBook has rocketed to the top of our list of the iPad's most legitimate contenders. Of course, there are a number of details RIM neglected to mention that may make the tablet a nonstarter. … Read more

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary from our readers and CNET editors Donald Bell, Jessica Dolcourt, Nicole Lee, and Josh Lowensohn. For those of you who just want the updates, we've included them in regular text here. To get the key points from today's announcement, you can check out our summary of what got announced, in our story here. We've also embedded a short video clip of the PlayBook's introduction.

SAN FRANCISCO--A developer conference can be kind of a snooze for non-programmer folks, but Research In Motion had some rather interesting news to reveal today. After a smattering of reports of an impending BlackBerry tablet hit this spring and summer, RIM took the opportunity during its keynote address at RIM DevCon to show off the BlackBerry PlayBook, which it calls the first professional tablet.

Transcript of live blog starts here:… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Hewlett-Packard is going through a lot of changes as it searches for a new CEO and digests Palm's Web OS, but don't expect it to follow Apple's lead.

"Emulating Apple is not part of our strategy," said HP's Todd Bradley, executive vice president in charge of the company's consumer products division, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010. Bradley was being asked about whether or not its purchase of Palm's WebOS earlier this year was done in hopes of creating a portfolio of portable devices with unique packages of hardware and software, much like … Read more

Kno, which showed off a fancy dual-screen tablet for education earlier this year, said today that it also has plans for a cheaper, single-screen option.

The company is aiming at the education market and had touted the two-screen option as a great way to read and take notes at the same time. However, in announcing the new model on Monday, the company acknowledged that the added glass also adds cost to a product aimed at a cost-sensitive market.

"Even though the Kno pays for itself in 13 months, the smaller up-front investment of the single screen version will allow … Read more

Would you pay $30 to screen a new-release movie on your television at home? Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, and Walt Disney are all in talks with cable TV networks to offer wide-release movies streamed to your TV, so you won't have to wait the three months for titles to show up on demand or on Netflix.

Cable providers like Comcast are already testing this service, but Disney also has plans to stream films on Web-connected gaming devices like the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, with movies ranging from $20 to $30, depending on consumer interest. The services look to solve Hollywood's recent decline in DVD movie purchases in the face of online piracy.

Last year, physical disc sales dropped 13 percent over the previous year's sales. Although there's no word yet on when companies will officially release the solution, won't this just open up self-pirating to anyone with a living room TV and a HD Flip video camera?

In case today's show title spawned dirty thoughts in your head, Pink Kisses is really just a paid service that helps newly single women get through a rough breakup. The Texas-based company offers clients a variety of chocolates, personalized text messages, e-mails, flowers, and even virtual gifts to help women set new goals for their lives and forget about the man (or woman) that broke their heart.

Prices range from affordable all the way up to an unbelievable $272 services that offers three days of encouraging text messages, two "life coaching session," flowers, and "better than sex" truffles. It sounds kind of depressing until you consider how simple the NSFW male equivalent of Pink Kisses would be.

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Sharp is planning to launch a new, cloud-based e-bookstore and two tablets in the Japanese market in December.

The e-bookstore will offer approximately 30,000 newspapers, magazines, and books, the company said today. It will include an "Automatic Schedule Delivery Service" for periodicals, which will allow magazine and newspaper publishers to automatically push new editions to the user's e-reader. Sharp didn't say how much content in the store will cost; it plans to reveal pricing details later this year.

In addition, Sharp introduced two tablets, bearing the Galapagos nickname, that will work with the company's … Read more

Samsung has offered a strong hint that there's a 10-inch version of the Android-powered Galaxy Tab in the pipeline. The 7-inch Tab has attracted loads of attention with its AMOLED touch screen, built-in high definition camera, and ability to make phone calls.

While discussing the availability of the Tab in Ireland, Samsung's local grand poobah Gary Twohig appeared to confirm that there would be different sizes. We could be putting two and two together and coming up with 10, however: although some reports have taken this to mean there will be a 10-inch version, the original report has … Read more

Target will start selling Apple's iPad on October 3, the company announced at a news conference in Minneapolis today.

Target will carry all six versions of the tablet, including the 16-, 32-, and 64GB versions of the iPad with Wi-Fi and the iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G. Prices will start at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model, which is the same price that Apple sells the device for.

A Target spokeswoman told CNET in a phone interview today that the iPad will be included in a special store promotion beginning October 17 that gives customers a 5 percent discount … Read more