BlackBerry Tablet Confirmed, Supports Flash

HouseMuzik writes "Betanews' Tim Conneally reports that sources close to RIM have confirmed the existence of a BlackBerry Tablet device, with a ship date by the end of the year. Previous reporting on the device was confirmed by the source, including a 7" screen and a 1GHz processor. The source added that the device would support Flash, and would include a hardware-based Flash accelerator. Betanews' reporting seems to confirm an earlier report that quoted Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar as saying the BlackBerry Tablet indeed existed."

Comments

Re:Guarunteed way for success

[gstoddart]

Make ANY tablet able to function as a Wacom or Cintiq, including the pressure sensitivity. You will lock in the Internet Comic business almost instantly.

Ummm ... is the Internet Comic business sufficiently large as to cause any large corporation to factor it into its demographics when designing a mass-appeal product?

It sounds a little like "left handed goat herders who program in scheme".

but creating a niche product that has been requested by pretty much everyone in the industry would certainly be a smart move

RIM doesn't want a 'niche product'. They want something as many people as possible will buy. The internet comics crowd? Maybe not so much.

Re:Memo from Jobs to Balsilie

[mdwh2]

Which is indeed what Jobs and some people here no doubt believe, but remember it's not true. Tablets were around before the Islate or whatever they called it, and they're still not mainstream after Apple's tablet. No doubt they will become more popular in time, but this is a gradual change due to increased technology (hence things like touchscreens, prices falling, cheaper mobile Internet connections), and there is no reason to single out Apple as a sole cause.

What has happened is that we now have vast amounts of media hype over Apple's tablet. But this happened before it was even released - or even officially announced in fact. So had nothing to do with any success it did or didn't have (and indeed, the causative link would be the other way round - vast amounts of media hype leads to better sales, not vice versa).

If we're going to credit anyone with popularising tablets, thank the media. But it's still very rare for me to see anyone with a tablet (and when I have, it wasn't from Apple).

Apple entered the phone market after most other companies - so they had to wait until other companies told them it was okay to release a phone now...

(RIM still have higher market share in phones than Apple, don't they? Although they're still small compared to companies like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola).

Re:Flash, that big a deal?

[netsavior]

My wife's netbook broke a few weeks before iPad launched and she was looking at getting one then: Wait, what? Hulu doesn't work on iPad, then what the heck is it for? Never mind, I'll just get another netbook. Sure I know that they have Hulu plus now, but for my wife who is more technical than some, but by no means a Slashgeek... Flash was a dealbreaker.

Re:Flash, that big a deal?

[Steve S]

Although I program in and use Flash daily, actual flash support was not a dealbreaker when I chose to get an android phone. It was important, sure, but not a dealbreaker. The dealbreaker was WHY flash isn't supported on apple products. It's clearly not a technical limitation since it can be installed on a jailbroken ipad and works well even through a compatibility layer http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/07/how-to-install-flash-on-your-jailbroken-ipad-for-real/. It's entirely political. I don't want to be told what I'm allowed to install or not. My devices are MY devices.