RIM Brings Out BlackBerry Playbook For $499, Plans To Compete WIth iPad2

BlackBerry Playbook http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The 7' tablet from RIM, Blackberry Playbook the iPad Challenger, that Steve Jobs went so low to chide will be released on April 19th for $400 and has a bunch of carrier and retail shelves lined up to market it to the masses. The 16GB edition with WiFi ($499) will be available from stores such as Bestbuy and matches the Apples iPad 2 pricing and most other things except the 9.7" screen. There might be people who would like the smaller size. Other sizes, 32GB ($599), 64GB($699) also match Apple's lineup.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet that is already being widely praised as a multi-tasking powerhouse with an uncompromised web experience and an ultra-portable design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President & Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “Given the high level of customer interest in the BlackBerry PlayBook, we are particularly pleased to be working with such an amazing lineup of retail partners.”

The BestBuy USA and Canada will carry the device and will begin accepting orders as of today. In addition, AT&T, Office Depot, RadioShack, Staples, Sprint and Verizon will also carry the device.

BlackBerry PlayBook Specifications

7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
1 GHz dual-core processor
BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
1080p HDMI output
Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
1 GB RAM memory
Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support

Sorry Jobs, they did not supply sand paper with it as you wanted. Well, you can't have everything you want!
Via RIM