The BlackBerry ''Blackpad'' to Take on Apple iPad
Maybe there someday be an XL version called the Blackboard.
Apple busted into the tablet market with the iPad and now the competitors readying their offerings. Bloomberg is the latest to report that BlackBerry maker RIM is working on a tablet many believe will be called the "Blackpad."
The device will apparently have a 9.7-inch screen, just like the iPad. The RIM tablet will also have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the later supposedly so that BlackBerry users can use their cell phone's data connection to tether their Blackpads.
Pricing is said to be inline with the iPad, so expect it to be around $500. Sources also tell Bloomberg that the tablet will have both front and rear facing cameras for video conferencing – perhaps something that will be applied to the business marketplace for meetings.
Considering that RIM already owns the domain Blackpad.com, the name is nearly a sure thing.
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Except for the UI and logos, it lookes the same as the iPad.
They probably just gonna rebrand the $200 apad and call it blackberry.
Except for the UI and logos, it lookes the same as the iPad.
... and the UI is worse...
Will it have other ipad features ? like the overheating issues ?
similar to ipad..but we can expect less problems
'This is just a mockup'
Does any of you actually ever read the article:s
thats a horrible shoop of the iPad. either this is fake, or they really need to fire their graphic designer.
also, 'blackpad'? seriously?
i do hope this isn't true...
Blackpad. Its a black ipad. Very creative with both name and design.
The Ipad is magical, the Blackpad is Sorcery, both make 500 bucks disappear
I realize that this is just a mock-up but it's a terrible mock-up. Better have nothing than this.
Blackbery shouldn't be charging an Apple premium for their products, make this cost around 425 and it will sell like hotcakes
thats a horrible shoop of the iPad. either this is fake, or they really need to fire their graphic designer. also, 'blackpad'? seriously? i do hope this isn't true...
It sure beats I-PAD
I really hope there is a usb port in the final product because I don't see any from the picture. Also I really hope that blackberry didn't just copy Apple and instead plans on actually producing a product that is worthwhile.
I used Blackboard in school, and it crashes all the time.
"Except for the UI and logos, it lookes the same as the iPad."

How different can you made a slate PC?.. However I do like the black more than white.. even so, I still can't think what i'd use this or the ipad for..
for the same price you could get a convertible 10" tablet pc with keyboard AND multitouch, flash support, windows 7, usb ports, front facing webcam, and the list goes on, just no 3g and a lower resolution screen.
Same pricing, wheres all the Apple haters complaining about price of this tablet?
What they don't tell you is you will need a Enterprise BES Server for corporate use
Considering how the market has developed after the release of the iPad (or iPhone, or iPod...) the Apple haters are missing something in their arguments. Sure, Apple products tend to be more expensive, and no, there was nothing magical or revolutionary about the hardware in the ipad, and they do occasionally make mistakes (hardware design, PR, etc.), but they sure do have a way of shaping and defining entire product segments, and even creating new ones from scratch. Perhaps some apads or this 'blackpad' will in fact be superior to the iPad in some ways, but remember that they owe their very existence to the iPad, Apple, and in no small part to Steve Jobs. Even if you never buy an apple product, hate Steve (who could blame you?) and disdain their closed platform philosophy, you have to see that they are an incredibly powerful driving force, and they sure spur innovation and competition. And that's the cornerstone of the free market ideology. I'd wager that today, even the apple haters own at least one device that would not exist without Apple.
I used Blackboard in school, and it crashes all the time.
Did you update to the latest firmware?
...they sure do have a way of shaping and defining entire product segments, and even creating new ones from scratch.
When have they ever created a new segment from scratch?
All of their products are derivatives of other products. The CrunchPad was far more influential in starting this market than the iPad, Apple just took that idea and marketed it, which is all they ever do, market other people's good ideas, most notably most of the good ideas from Xerox PARC.
Nope they all owe their existance to other products before them, including the Crunchpad, Kindle and everything else that broke ground before them, and that's only the recent 4 or 5th iteration, with the Fujitsu Stylistic I owned before that, the Newton before that, and then the Xerox and IBM tablet products before that.
They don't spur innovation and have alot less patents to show for it than people like IBM, Xerox, intel, Samsung, etc.
But they are a powerful driving force for, and a testament to... PR and marketing, which is why their fanbois and other ignorant people think they are innovative. Even their 'cutting-edge designs' are re-adaptation of things like Braun's designs from the 60s;
http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-br [...] les-future
I'd take that wager, but you'd still think you'd won it despite being totally wrong!
I guess what I like most about this device is that it doesn't have an apple-shaped logo on the back of it. Don't know how the rest of it compares, but so far it doesn't look terrible.
Perhaps some apads or this 'blackpad' will in fact be superior to the iPad in some ways, but remember that they owe their very existence to the iPad, Apple, and in no small part to Steve Jobs..
WRONG... Alan Kay thought of it first way back before you were probably a glimmer in your daddy's eye.
Do any of you understand that's a photoshopped mock up?? Jeezus some people scare me on here.
It beats the iPad for 1 very good reason. Its on a Verizon Network instead of AT&T.
Late to the dance as usual.
Wow, a big screen to do what I can already do on my phone, no thanks, I'll stick with my Blackberry Bold.
RIM's core market is Enterprise and there's a lot of IT departments that already support BB products. If RIM can release a tablet that ties in nicely with that system, and offers companies some decent enterpise software, they could own the enterpise tablet market.
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http://www.blackpadforums.net
'This is just a mockup'Does any of you actually ever read the article:s
No. Not when anything related to Apple or Apple products are mentioned. The fanboys scroll straight to the comments section to deliver their usual nonsense. I guess you haven't been reading Tom's for a very long time.
Just to rub Apple noses in it, the "Pad" moniker was used by IBM first with the Thinkpad range of laptops, more recently done by Lenovo. Tablets in general have been available for general usage for 10 years. This formfactor has existed since the Kindle. The smartphone has been around for years with multiple vendors. The MP3 player was around before the iPod (and the interface it uses was stolen from Creative). The Apple logo was stolen from the Beatles. They stole the Mouse & GUI from Xerox.
The only thing magical about Apple is the way they can bend the laws of reality to make people think they innovate when they do a very good PR job of theft, smoke and mirrors.
Apple have the happy knack of making difficult things appear reall simple, something PC manufacturers - quite possibly due to Microsoft - struggle with.
A good example is DTP, Pagemaker and Indesign are ideal on Apple, but frustrating on PC.
Same goes with iPod, iPhone and now iPad, nothing new, but really well packaged for humans.
Having said that, Blackberry has the business market sewn up, admit work blackberry craps all over personal iPhone for business, but give me a iPhone for when it is my time, I think the same will go for 'BlackPad' when it is released, it will have business users, iPad will have after hours users.