BlackBerry PlayBook tablet review: because tablets need their own playtime too

Most tablet OEMs appear to be centered about the desire to dethrone Apple's iPad from its current position in the form of an "iPad killer". And just when you thought the entire tablet war is going to be fought solely between the likes of Android and iOS, out comes Research In Motion (RIM) to surprise the world with its BlackBerry-powered, enterprise-centric PlayBook, which is seemingly designed to compete against the former on a completely different level. But is RIM's unique take on tablet computing enough for it to carve out a sizable portion of the pie for itself in this highly competitive market?

As far as most people are concerned, the battle for the tablet market is going to be fought only two fronts, namely with the likes of Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating system, right? Well, not if RIM has got anything to say about it, especially now that its PlayBook tablet has already been released for retail in many parts of the world. However, with the force of inertia working against it due to its late entry, it is vital that RIM's PlayBook be capable of delivering a sleek and polished product which can provide users with a very compelling reason to give its own BlackBerry OS some serious consideration for their next tablet purchase, and perhaps even ditch iOS and Android in the process.

And does it? Well, that is something which we shall find out very soon. But before that, here is a list of the PlayBook's hardware specifications for reference, so that you can fomulate a rough idea of what to expect from RIM's maiden entry into the lucrative tablet PC market: