It seems like RIM has not given up its tablet aspirations, yet, despite the first PlayBook being a financial disaster for the BlackBerry maker. Vietnamese site Tinhte has acquired photographs of the 4G version of the current PlayBook as well as a bigger variant, which is sporting a 10-inch display. We had all heard about RIM preparing a 10-inch variant but it was thought that the project had been cancelled.

The latest rumors indicate that RIM could launch the 4G variant of the current PlayBook on July 31, which is tomorrow. We are not sure why anyone would buy a PlayBook right now after what happened with the original PlayBook. Probably RIM is already sitting on an inventory of these PlayBooks and would like to clear them off, we do not know. Having said that, the PlayBook is the only currently available product in the market that will be updated to BlackBerry 10 whenever RIM launches its next generation operating system.

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As we predicted earlier in the day RIM CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage and gave us a sneak preview of BlackBerry OS 10 at BlackBerry World in Orlando. The device itself looks like shrunk version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, and it features a 4.2-inch display with a resolution of 1280×768 pixels, NFC, and a micro-SIM tray. The company also showed some features of the new OS.

The main focus around the OS is on glance and go information much like Windows Phone and Android. A new home screen menu was showed which basically had four widgets offering information at a glance. Besides this, the UI included a new feeds system and incorporation of gestures which enable the user to quickly move in and out of apps. RIM calls it the Cascading UI.

RIM also emphasized the fact that the new OS was build for a touch only device from the ground up and the idea was to provide a BlackBerry like typing experience in an all touch environment. Looks wise, the keyboard was reminiscent of a hardware keyboard which included even the frets separating rows that one has come accustomed with in the higher-end Bold series of BlackBerry smartphones.

RIM says that it has immensely reduced the latency between a touch interaction for a flawless typing experience. In the keyboard demo the company showed off intelligent features like word prediction, gestures and input mapping. All these features are very similar to the third party SwiftKey keyboard available for Android. For instance, the input mapping feature basically detects where the user normally hits the key and then the keyboard adapts to the user. The same can be achieved on a BB 10 keyboard.  Gestures in the keyboard include swipe to delete text, swipe to unveil symbols and numbers and word prediction would help eliminate keystrokes and predict words in a sentence stream.

Perhaps the most unique feature was the camera app. The new BlackBerry camera app allows the user to just tap on the screen to take a snap. But the cool stuff is hidden in a timeline tool which allows the user to select the moment before or after the snapshot, to get a perfect shot. This will be particularly handy for getting rid of closed eyes and missed moments. In all likelihood, the camera would take a shot as soon as the user has focused on the subject but before hitting the shutter and another shot after pressing the trigger.

RIM has not given any specific timeline for the launch of the first BB 10 smartphone but it is expected towards the end of this year. In the meanwhile checkout the sneak preview video that RIM has just posted.

BlackBerry smartphone maker RIM has revealed which all gaming titles are in the pipeline for its PlayBook tablet and for its upcoming BlackBerry 10 devices. After Angry Birds Space, the second most anticipated title which has made its way to the PlayBook is the Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. These announcements have come from RIM’S Head of Gaming, Anders Jeppson, who revealed these upcoming titles on Twitter. Some pretty big names in mobile gaming are getting set to launch popular titles such as Halfbrick with Jetpack Joyride along with 4 others, SEGA with Sonic 4, Unity with Smashcops, GlitchSoft with Star Marine and Fishlabs with Galaxy on Fire 2.
Many of these titles have also been announced for the BlackBerry 10 platform and these shall be released once the first BlackBerry 10 device makes it to the market. Also since the BlackBerry World conference is going on in Orlando, we do expect lot of scoops coming our way. Stay tuned!

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Rovio’s Angry Birds Space has finally made it to the BlackBerry App World but the disappointing thing is that only PlayBook users can download it since this version is not compatible with the BlackBerry smartphones. Though it has taken a relatively longer time for RIM to bring this game on its platform (the game had hit Android and iOS platforms a long time ago) but it is certainly not the last since the Windows Phone version of the Angry Birds Space is still not ready.

Angry Birds Space was downloaded 10 million times in the first three days offers 60 new levels and an entire new gameplay where the set-up is done in the outer space. You can download it from the BlackBerry App World for $2.99 (around Rs 150).

A couple of days ago RIM’s head of developer relations, Alec Saunders, took to Twitter to say that the company will release an update for its PlayBook tablet that will disable side-loading of apps. This news took the blogosphere by storm and it also agitated a number of developers. Yesterday, Saunder, posted on the BlackBerry Devblog that side-loading was a developer feature and was not meant for consumers and will be disabled for the latter to tackle piracy.

He clarified that side-loading was not being abandoned on the PlayBook OS or BlackBerry OS 10, but said that “It exists so that developers can load their apps onto their own devices to test. It’s there so developers can send a beta release to their testing community for review.”

To enable this he specified that the next release of the PlayBook OS will have a feature that will encrypt the app, which will only empower the user who purchased it.

He also had some good news for developers as he stated, “We’re kicking off BlackBerry 10 Jam by giving each developer attendee a prototype device to start building on. I’ll be on-hand at the show to answer your questions — look forward to seeing you there.”

Of course, RIM can’t afford to rub app developers the wrong way for the PlayBook, which is definitely a tablet in dire need of apps.

RIM’s vice president of developer relations took to Twitter to warn users and developers that BlackBerry would remove the ability to side-load apps on the PlayBook via an update.

Now this news has been received with a fair amount of hostility, however there are some advantages to this decision. CrackBerry notes that by eliminating side-loading, BlackBerry will be able to curtail app piracy on the platform as currently apps can be downloaded from various illegal places on the Internet and then can be installed on the device.

Plus, this also helps BlackBerry maintain a consistent experience for the users as sometimes side-loaded app do not work. Users normally tend to blame the device and as already RIM is facing a tough time, the company could do without the extra tension.

Of course, as of now the only way to beta test apps is by way of side-loading, however its only logical if BlackBerry has decided to do away with side-loading then it has also come up with a new way to beta test apps.

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Remember that rumored BlackBerry Mini wireless keyboard for the Playbook which was leaked a few months ago? It is now finally making its way to the market with shipments beginning from March 23rd. Retailing at a hefty price of $119.99 (around Rs 6,000), the Playbook wireless keyboard is now up for a pre-order starting today. This accessory includes a multi-touch trackpad for browsing, a keyboard for easy input and as expected, a battery that can last up to 30 days on a single charge. Unfortunately, it does not have a docking feature unlike the Asus Padfone or the Transformer Prime and is just a carrying case with an integrated Bluetooth keyboard. Read on…

RIM has lately been doing a lot to make its Playbook much more marketable. It released the much needed Playbook 2.0 OS which brought along native email client without which the tablet had to suffer a lot of criticism followed by an introduction of the BlackBerry Bridge app. The company was also giving away a free Blackberry curve 8520 smartphone some months ago in lieu of its promotion. Check out the video below to see this new keyboard in action.

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Today we are probably going to see RIM showering some PlayBook OS 2.0 love for its customers. We have been checking for the impending update for a few hours now but it seems there is still some time to go. While you twiddle your thumbs and wait, how about checking out a video demo of PlayBook OS 2.0 and see some of our favorite features in action? Hit the jump to watch RIM’s head of software portfolio, Vivek Bhardwaj, demo the PlayBook OS 2.0 from DevCon Europe, which was held in Amsterdam earlier this year.

Most BlackBerry PlayBook owners (including us) have been eagerly waiting for the first major software update for the tablet, called PlayBook OS 2.0. Now it seems the update is ready to be released as early as tomorrow, according to documents received by Engadget. The update will bring a native contacts and email client, especially for non-BlackBerry smartphone owners and the ability to run most Android apps. We never really had a doubt about the PlayBook’a hardware but could never find a use case with the limited number of apps, no email support and the heavy reliance on the user having a BlackBerry smartphone. Hopefully, this update will solve that problem. Of course, we will be keeping our PlayBook on standby to update it and let you know as soon as it is available.

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