RIM's Own "BlackPad" Tablet To Rival iPad In November?

Before, this was all just a far-fetched rumor. Now, the whispers are nearly impossible to shun. RIM, which is known globally for their BlackBerry series of business smartphones, may be getting ready to expand their operations in a big, big way. RIM has really never stepped out from their smartphone ways, with the touchscreen-based Storm and Storm2 being the most unconventional devices the Canadian company has ever produced.

But with Apple producing the iPad and Microsoft announcing that they would pushing tablet PCs hard just as soon as they are ready, RIM is reportedly gearing up to join the masses with a slate of their own. It's not exactly expected; a year ago, who would have ever thought that RIM would be producing their own tablet? But in recent days, the company has not only acquired the domain name rights for www.blackpad.com, but Bloomberg is reporting that a BlackBerry tablet is definitely coming in November based on two trusted sources.


The so-called "BlackPad" will share a similar form factor as the iPad, and it'll cost nearly as much too. It's unclear whether BlackBerry OS 6.0 will be the operating system of choice, but we can't imagine RIM building their own tablet only to load it with Windows 7 or Android. So, we'll soon have a BlackBerry tablet, a load of Windows tablets, a bunch of Android tablets, and an iPad to choose from? If only that WebOS-powered Slate would ship, we'd be in tablet-selection-heaven.