Blackberry Torch 9800 And Playbook Dominate RIMM Headlines

The Blackberry Torch 9800 and the Blackberry Playbook dominate RIMM headlines.  The Blackberry Torch 9800 launched onAT&T a few weeks ago amid lukewarm response from consumers who have been spoiled by flashy state-of-the-art smartphones and computers. However, the anticipation is already starting to build for the Playbook as it may be the first viable competition for Apple’s beloved iPad tablet computer.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 is leading headlines right now because RIMM has released the Blackberry OS 6 on AT&T, the exclusive US carrier, as well as a couple of the Canadian carriers of the handset. The handset was initially rumored to be expected to be released with the updated OS, but RIMM didn’t have it ready before the handset’s release.

The Playbook won’t be based on the RIMM proprietary OS, instead it will be based on QNX Neutrino.  Many tech analysts are giving kudos to RIMM for using a non-proprietary option for the Blackberry Playbook for development of apps reasons.

The Playbook is expected out by early 2011.  The Torch 9800 is already available at AT&T.  It has a full touchscreen plus a slide out keypad.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 and Playbook will dominate RIM’s headlines until they come out with something new, but I know I can’t wait for the Playbook tablet to be released.