BlackBerry announces its 7" iPad competitor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaez_4m9mQ&w=670&h=401]

RIM has announced its own iPad killer, dubbed the PlayBook, which the company describes as a tablet with an enterprise focus — however, in an unexpected Canadian blow, all 18 Saskatchewan Party cabinet ministers and five senior officials have been issued iPads.

Ministers will access cabinet documents electronically — rather than receive the mammoth briefing binders that typically accompany each meeting.

RIM says its new Playbook tablet is capable of multi-tasking and of running Flash. It hosts a 7-inch screen and includes both front and rear cameras. It will not, however, launch until early next year.

Specs (c/o Slashgear):

• 7inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
• Measures 5.1?x7.6?x0.4? (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
• Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.