The moment
a few of you have been waiting for is finally here --
BlackBerry has officially announced a
Long Term Evolution (LTE) version of its PlayBook tablet.
The new tablet's specs are the same as previous versions with the exception of the 4G connectivity and HSPA+ fallback. RIM's hometown carrier partners --
BCE Inc. (Bell Canada) (NYSE/Toronto: BCE),
Rogers Communications Inc. (Toronto: RCI) and
Telus Corp. (NYSE: TU; Toronto: T) -- will be the first to offer the 32GB LTE PlayBook on August 9, but have yet to reveal pricing. The tablet will arrive in the U.S. and other markets "in the coming months," RIM says.
Why this matters
RIM originally promised LTE in the PlayBook over a year ago, but has kept delaying it to the point that it just stopped talking about it altogether. Wi-Fi is still the more popular model for tablets today, but LTE will be table stakes as carriers try to encourage the use of cellular connectivity. At this point, for RIM, however, many consumers may have already lost interest in its tablet, 4G or not.
For more
— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter,
Light Reading Mobile
