14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion is rumored to be on the position to delay the release of its first tablet PC, the BlackBerry PlayBook, due to a series of issues that would affect the battery life of the device.
Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu is the one to make this forecast, which might not arrive as the best news for enthusiasts.
According to him, the PlayBook “needs to improve its relatively poor battery life of a few hours compared to 6 hours for the Samsung Galaxy Tab and 10 hours for [Apple's] iPad,” BGR reports.
RIM might be forced to delay the release of the new BlackBerry PlayBook to May 2011, Wu also stated.
Apparently, the main issues here would come from the fact that the BlackBerry Tablet OS, which is based on QNX, was not designed from the ground up for devices that need saving battery life.
However, the analyst estimation comes in contrast with what RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie stated last month, namely that the device would be released during the first quarter of the next year.
The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to prove pretty appealing when released next year, though it would face great competition on the market.
The tablet PC is expected to sport a price tag of under $500 when released, which would help it a lot, though a delay might not be the best thing for RIM, that's for sure.
A range of Android-based tablet PCs are expected to become official as soon as the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas next week, and they might arrive on shelves in the first quarter of the year as well.
Moreover, various rumors around the web suggested that Apple might come to the market with a second iPad next year, which would threaten PlayBook's performance levels as well.
Since nothing was confirmed for the time being on a possible delay of RIM's device, things might actually be on the right track for the planned Q1 launch, so stay tuned for more on this.