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RIM launches iPad competitor

Blackberry PlayBook to roll out in early 2011; will allow use of Flash and HTML-5

Research in Motion has unveiled its Blackberry PlayBook - a tablet device that has been aimed squarely at the iPad - which will launch in early 2011 in the US, with subsequent international roll-out in the second quarter of the year.

Among the key features are full Flash support - the lack of which has caused significant disruption for web video viewing on Apple devices - as well as HTML-5 integration.

The PlayBook will also include two cameras, a 3MP one on the front and a 5MP one on the back, with 1080p video recording capability built-in.

The PlayBook is RIM's answer to the iPad - and Flash support is likely to prove popular.

"RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems," said Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO at Research In Motion. "The BlackBerry PlayBook solidly hits the mark with industry leading power, true multitasking, uncompromised web browsing and high performance multimedia."

The PlayBook will also feature the ability to tether to other Blackberry devices via Bluetooth, and while the company added that it intends to release 3G and 4G versions at a later date.

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