The makers of the Blackberry phone is set to launch a 7″ slate PC which like the recent Cisco Android model will be targeted at the business markets.
The device which will have a 1GHz processor will play 1080p video which gives it an advantage over the Apple iPad. It will also play Flash files and have both a front and back camera.
Users will be able to use their Blackberry Smartphone to access the Internet, use Wi Fi or insert a 3G SIM similar to the high end iPad.
A research note from Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar claims that the slate could be smaller than first thought with just a seven inch display. Kumar also claims that the device will have its own 3G cellular chip provided by Marvell.
Electronista.com said that the choice of supplier may hint that Marvell is supplying the main processor.
The tablet which is expected early in 2011 will compete head with tablet slates from Cisco, Acer, Commenting on Apple’s supply problems with the iPhone 4 Kumar claimed that there were Retina Display-related iPhone 4 shortages and that LG Display’s 9.7-inch iPad screen was also curbing the number of devices Apple could deliver.
Yields were going up, but Apple would be “unlikely to completely satiate” demand through the rest of the year. He was optimistic that equilibrium could spike Apple’s sales levels, and called for 70 million iPhones in all of 2011 and 27 million iPads over the same period.
