BlackPad/Cobalt BlackBerry Tablet Coming in 2011

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This is not the first time we hear that RIM is interested in coming out with its own tablet solution. The BlackPad or Cobalt appears to be the name of that RIM tablet and recent sources say that RIM will only launch it next year.

Apple has just sold 1 million iPads in less than a month and the device has no true competitor yet. We’ve shown you lots of alternatives already but we’re still waiting to actually see a competitive device in stores. Hopefully manufacturers will be able to make a better tablet a lot faster than it took them to come up with decent iPhone rivals.

So far we know that Microsoft will not pursue its Courier tablet dreams, at least not for the time being and HP is rumored to be focusing more on its recent acquisition, Palm’s webOS. Therefore a Windows 7 HP Slate could be canceled or delayed which will definitely work in Apple’s favor.

With these two projects out of the way, at least temporarily, the BlackPad/Cobalt tablet could play the role of the main iPad competitor.

But the BlackPad/Cobalt will only be announced in 2011, probably at the next edition of WES which is a long time to wait. The device is said to be smaller and thinner than the iPad and that it will have full BlackBerry OS compatibility and functionality.

RIM should definitely be aware of the fact that Apple is surely working on the iPad 2 and by the time the BlackPad comes out the iPad 2 could already start selling in Apple stores worldwide.

When it comes to BlackBerry OS compatibility and functionality we will remind you that RIM has announced its latest mobile OS, BlackBerry 6, which could very well power a tablet too. After all BlackBerry 6 seems to focus a lot on a touchscreen user interface which is exactly what a tablet would require.

Speaking of a touchscreen UI, we’ll also remind everyone how the BlackBerry Storm wasn’t the iPhone killer we envisioned mainly due to its touchscreen issues, and hopefully RIM will not make that error twice.

Anyone interested in a BlackPad/Cobalt RIM tablet?