BlackBerry PlayBook On Verizon & AT&T? Carriers Still Unsure If They Want It

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Tech fans may know that originally BlackBerry promised that their BlackBerry Playbook tablet would be sold by a number of carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in the United States. Yet, we haven’t heard a peep about the Playbook coming to Verizon or AT&T (even though Sprint is rumored to begin offering a WiFi-only version of the tablet soon). It’s being reported by the Wall Street Journal that both AT&T and Verizon are unsure about if they’ll be carrying the BlackBerry tablet.

For AT&T, the decision to carry the BlackBerry is even more complicated. The BlackBerry PlayBook uses software called the BlackBerry Bridge to tether the PlayBook with a BlackBerry phone. It provides a 3G connection on the go, as well as access to BBM and corporate email. Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have all allowed their BlackBerry phones to connect to BlackBerry Bridge without question, but AT&T is insisting that customers need a mobile tethering plan for their device. This conflict has some wondering if AT&T will be supporting the tablet.

On the Verizon front, Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney told Dow Jones that the company was still evaluating the Playbook and whether or not to carry it. This is something the company has told the media before. It’s also something that regional US carrier US Cellular has been telling their employees. A leaked memo from that company showed that the company informed their employees that they were evaluating the tablet, but they encouraged employees to tell customers to “talk to RIM” if they wanted the Playbook on US Cellular.

Despite any 3G models being sold (although, as mentioned, you can turn the WiFi model into a 3G model by tethering it with a BlackBerry phone), the PlayBook is doing a respectable business. Analysts have predicted it’s sold 250,000 units in its first month, a pace that would put it doing better than any Android tablet yet. Despite the rumors of frequent returns, I think the BlackBerry brand is more popular amongst some out there.

I reviewed the PlayBook for TFTS a few weeks ago. I found the tablet to be amazingly constructed, great operating system, great web browser, but the lack of apps, both “utilities” like email and third-party apps from the BlackBerry World app store is a major hurdle for the 7-inch tablet.