Apple may have caused BlackBerry PlayBook delay

The release of Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet may have been pushed back one month due to the lack of touch screens brought on by an Apple's hunger for iPad 2 components.

Anyone thinking about taking on Apple in the tablet wars, take heed: The release of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was delayed for one month, likely because of high demand for the iPad 2.

According to DigiTimes, “PlayBook shipments were postponed for about a month from the original schedule due to a delay in software testing as well as shortage of touch panels because Apple already booked up most of the available capacity.”

With its massive $50 billion cash reserves, Apple is able to pre-order the components it needs for its popular devices, like the iPad and iPhone lines. Apple is said to have put down $3.9 billion to reserve a significant portion of the world’s touch screens in preparation for production of the new iPad.

This is only the latest round of bad news for companies hoping to compete with Apple’s iPad and iPad 2. Wednesday, news surfaced that Motorola sold a lower-than-expected 100,000 units of its new Xoom tablet, which is said to currently be the toughest competitor for the iPad 2. Apple, on the other hand, sold about 300,000 iPad 2 units in the first weekend alone, and is said to have sold roughly 2.6 million iPad 2 units in March.

Despite the hang-ups and the daunting task of taking on Apple, RIM will release the BlackBerry PlayBook on April 19 for $499 for the 16GB entry-level model. (The 32GB version costs $599; the 64GB model is priced at $699.) This is roughly equal to the cost of a comparable iPad 2.

With a 7-inch 1024×600 display, the PlayBook measures quite a bit smaller than the 9.7-inch iPad 2. The device comes loaded with a dual-core 1GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 processor and 1GB of RAM.

It has a 3MP forward-facing camera for video chat, as well as a 5MP rear-facing camera. The PlayBook can shoot 1080p high-definition video, and includes HDMI video output, and Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports. Unlike the iPad 2, the PlayBook supports Adobe Flash.

The three models available on April 19 are all Wi-Fi only. The company has far more up its sleeve, however, with higher-end models that will support 4G connectivity in all the different flavors the various wireless carriers currently offer. The iPad 2 only supports 3G connectivity.

Status RIM Blackberry, Tifatul-Tantowi Debat

VIVAnews -- Rapat Menteri Komunikasi dan Informasi, Tifatul Sembiring dengan Komisi I Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat didominasi soal isu BlackBerry.

Meski tidak tegang, dan saling berbicara santun serta saling tersenyum, sempat terjadi adu pendapat antara Tifatul dengan Anggota Komisi I DPR RI, Tantowi Yahya.

Tantowi  meminta Tifatul menjelaskan status Research In Motion (RIM), produsen BlackBerry, apakah sebagai operator atau penyedia konten. "Kalau penyedia konten kan tidak kena kewajiban UU," kata Tantowi dalam rapat, Senin 17 Januari 2011.

Apa jawaban Tifatul? Dijelaskan dia, dalam pandangan pihaknya, RIM adalah penyedia konten di luar negeri yang menjual BlackBerry. RIM bekerja sama business to business dengan operator. "RIM masuknya ke Indonesia tidak resmi," kata Tifatul.

Ditambahkan dia, permintaan agar RIM membawa service centre ke Indonesia telah dilayangkan sejak Menkominfo, M Nuh.

"Nah, yang disoroti, RIM dengan operator partnernya ada perjanjian, salah satu poinnya tidak menghalangi seluruh konten yang lewat. Kan konten itu ada pornogafi, ini yang kita minta dihapus," tambah dia.

Mendengar jawaban Tifatul, Tantowi yang merasa tidak puas meminta ketegasan pemerintah. "Ini pemerintah harus satu suara dulu terkait status RIM. Kalau operator, kami sepakat, tapi kalau Bapak bimbang, kami jadi ragu, apa iya," kata Tantowi.

"Bapak kita dukung cuma jangan sampai menghukum orang dengan UU yang salah," tambah dia.

Diungkapkan presenter kondang itu, kantor RIM di Indonesia hanya berisi lima orang, ada satu orang Kanada dan empat orang Indonesia. "Apa seperti  itu operator? Kita sepakat kalau operator harus diperlakukan sama seperti  Telkomsel, Indosat, dan lain-lain," kata Tantowi.

Tifatul lantas menimpali, kata dia pelanggaran UU terjadi pada poin perjanjian RIM dengan operator. Ditegaskan dia, UU jelas melarang itu.

Perdebatan tersebut kemudian ditengahi oleh ketua Komisi I DPR RI, Mahfudz Siddiq. "Kalau mengacu UU, operator yang punya kewajiban. Kita perlu sepakati RIM itu operator atau jenis baru yang tak  terakomodasi dalam UU yang sekarang berlaku."

"Perlu kesepakatan politik antara pemerintah dengan DPR," kata politisi PKS itu. Pada 17 Januari 2011 pagi, Tifatul mengadakan pertemuan dengan perwakilan RIM soal isu Blackberry.

Soal filterisasi konten porno, RIM menegaskan, pihaknya akan memenuhinya dan akan mendiskusikan dengan enam operator telekomunikasi yang menjadi mitra. RIM minta waktu 100 jam untuk memenuhi permintaan pemerintah. (sj)