BlackBerry maker aims for businesses with Playbook tablet; can act as bigger screen for phone

BlackBerry maker offers tablet aimed at businesses

NEW YORK — The company that gave us the BlackBerry — still the dominant phone in corporate circles — thinks its business customers will have room in their briefcases for at least one more device: the PlayBook.

Research in Motion Ltd. showed off the tablet for the first time Monday and is set to launch it in early 2011. With it RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple Inc.’s iPad.

The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about 0.9 pounds to the iPad’s 1.5 pounds. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.