Could the BlackBerry PlayBook, which hits retail locations in the US and Canada today, give the iPad a run for its money? Reviews are generally mixed, with most reviewers praising the tablet’s hardware specs and QNX-based operating system while panning it for its lack of apps, most alarmingly a native calendar or email client. The PlayBook is a bit more enticing for current BlackBerry smartphone owners, since its powerful BlackBerry Bridge app enables synced email, calendar, and BBM, in addition to free tethering.

Still, better to be deficient in apps with solid hardware and OS than to be the other way around; as such, the PlayBook is charitably being referred to as a “work in progress,” with the final verdict on it to come in a few months when its app ecosystem is (hopefully) better populated.

(via CrunchGear | RIM online store)

If you haven’t heard, Congressional Republicans are threatening to shut down the government at midnight today if Democrats don’t bow down to their budgetary demands, and since some of them entail things like eradicating funding for Planned Parenthood, it’s a safe bet that that won’t happen.

What’s that got to do with tech? Well, according to the National Journal, White House staffers have been harshly warned not to use their government-issued BlackBerrys during a potential government shutdown. Apparently, they “face the threat of up to two years in jail”  if they don’t comply.

“People are VERY clear on not using BlackBerries [if they're nonexempted] after a shutdown,” one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing an internal White House matter with the press. “Same with nonexempted [employees] using their personal BlackBerries [for government work]. Total nonstarter.”

Well, at least there aren’t any good apps to tempt them.

(via National Journal. h/t @gabrielsnyder)

If you ask any long-suffering BlackBerry owner why they stick with RIM’s embattled platform, they’ll probably tell you one of three things: 1) The keyboard is the best of any smartphone and they don’t like touchscreens; 2) they have to for their job; or 3) BlackBerry Messenger, a.k.a. BBM. If the latest report from BGR is correct, BlackBerry may be losing one of the legs of that tripod as BBM loses its BlackBerry exclusivity and prepares to come over to Android and iOS.

According to Boy Genius Report‘s “multiple sources,” BlackBerry’s PlayBook tablet [specs] is due for an April 10th release. If this is indeed the case, the timing of the leak would be quite a coincidence, since today just so happens to be the day that Apple is all but certain to reveal the iPad 2 unto the world. Tech websites are making a big deal about this, apparently.

The 7-inch HD tablet is specced to feature a 1 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, front and rear cameras, an on-screen keyboard, and support for Flash 10.1 and HTML 5.

(via BGR)

Boy Genius Report managed to snag an exclusive photo of the new BlackBerry Dakota, seen above, as well as the fairly pretty specs on the upcoming device, which can be seen after the break.

The rumors were true, though it’s not called the BlackPad: At BlackBerry DevCon today, RIM revealed their 7-inch tablet computer, to be called the BlackBerry Playbook.

Research in Motion, the company behind the BlackBerry smartphone, has long been rumored to have an iPad-like tablet computer of its own in the works, supposedly known as the BlackPad: A New Wall Street Journal report has it that the BlackPad could be revealed to the world as soon as next week, when RIM will host its annual BlackBerry Developer Conference.

According to the report, the tablet will have a seven-inch touchscreen, one or two built-in cameras, and chips made by Marvell, which already supplies chips for BlackBerry phones. There are two surprises, however:

Research in Motion has officially announced the BlackBerry Curve 3G, the latest in its Curve line of smartphones. While the phone ships with BlackBerry 5, RIM says that the Curve 3G is also capable of running BlackBerry 6, the new OS that was revealed with the announcement of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 last week. But there’ll be some time before you can run it: “BlackBerry 6 is expected to be available for the BlackBerry Curve 3G, subject to carrier certifications, in the coming months.”

The biggest mystery: On what carriers will the Curve 3G be available? The release says only that “various carriers and distribution partners around the world” will carry the phone. Following the cosmic unfairness of AT&T, already fatted with iPhone-exclusive lucre, getting the BlackBerry Torch 9800 exclusively as well, the variousness is at least encouraging; however, we want to know — is this phone coming to Verizon or not?? Unwiredview.com says that T-Mobile will “certainly” carry the Curve 3G.

Full release:

BlackBerry users in Saudi Arabia report that the country’s three wireless companies have suspended BlackBerry messaging service. On Tuesday, the Saudi Arabian government announced its intention to do so on grounds of national security: “The manufacturer of the devices [RIM] couldn’t meet the regulatory requirements of the commission and it is not in accordance with the regulations and conditions of licenses issued to service providers, at its present state.”

The phones can still make and receive regular calls.

Saudi Arabia is RIM’s largest market in the Middle East, with roughly 700,000 users; any hope for BBM to come back?

Flame on: At a press conference this morning, RIM and AT&T announced the BlackBerry Torch 9800, the latest smartphone in the BlackBerry line. As the graphic above shows, there are some major changes afoot: The phone boasts a 3.2-inch 480×360 touchscreen display previously found only on the BlackBerry Storm, a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 624 Mhz processor with 512 MB Flash memory, and four GB of internal storage, plus the option of a 4 GB micro-SD card. (h/t MobileCrunch) It also features a brand new, just-announced operating system, BlackBerry 6 OS: