RUMOUR: BlackBerry Tablets & Phablets

When BlackBerry launched the PlayBook in 2011, it was rather short lived and one of the fastest failures for BlackBerry. Leaked information has it that BlackBerry is working on a new tablet, named the B10, as well as two new “phablet” (5-6’’ in size) handsets to launch sometime by the end of this year or next year.

Interestingly, the leaked roadmap shows that BlackBerry plans on integrating a physical QWERTY keyboard onto one of the phablets, which is rumoured to be named R10. No other company has done this before, making the phablet an one of a kind. BlackBerry could be taking a risk here, similarly to Samsung’s introduction of this category back in 2011. However, given their consumer base’s fondness for physical keyboards, this could turn out to be a very successful device.

The second phablet, the U10, seems to show that BlackBerry wants to challenge Android’s (mainly Samsung’s) domination in the phablet industry. Currently, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is ruling at the top of the mountain and the anticipated Note III is expecting to launch sometime this year. Given that the Galaxy Note lineup usually has a refresh around September, this is also a potential release time segment for the U10.

If the roadmap is correct, the B10 tablet will launch around fall of this year. There has been no leaked specs as of yet but we can safely assume it will be a full size tablet (10”) to rival the Nexus 10 and iPad as well as running BB10 OS. The market is already flooded with 10’’ tablets, requiring BlackBerry to lead a strong offensive to make even a dent in the industry. However, BlackBerry’s corporate security will give them an edge over the competition.

Given that the BlackBerry Playbook didn’t have the most successful lifespan, we can only hope that BlackBerry has learned from their mistakes and uses them to enhance their next-generation devices.

Source: Techno Buffalo