In India, the BlackBerry brand from Research In Motion (RIM) seems to be getting bigger and better, garnering huge preference amongst consumers and enterprise customers. When the Canadian smartphone maker slashed the price of its PlayBook slate by more than half (R13,490 for the 16-GB version, R15,990 for the 32-GB version and R24,490 for the 64-GB version) during the fag end of last year in an attempt to drive sales, it created quite a sensation in the fast-growing Indian tablets market. Though it was a limited festive season offer, the outcome was on predictable lines: the powerful yet ultra-portable tablet was a total sellout in the retail channels. Ever since, the BlackBerry PlayBook buzz simply refuses to die down.

The new year has commenced for RIM with some elating third quarter fiscal 2012 results. Its revenue was $5.2 billion, up 24% from $4.2 billion in the previous quarter. To get there, RIM shipped approximately 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones (up 33% from Q2) and approximately 150,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. And its subscribers went up 35% year-over-year to almost 75 million. Very heartening, to say the least.

Coming back to the PlayBook buzz, work smarter and play harder on the tablet seems to be the moot point. In sync with this, the popular game/series from Rovio, Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Season, is now available on the BlackBerry tablet! Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Use logic, skill, and brute force to crush the evil pigs!

The latest update to Facebook (Facebook v2.1) is also running on the PlayBook, available from BlackBerry App World. This also includes Facebook Groups; with this feature on the BlackBerry PlayBook, you can view groups that you are a member of, post updates, photos and videos, view profiles of group members and send messages, and get notified of new group posts and interactions so you never miss an update.

RIM seems to have put together a good blend of hardware and software in this little slate. At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company previewed new features of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 that will enable customers to stay even more connected and productive in their personal and professional lives.

Here?s a quick snapshot. A powerful unified inbox within the built-in messaging app allows users to quickly manage their personal email and work email accounts as well as the messaging capabilities of popular social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and others?all in one place. Remote control for the BlackBerry PlayBook?new BlackBerry Bridge features allow a user?s BlackBerry smartphone to act as a keyboard and mouse for their PlayBook?effectively providing a wireless remote control for their tablet. Perfect for pausing a movie when a PlayBook is plugged in to a TV with an HDMI connection, or for using the tactile QWERTY keyboard on a BlackBerry smartphone to compose a message or document on the BlackBerry PlayBook.

While the BlackBerry PlayBook has many attractions, the disappointment of not having SIM connectivity dampened them all. Not anymore as the PlayBook wirelessly connects to your BlackBerry smartphone for real time access to email, calendar, address book and task list, and BBM, using BlackBerry Bridge. The PlayBook OS 2.0 software update is expected to be soon made available as a free download.

Let me admit that I was particularly amazed by the BlackBerry PlayBook?s impressive power, battery life and a generous screen size. Simply swipe to get started on the BlackBerry PlayBook. It impresses with its crystal clear multi-touch display, measuring 7-inches. And with a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, it adds crispness to videos, images and webpages.

The user interface is smooth and responds promptly to the slightest of touches. The device offers true simultaneous multitasking?apps run simultaneously and in real time. Navigating across apps is easy and one can run several applications simultaneously while continuing with one on the full display.

By any yardstick, the BlackBerry PlayBook is built to perform. My personal experience has been that the device helps transform the way you work and play by combining the features you need with a powerful, ultra-portable design you want.

Specs

Size: Size: 194 x 130 x 10 mm (W x H x D)

Display type: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16 M colours

Display size: 600 x 1024 pixels, 7.0-inches

Memory: 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB

Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing)

1 GB RAM

BlackBerry Tab OS

Video playback: 1080p HD video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV

Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA

HDMI video output

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Estimated street price:

16 GB: R27,990

32 GB: R32,990

64 GB: R37,990