Wow. RIM has wasted no time in squashing the rumor that popped up the other day about rumored poor battery performance on the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook. So says RIM:
"Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented. RIM is on track with its schedule to optimize the BlackBerry PlayBook's battery life and looks forward to providing customers with a professional grade tablet that offers superior performance with comparable battery life."
The original story/rumor traces back to Kaufman Brothers analyst Shawn Wu who claimed the battery life wasn't yet up to par with the Samsung Galaxy Tab or Apple iPad, which could see the launch of the PlayBook delayed until May. Looks like this isn't the case (I actually held off on blogging that original story as I didn't think it was an accurate statement and to be honest have way more faith in my sources than Wu's). Awesome to see RIM put this out there just like that. They obviously have a lot riding on the PlayBook and new QNX-based BlackBerry Tablet OS. So far everything about both the hardware and software has been really positive, so I'm glad they killed this negativity immediately.
PlayBook Release Date Update: As for the release date of the BlackBerry PlayBook, which is the big question on everyone's mind right now, hopefully we'll learn more next week at CES in Las Vegas. CES is the biggest electronics show of the year, and CrackBerry will be there reporting back the news. We've already seen the PlayBook show up at Developer sessions, so we're hoping to see it next week in Vegas for ourselves finally. RIM promised first calendar quarter delivery, which gives them until the end of March to deliver it without being late. Personally, I'm *hoping* RIM will kick off the marketing efforts for the BlackBerry PlayBook with a half-time commercial at the Super Bowl. Think about it... Black Eyed Peas are the half-time act (RIM loves the BEP), and football is all about having a playbook. It would be the perfect place to start advertising. The Super Bowl this year is February 6th, which is coming up fast. If I'm right on this theory, RIM would have to start actually selling the device not too long after the advertising starts. Worst case, by end of March, but hopefully sooner. All I know is that if April 1st hits and I don't own my own PlayBook, I'm gonna be pi$$ed!
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