PlayBook Vs. iPad?

For enterprise customers already bound to the BlackBerry ecosystem, Research In Motion’s PlayBook tablet has much to recommend it. In addition to 3G connectivity via an existing BlackBerry service plan, the tablet also boasts out-of-the-box compatibility with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The device’s ability to sync information with the user’s BlackBerry transforms it, at least into theory, into a lighter, slimmer laptop replacement for road warriors.

Other details remain scarce, chief among them the PlayBook’s firm release date and price point. The latter will factor greatly in the device’s eventual fortunes; pricing it beneath the iPad and other competitors could give RIM a marketplace boost, particularly among businesses still pinching their IT pennies in the wake of the global recession. Priced at a premium, though, could lead consumers and businesses to dismiss it in favor of other tablets.

The fundamental question is whether RIM’s strategy-marketing a tablet towards business users-will allow it to succeed in an iPad-dominated market that threatens to crash-and-burn at least a few other manufacturers. Certainly, the consumer side of that market will become increasingly crowded in coming quarters; in addition to the Samsung Galaxy S and Dell Streak, Hewlett-Packard is reportedly planning tablets running Palm WebOS and Windows 7.

A dedicated enterprise market for tablets-aside from the ones already in use by very specific segments such as engineering or healthcare-remains relatively untapped. Enterprise IT administrators have already begun evaluating the iPad for use in their shops, particularly from a security perspective. But the PlayBook already features baked-in corporate data access and security, potentially giving it a huge advantage in this area.

For more, read the eWeek article RIM’s PlayBook Could Succeed Against Apple’s iPad.