BlackBerry PlayBook Hits UK Shelves

It arrived to lacklustre reviews across the pond and now it’s hit UK stores.

Announced last September, the PlayBook finally went on sale in the United States and Canada on April 19. This week, Research In Motion’s much talked about BlackBerry PlayBook tablet finally landed in the UK. Starting today, retailers Best Buy, Dixons, Currys, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4u will all be selling the device. Pricing is set at £399 (16GB), £479 (32GB), and £559 (64GB).

The PlayBook has been plagued by lukewarm reviews stateside and it’s not yet clear how UK consumers will react to the device. Originally intended as a companion device for those who already owned BlackBerry smartphones, RIM did an about face earlier this year and insisted that it would also work as a standalone product. Despite this, the tablet is shipping without native email, calendar, memo and contact applications. Those with a BlackBerry phone will have access to these PIM functions via BlackBerry Bridge (a technology similar to Bluetooth that allows you to pair the two devices), but those without, won’t have native email on their PlayBook at all. RIM plans to release an update that will bring those missing apps to the tablet later this year but has yet to release details on those plans.

Specswise, though, the PlayBook is a decent contender in the current tablet market. It boasts a 1GHz Cortex-A9 dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 7-inch 1024x600 display, a 5-megapixel camera capable of shooting 1080p HD video on the back, a 3-megapixel camera capable of 1080p HD video up front (for video calling and the like), support for Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Micro-USB and Micro HDMI. It runs RIM’s new QNX-based BlackBerry Tablet OS but can also run existing BlackBerry Java apps as well as Android apps. Not bad, not bad at all.

Still, many have complained that the OS isn't what it could be, and the lack of PIM functions has proved a deal breaker for some. Will you be considering a Playbook? Let us know in the comments below!