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RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Teardown

By Fritz Nelson 04/19/2011 UBM TechInsights takes a look under the hood at yet another tablet. Inside RIM's new BlackBerry tablet is the TI OMAP 4 processor, a six-axis gyro and some other fun hardware goodies.

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UBM TechInsights has been at it again today, taking apart the newest tablet, the long-awaited BlackBerry PlayBook from Research In Motion. No big surprise, but tucked inside, powering the PlayBook's excellent performance is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4 platform, specifically the OMAP4430 processor. "Once we opened up the Blackberry Playbook (which was no easy task due to a very rigidly built tablet), we immediately recognized that Texas Instruments would be the major design winner," UBM TechInsights' Technical Marketing Manger, Allan Yogasingam told us. "To coincide with the selection of the OMAP4430, RIM selected other key platform components like the TWL6040 power management IC and the PS63020 high efficiency single inductor buck-boost converter. Another MAJOR design win for TI -- and one that had our resident RF experts excited -- was the discovery of the Texas Instruments WL1283C WiLink 7.0 single-chip WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM solution. This is the first time we've seen a four-in-one radio IC in use in a consumer application product, and the decision to use this in the Playbook shows that RIM was willing to make daring decision designs." You can read more here.

PlayBook Packaging
This is everything that comes in the BlackBerry Playbook package, including instruction manuals and the tight, neoprene sleeve. The product is available as a WiFi device only today, from Best Buy and other retailers. RIM announced the PlayBook in September 2010, and it began shipping on April 19, 2011. The device weighs less than a pound (425g), is 7.6 inches thick, 5.1 inches high, and has less than half an inch depth (10mm).

See Also:

RIM's BlackBerry Bridge To Nowhere

Review: BlackBerry PlayBook Not Ready For The Enterprise

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