Today at Research In Motion’s annual BlackBerry Developer Conference, CEO Mike Lazaridis announced the company’s new tablet — the PlayBook.

The tablet will utilize an OS created by the recently acquired QNX (just as we’d heard previous to the announcement) called the BlackBerry Tablet OS which will offer full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5 (which is all tied into RIM’s new Web Works SDK). Lazaridis was joined on stage by the company’s founder, Dan Dodge, who said that “QNX is going to enable things that you have never seen before,” and added that the PlayBook would be “an incredible gaming platform for publishers and the players.”

RIM also touted the PlayBook’s ability to handle Flash content via Flash 10.1, as well as Adobe AIR apps. The new slate — which Lazaridis described as “the first professional tablet” — will sport a 7-inch, 1024 x 600, capacitive multitouch display, a Cortex A9-based, dual-core 1GHz CPU (the company calls it the “fastest tablet ever”), 1GB of RAM, and a 3 megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5 megapixel rear lens (and yes, there will be video conferencing). There was no mention of onboard storage capacity during the keynote, though the devices we just spied in our eyes-on post are labeled 16GB and 32GB on their back panels.

The PlayBook will be capable of 1080p HD video, and comes equipped with an HDMI port as well as a microUSB jack, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The device clocks in at a svelte 5.1- by 7.6-inches, is only 0.4-inches thick, and weighs just 400g (or about 0.9 pounds).

In terms of interface, the OS looks like a mashup of webOS and the BlackBerry OS, even allowing for multitasking via what amounts to a “card” view. Interestingly, RIM and QNX boasted of the PlayBook’s multimedia and gaming functions, but Mike Lazaridis also described the tablet as “an amplified view of what’s already on your BlackBerry.” That’s due largely in part to a function of the tablet which allows you to siphon data off of your BlackBerry handset via Bluetooth tethering and display it on your PlayBook (a la the ill-fated Palm Foleo). While the PlayBook doesn’t seem to rely on phone content alone, the press release from the company says that users can “use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data.”

RIM didn’t hand out any solid launch dates beyond “early 2011,” and of course, there was no mention of retail price. We’ve got a slew of content after the break, including the PlayBook spec rundown, the company’s press release, and a full video of the device (and UI) in action — so take a look!

Read more at engadget.com

After more than a year of speculation, Microsoft is finally launching its Zune brand outside the U.S. and Canada. The company says that the Zune software and related services, including the Zune Marketplace online store and Zune Pass music subscription service, will debut in Europe this fall; for now, Microsoft will not sell the Zune music player abroad.

Microsoft had said for more than a year that intended to take the Zune brand international but said it wanted to focus on developing the Zune business model first. Another reason for the delay was likely the upcoming global launch of Windows Phone 7, which is being closely tied with the Zune and will require Zune PC software to sync music, videos, podcasts, photos and apps, .

Last fall, it said the Zune Video service would be accessible outside the U.S. and Canada for the first time via Xbox Live but said it wouldn’t talk about taking other Zune-related services outside North America. The video service, along with the others, will now be accessible via Windows PCs and Windows Phone 7, in addition to Xbox Live.

The Zune line-up will be different in various foreign markets; for instance, the Zune Pass, which includes unlimited streaming will only be available in the U.K., France, Italy and Spain. It will cost 9.99 euros, or 8.99 pounds, a month. The Zune video service will also now expand to Australia and New Zealand.

And, a movie rental service, which will let people rent movies which they will be able to watch on their PC or on their Windows Phone 7, is going live in yet another set of countries. In all, as we have outlined before, there will be fierce competition. The details are in the release here.

As seen in paidcontent.co.uk

UK online video service Blinkbox has extended its living room presence with a debut on Samsung’s range of internet-connected TVs.

Blinkbox, which earlier this week helped YouTube launch a full-length movie service in the UK, became available via Sony’s PS3 games console in May and it’s now followed this with the Samsung partnership.

The company joins the likes of LoveFilm and the BBC iPlayer in putting its videos on the Samsung Internet@TV platform. YouTube and Dailymotion are on there too.

Blinkbox CEO Michael Comish told C21 last month that the uplift the company had seen since making the leap to the living room with Sony was notable: “We find our PS3 customers come back more often, spend more and stay longer,” he said.

He described the Samsung partnership yesterday as another significant development for the company: “These devices are not only revolutionising how we consume media, but how we, as a business, interact with our ever-growing consumer base.”

Comish quoted research that claims TV-based viewing is driving 60% of growth in the total VoD market while connected TV devices will to rise to 375 million globally in 2013.

Blinkbox is also looking forward to the launch of the BBC-led Project Canvas connected TV initiative in the UK. Comish told C21: “Canvas will become the de facto standard for IP video delivery on a three- to five-year time horizon.”

Apple has revamped its Apple TV product, unveiling a simpler device which only streams content, and signing rental agreements with Fox, ABC and BBC America.

In addition to streaming TV shows from Apple’s iTunes service, the device is also able to stream content from YouTube, Netflix, Flickr and MobileMe. However, it does not have a hard disc to store content on, instead relying on Wi-Fi and Ethernet cables to access content.

The price of the device has been cut to US$99, and HD TV show episodes will be available to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America from 99 cents. The device is less than four inches square, making it 80% smaller than the previous generation of Apple TV device.

“The new Apple TV, paired with the largest selection of online HD movie and TV show rentals, lets users watch Hollywood content on their HD TV whenever they want,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In tandem with Apple’s announcement, Amazon.com has cut the rental price on some 260 TV shows from Fox, ABC and the BBC from US$2.99 to 99 cents.

In related news, Sony is to launch its Qriocity platform in five European countries, including the UK. The service offers cloud-based VoD and music streaming, and launched in the US in April, offering VoD movies from studios including Lionsgate, NBC Universal, Disney, Warner Bros and MGM.

The service will be made available through select Sony Bravia TVs, Blu-Ray players, PlayStation 3 devices and Vaio computers.

Source C21