RIM Announces Video Chat App for PlayBook

ORLANDO—RIM today announced a video chat app for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, but it will only allow PlayBook owners to talk to each other for now.

The BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat app will be available on May 3, according to RIM, allowing for one-click video calls between PlayBooks using Wi-Fi networks. The app also features a picture-in-picture display, its own contact list, and a call log, among other ordinary phone-call-type features.

We criticized the BlackBerry PlayBook on its launch for being incomplete. It didn't have email, calendar, or a contacts list; it also lacked a native software developer's kit. Video chat was another missing app, but that lacuna is now filled.

We'll get a demo of the new video chat app today at the BlackBerry World trade show.

Another upcoming app is Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook, which will provide the social-networking experience optimized for 7-inch tablets, RIM said.

Earlier today, RIM also announced two powerful new BlackBerry phones with high-res touch screens, fast 1.2GHz processors, and a new OS that offers better graphics than BlackBerries had before.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are the HSPA (AT&T/T-Mobile) and CDMA/HSPA+ (Verizon/Sprint global) versions of the same thing: a stretched-out BlackBerry Bold with a 2.8-inch, 640-by-480 touchscreen. That isn't high resolution compared to other top-of-the-line smartphones, but it's a very rich, dense screen for its small size.

For more, see PCMag's full review of the PlayBook and the slideshow below, the unboxing, our review of the BlackBerry tablet OS, and PCMag's comparison of the Xoom, PlayBook and iPad 2.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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