RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook has been widely criticized for its lack of a native email client. It was a curious omission, especially considering the strength of RIM's email application for BlackBerry smartphones. But just why is native email absent from the PlayBook? RIM's current system can't put email on more than one gadget, according to Business Insider.
The email system was built to be supported on just one device, which is why it's on the BlackBerry but unavailable on the PlayBook. In fact, the system was created before tablets existed, so it's likely that RIM didn't see the need to provide support for multiple devices, the publication suggested.
A source who reportedly chatted with a director of BlackBerry product management told BI: "The BlackBerry email system is the [BlackBerry Enterprise Server], which is the source/focus of all the famous [BlackBerry] security. The BES email server has the concept of one user = one device (or they call it PIN)."
Native email on the PlayBook is not impossible, but the source added that RIM has to do "significant work to make the BES support multiple devices." It's "a lot of work to change something that's pretty basic in software architecture and design," the source said.
At the BlackBerry World conference in May, RIM showed the first public demos of native email, contacts, and calendar running on the BlackBerry PlayBook, along with Android apps and high-quality games. In mid-April, RIM said a native email client would probably debut within 60 days.
It hasn't been smooth sailing for the PlayBook in its short life span. After months of delays, it debuted in April, and was greeted with dismal reviews. In its first quarter earnings call, RIM said it shipped half a million PlayBooks; analysts predicted that the company will sell about 366,000. However, those numbers are significantly lower than the original predictions RIM made when first announcing the PlayBook last fall.
Even without the PlayBook problems, RIM has a wealth of other issues to handle, including layoffs and a 25 percent slump in year-over-year profits. For more, see Is There Room for RIM? Yes!
For more, see PCMag's full review of the BlackBerry Playbook and the slideshow below.