RIM: PlayBook 2.0 Likely Coming During MWC
The BlackBerry PlayBook's new 2.0 OS will likely arrive as a giant over-the-air update during the Mobile World Congress trade show at the end of this month, BlackBerry senior brand manager Jeff Gadway said in a meeting with PCMag today.
Context & Ripple Effects
The PlayBook has been in limbo since its 2010 unveiling and a rocky $500 launch in April 2011, with RIM's most notable software promise being Android app compatibility touted by a company rep early last year. A leaked 2012 roadmap last month pointed to an HSPA+ PlayBook refresh alongside two BlackBerry 10 phones, keeping the tablet alive on paper while the phone line waits for its next OS.
Now senior brand manager Jeff Gadway has told PCMag that PlayBook 2.0 will likely land as one large over-the-air update timed to Mobile World Congress at the end of February — putting the tablet's biggest software moment on the same Barcelona stage where RIM must also defend its phone roadmap. The pickup across The Verge, AllThingsD, PadGadget and others shows how much attention rides on whether this update can stabilize the product.
First-order effects
- Existing PlayBook owners get the 2.0 OS as a single over-the-air update rather than a new hardware purchase, making the installed base the immediate audience for whatever MWC brings.
- RIM's MWC messaging now has to carry two products at once: a refreshed tablet OS and the BlackBerry 10 phone story, with Gadway's timing tying the tablet announcement directly to the show.
Second-order effects
- If 2.0 ships with the long-promised Android app runtime working well, developers weighing whether to port apps to the PlayBook get a clearer answer than the 2011 proclamations offered, which affects how much catalog the tablet can advertise against iPad and Android rivals.
- An HSPA+ PlayBook variant on the same roadmap becomes easier to sell once the current Wi-Fi model runs 2.0, giving carriers a reason to stock a tablet that previously lacked a cellular pitch.
Third-order effects
- RIM is effectively using the PlayBook as the proving ground for its next-generation OS work ahead of the BlackBerry 10 phones due later in 2012 — if the pattern holds, tablet software updates become the public test bed for a phone platform still under construction.
- For a company whose handset launches have slipped before (the Bold 9900 delay was confirmed back in June 2011), shipping a major OS update on schedule at MWC would be a credibility data point for whether the broader 2012 roadmap holds.
The trend: RIM is leaning on over-the-air software updates to keep the PlayBook commercially relevant through 2012 while BlackBerry 10 phones remain in development ahead of their planned launch.