RIM's PlayBook may have been billed as a failure by the end of 2011, with $485 million worth of surplus inventory to shift and a price slash attract consumers.

But with a fresh batch of established gaming franchises hitting the device in the form of Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and most recently Plants vs. Zombies, the PlayBook is showing some small signs of recovery ahead of the imminent version 2.0 update to its OS.

Over at N4BB, a list of various rumours has been compiled, including whispers that RIM will be expanding its tablet offering in 2012 with two new devices, one looking like a PlayBook update, the other stretching the brand to 10 inches.

The year ahead

Apparently the new 7-inch tablet, replete with 3G connectivity, will launch in April 2012 with its larger 10-inch cousin boasting LTE when it arrives in December.

The upcoming 2.0 OS update will arrive at the end of February, according to the report, while Mobile Fusion will touch down in April, followed by the PlayBook Admin Service to come in Summer.

It's not all PlayBook news though. We can also expect to see the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones - which use the same OS as the PlayBook - surface in September.

Two new BlackBerry Curve devices are also being talked about, with a focus on emerging East African and Asian markets.

[source: N4BB]