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PlayBook prepped for assault on enterprise, up to 4 million to ship by early 2012

Business sector remains key for BlackBerry

PlayBook prepped for assault on enterprise, up to 4 million to ship by early 2012
While taking consumers away from iPad would appear to be a hard task, BlackBerry is hoping its strength within the business sector will serve its own tablet – PlayBook – well when it launches in early 2011.

According to a report by Reuters, PlayBook is already garnering much interest within enterprise.

 

That's despite BlackBerry smartphones currently fighting off a serious assault by both iPhone and Android within a sector many regard as RIM's traditional home.

Big on business

As a result, winning back business appear to be RIM's first target for PlayBook, with a large number of the two to four million analysts expect the firm to manufacture in FY2012 (which begins in February 2011) enterprise bound.

Sun Life Financial, for instance, has plans to order between 500 and 1,000 units for its employees, with RIM's typically tight hold on security the motivation behind the deal.

Others also cite RIM's claims that PlayBook will serve as an alternative to traditional laptops as the reason behind early orders.

"If RIM lives up to what it has promised - seamless, out of the box connectively to the existing infrastructure - we can address a business need very, very quickly without making major investments," said NG Groep's chief information officer for its Canadian unit, Charaka Kithulegoda.

PlayBook's roll out to enterprise won't be unchallenged, however. Apple claims 65 percent of the Fortune 100 – including Procter & Gamble, Hyatt, and Novartis - are already iPad equipped.

[source: Reuters]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.