I don’t know about you, but I am definitely looking forward to Research in Motion‘s launch of their tablet (smablet?  gablet?), Playbook, which is set to make its debut some time this year.  For one thing, it will definitely lighten my Fashion Week kit, which currently includes a camera and netbook.  Also, it has features that the iPad, which is currently the best-selling tablet (probably because it was the first that actually worked with consumers.  Other brands have tried tablets before, including ones that could be converted to regular laptops to no avail) doesn’t have, including support for Flash, multitasking as well as a built-in USB port.  The Playbook is also slightly smaller than the iPad, which can be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it.

Playbook Web Fidelity Video:

Playbook vs. iPad:

So far, there has been very little released about anything in the Playbook other than the browser.  Nothing has been said about the selection of apps, which current Blackberry devices don’t have much of compared to Apple and Android.  However, according to the people at RIM, due to the ability to play Flash, the Playbook is able to handle (most) regular websites.  For those of us who need to upload pictures, it seems that the Playbook does not have an SD port, which means that one will need to purchase an adaptor to plug into the USB port.  It’s unlikely that there will be one any time soon as the Playbook is being marketed as a “professional” t ablet for people outside of the media-related industries.  As for whether the Playbook will succeed,  we are still at a wait-and-see period.  No specific launch date for the Playbook has been set just yet, so everything we’re reading is pure speculation.