BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) will be releasing its BlackBerry ‘PlayBook’ sometime early next year. How does it stack up against the Apple iPad? That’s what I am here to answer. Keep in mind that a new iPad will be coming out next year of course, and that the PlayBook’s specs and features might change (hopefully for the better) before it comes out. Drum roll please. Here’s the iPad vs. PlayBook showdown we’ve all been waiting for.

The iPad

• Screen: 1024×768 pixel screen at 9.7” with multitouch
• Weight: 1.5 or 1.6 lbs (Wi-Fi only and 3G enabled respectively)
• Dimensions: (HxWxD) 9.56” x 7.47” x 0.5”
• Processor: 1 GHz Apple A4 chipset
• RAM: 256MB
• Storage: 16, 32 and 64 GB models available
• Cameras: None
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, (3G cellular connectivity available on some models)
• Ports: None
• OS: iOS 3.2.2 (iOS 4.2 due in November 2010)

The PlayBook

• Screen: 1024x 600 pixel screen at 7”
• Weight: 0.9 lbs
• Dimensions: (HxWxD) 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.04”
• Processor: 1 GHz Dualcore processor from presumably Marvell
• RAM: 1 GB
• Storage: Unknown yet, assume microSD support at the least + internal storage
• Cameras: 3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear, will be able to do 1080p video recording
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (3G and 4G cellular connectivity to come on later models)
• Ports: microHDMI, microUSB
• OS: A new OS by QNX/RIM

Overall, it looks like the new PlayBook might be offering just the options a lot of people who have snubbed the iPad in favor of a real laptop have wanted. Of course, the coming iPad 2 will be expected to have front and rear facing cameras for video calling as well, but we haven’t seen Apple officially announce the model yet. Furthermore, that huge 1 GB of RAM in the PlayBook is 4x of what the current iPad has. While I will expect the next iPad to have at least 512MB of RAM like the iPhone 4, it isn’t a sure deal yet. I also really like the microHDMI and microUSB support the PlayBook has.

Which model are you interested in? Think the coming Android based tablets (or even the Cisco Cius) are a better deal? Let me know in the comments and in the meantime, rest assured that tablet devices are here to stay.