Analysts: RIM Building 2.5 Million BlackBerry “BlackPad” Tablets For Q4 With Focus On The Enterprise

By Mauricio

With the BlackBerry Developer Conference less than a few days away, new BlackBerry device rumors have picked up. The latest about the rumored BlackBerry Tablet comes to us from eWeek where they’ve shared some information given to them by a financial analyst. According to some analysts, RIM is building 2.5 million tablets or “BlackPads” for Q4 with a special focus on the enterprise:

RIM, which acquired QNX from Harman in April, expects to launch this device in the fourth quarter this year to compete with Apple’s iPad and tablets based on Google’s Android operating system, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Archos line of Android machines. Apple shipped 3.27 million iPads in the third quarter.
Susquehanna Research analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro, who learned from his sources RIM is building 2.5 million BlackPads, said he has reached out to some ISV contacts to see if RIM built the machine on QNX.
Some industry watchers expressed surprise that the tablet isn’t based on the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, which powers the BlackBerry Torch.
Industry analyst Jack Gold noted QNX has a lot of expertise building real-time, embedded systems for the auto and entertainment, “so I have no doubt they can design a pretty compelling environment for a tablet.”

If these analysts are right it seems RIM is defending their turf in the enterprise as opposed to extending their reach with consumers. Regardless, I’m sure consumers would still be interested in the BlackPad. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the tablet at DEVCON next week.

Would you get a BlackBerry Tablet even if it’s only a companion device?