Kaufman Bros. analyst Shawn Wu says RIM is “making good progress” on the upcoming PlayBook tablet, however, the low battery life remains a critical issue.
Wu cites industry and supply chain sources, adding that the new QNX operating system is progressing strongly, as well.
Outside of the battery life, “app store monetization” is also an issue, notes the analyst.
Speaking about RIM’s decision to work on multiple operating systems (BlackBerry OS 6 and QNX), Wu added(via PCM):“Competitive pressures will likely step up as we are also hearing Microsoft courting developers pretty aggressively with its new Windows Phone 7 platform as it attempts to catch up.”
The battery life remains the main concern, which Wu claims is only “a few hours.” The iPad claims 10 hours while the Galaxy Tab has over 6.
“From our understanding, this could require a bit of re-engineering,” says Wu of the OS and battery life. “One possibility we are hearing is the likelihood of a larger battery which could add to the heft and weight of PlayBook.”
In its current form, the PlayBook is 0.9 pounds.
Result for: attempts
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom, could eventually derail the BBC’s proposed new set-top box project, dubbed “iPlayer in hardware”. The regulator wrote to the BBC Trust outlining several concerns it had about the new project and their consequences for competition.
“Commercially-led propositions which seek to compete with Canvas should not be unfairly prevented from accessing BBC content,” it read. It also has concerns about technical standards, user interface (EPG), the BBC’s partnerships with other broadcasters and program quality standards.
Project Canvas is a Linux-based box that attempts to update Freeview with PVR functionality, web access, IPTV and other features. It won’t be manufactured by the BBC, but the broadcaster wants to set a specification that other broadcasters can use. It’s also promised not to aggregate content for the box, or give preferential treatment to BBC content in the Canvas spec.
The BBC Trust has yet to determine whether to let the BBC proceed with the project. “There is a danger television viewers could ultimately be divided into two groups - those with internet connected functionality and those without,” the BBC’s Richard Halton told IPTV World Forum in February. “The BBC would like to ensure that, as before, there is a choice in TV between those who wish to take a subscription and those who don’t.”
Result for: attempts
Last October South Park Studios, creators of the Comedy Central show with the same name, submitted an iPhone app to Apple. According to a sneak preview at that time it would allow you to get wallpaper for your phone, read the studio’s news feed, stream full episodes from their website, and even purchase them from the iTunes store. Now it seems Apple has decided not to approve the app.
An announcement on the South Park website gave fans the bad news, saying “After a couple of attempts to get the application approved, we are sad to say that our app has been rejected. According to Apple, the content was ‘potentially offensive.’”
No doubt this is not the sort of news Apple would like to see right now. They’re already defending themselves in a dispute with the Electronic Frontier Foundation over iPhone jailbreaking.
The EFF recently filed a request with the Library of Congress asking for jailbreaking to be exempt from the DMCA. They argue that it’s essential for giving consumers an option to use whatever software they want on their phones, rather than being limited to whatever Apple allows.
