BlackBerry PlayBook delayed because of Flash?

Earlier today we reported that RIM’s upcoming tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook was delayed due to a majority of all touch displays being bought up by Apple for their iPad 2. Well now it seems that a new rumor has surfaced, this time pointing the finger at Adobe. Apparently the PlayBook has had problems running Flash well, and for a tablet that’s touted to be tightly integrated with Flash – it’s a big no-no. Because of these problems, Adobe had to spend more time optimizing it for the tablet, which led to the delay of the PlayBook. And given Adobe’s history with releasing Flash for Android tablets late (i.e. the Motorola Xoom), it’s not surprising if the tablet was delayed due to Flash arriving late. While the speculation certainly sounds interesting, it’s worth noting that the PlayBook was designed to work well with Adobe AIR, so it shouldn’t have any problems running Flash. In fact, many demonstrations of the tablet running Flash in the recent months show that the tablet doesn’t have a problem with it – so regardless if it was delayed or not by Flash, you can expect the final version of the tablet to ship with a great Flash experience. But whatever the reason for the PlayBook’s delay is, let’s just hope that no more pop up in the next few weeks and we’ll get our PlayBook tablets on time.

George Wong
Categories: Tablets
Tags: adobe, BlackBerry, delay, flash, playbook, RIM