Research in Motion (RIM) CEO Mike Lazaridis showed off his company’s upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet at a conference for Adobe developers yesterday. The real-time demo features a look at the tablet’s multitasking abilities as well as how it handles browser-based Flash video playback.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqOs58aZ3LE]
The PlayBook heavily leverages Adobe’s AIR technology to run certain built-in applications, and will support AIR apps built by third-party developers.
This is a smart move on RIM’s part because it’ll allow the company to fill the PlayBook’s app store quickly with many of the Adobe AIR apps that are already available and it paves the way for future apps from the vast numbers of Adobe developers out there.
So instead saying to developers, “Here, learn how to program your apps for this tablet using our in-house software development kit (SDK),” RIM is saying, “Here, use Adobe AIR to make your apps. Many of you have been using it for a while now anyway, so making PlayBook apps should be dead simple.”
Lazaridis also mentioned that developers who have their apps approved “will be eligible for a free BlackBerry Playbook.” Nice little bonus, there.
More on Techland:
Two Minute Video: How the BlackBerry PlayBook is Different
What the PlayBook Means for RIM
Steve Jobs: ‘Flash is No Longer Necessary’ and Other Musings