Rumor Mill: RIM's LTE PlayBook to hit shelves next week

Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) long awaited BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with LTE connectivity may finally see the light of day next week, according to a post on the blog MobileSyrup.  

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook

The blog, citing an internal RIM document, claims that the tablet will go on sale for Bell Mobility and likely other Canadian carriers for $550 starting July 31. According to the blog, the new version of the tablet will sport a 7-inch display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, PlayBook OS 2.0, 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear camera that shoots 1080p HD videos, a 3-megapixel front-facing camera, 4800 mAh battery and will only come in a 32 GB version.

A RIM spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in early May RIM CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed that a long-awaited LTE-capable PlayBook tablet will hit the market "later this year," but he declined to provide more specifics.

The LTE PlayBook was first announced at Mobile World Congress in 2011, but has not been released to the public. In March, RIM sent PlayBook versions supporting HSPA+ and LTE networks through the FCC's device certification process.

RIM's PlayBook went on sale last year with only Wi-Fi connectivity and sales never took off, though RIM has said it remains committed to the tablet market.

For more:
- see this MobileSyrup post
- see this The Verge article

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