RIM now accepting BlackBerry PlayBook tablet app submissions

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Research in Motion wants to make sure its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will be packed with apps when it arrives in stores early next year, and Tuesday it called on developers to begin submitting apps for the device.

The apps, if approved, will be sold through RIM’s BlackBerry App World store.

The Canadian tech giant also updated its BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK (software developer kit) for compatibility with Adobe’s AIR software, which allows developers to build apps using Adobe Flash and other tools on Tuesday.

Apple’s iPad, which the PlayBook is looking to compete with directly, famously lacks support for Adobe Flash and, as a result, many websites and videos aren’t viewable on the hugely popular device.

So far, RIM has made Flash compatibility a major selling point of the PlayBook and partnered with Adobe executives to show off the tablet at demonstrations and conferences.

‘With its groundbreaking performance and robust support for industry standard development tools, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides an exceptional platform that appeals to a wide range of mobile app developers, including Adobe AIR and Flash developers, HTML web developers, corporate developers and application hobbyists,’ Tyler Lessard, RIM’s vice president of global alliances and developer relations, said in a statement.

‘We are very pleased to be working with developers in advance of the product launch, and the opening of BlackBerry App World to accept BlackBerry PlayBook apps is an important next step,’ the statement continued.

RIM has yet to announce a release date for the PlayBook, but has said it will sell for less than $500 and be the ‘fastest’ tablet yet -- though at 1GHz, its internal computer is technically the same speed as the iPad.

The initial PlayBook will be Wi-Fi only and will not support a cellular connection, though 3G-capable models will arrive at a later date, RIM has said.

The PlayBook will have a 7-inch touchscreen and, unlike the iPad, cameras in the front and rear of the device for shooting photos and video, as well as video chatting.

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Upper photo: Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer of Research in Motion, left, and Kevin Lynch, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Adobe Systems, demonstrate AIR and Flash content in the first live demonstration of the BlackBerry PlayBook at Adobe MAX 2010 in Los Angeles on Oct. 25. Credit: Bloomberg

Lower photo: A BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Credit: Research In Motion