Over the last few weeks I have tried to explain to a few people the difference between the BlackBerry Bridge and the Internet Tethering  on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The BlackBerry Bridge simply proxies certain information like email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, and BBM from a BlackBerry to the PlayBook and shows that information on the PlayBook. It looks like it may give BES users access to the companies intranet but that is about it.

Internet Tethering on the other hand is simply using the Bluetooth Dial Up Networking (DUN) profile that many phones support. This was just confirmed again in a leaked guide by http://crackberry.com/internet-tethering-blackberry-playbook-tablet-bluetooth. That means any phone that supports Dial Up Networking over Bluetooth, which many feature phones even support, will be able to use their phone to get to the internet from a PlayBook.

This all comes with one major caveat. Carriers are going to want to get paid. That means I can see them tacking on some $20 or so charge a month for “PlayBook Tethering.” What would be really cool is if these plans would work with the upcoming Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot features coming in the next generation of BlackBerrys.

Check out the details from the guide at this link. I have spoken to a few devs and it does not look like they will be able to create an app like “Tether” with the current SDK’s available for the PlayBook. On the other hand my discussions with a few internal RIM devs hint that quite a few more API’s are coming soon.

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What I am hearing now is that RIM may have screwed up in the email they sent to developers that made us think the free PlayBook offer was extended. With that extension not happening that makes today the last official day to submit a BlackBerry PlayBook app to be eligible for the offer of a free BlackBerry PlayBook at launch. If you are not already in the submission process with an App World vendor account and signing keys I doubt you can still make the deadline. I am curious how many of you have already submitted apps or plan on submitting them today. Let me know in the comments along with what kind of app you submitted.

In the same vein I submitted a WebWorks app I created on March 23rd and it still is “pending review” over a week later. Maybe RIM is getting inundated with submissions? Either way they better approve it or I will have a conniption.

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I noticed an interesting new BlackBerry PlayBook app show up in App World today. ReelPortal is bringing their Adobe AIR 2.5 based video chatting and conferencing app to the BlackBerry PlayBook. One of the limits on RIM’s upcoming BBM video chatting service is that it will only be from PlayBook to PlayBook at first. We are counting on companies like Skype or even ReelPortal to make it cross platform.

The ReelPortal app for the BlackBerry PlayBook is not showing up in the App World webstore anymore for some reason but here is a description I snagged from App World on my BlackBerry:

ReelPortal is an Adobe AIR 2.5 based video chat and conferencing app for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™. Designed to work with multiple devices and OSes, its features include:

video conference with multiple friendsjoin a public room, or create your own locked private roomsupports both P2P and client/server connectionsPersistent connection allows switching between Wi-Fi and 3G without dropping connectionsUse it as a nanny-cam or video monitoring system

ReelPortal is room-centric. You automatically connect to everyone in a room when you enter with no need to call them individually.

You can check out an idea of what the app looks like at http://www.reelportal.com/

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In case you don’t know Polar Mobile they are a solid mobile development shop that creates some of the popular content apps you probably already use. Polar Mobile let us know they have inked a deal to bring at least 100 apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook. These apps are probably going to be for the same clients that Polar Mobile is currently working with from their catalog of 200+ BlackBerry apps.

I am not sure what RIM had to do with the deal but I have heard of them doing similar things in the past. I know RIM has played a role in getting many apps to the BlackBerry Platform by contracting with the developing house directly. Its a pretty solid move for RIM and I hear they are looking to create similar deals. Just to give you an idea of the apps this deal will bring to the PlayBook some of Polar Moblie’s apps include: TheStreet, Bloomberg, The Hockey News, TIME. CNN Money, and many more.

Here are the full details from Polar Mobile:

Polar Mobile to support RIM’s PlayBook tablets and launch 100 PlayBook AppsMarch 31, 2011 (Toronto, ON) – Polar Mobile (http://www.polarmobile.com/) announced plans today to support Research In Motion’s PlayBook tablet devices and estimates launching at least 100 Apps for the device in 2011.Polar Mobile’s SMART Platform powers over 500 mobile Apps across every smartphone for over 200 Publishers in 10 countries. The 180+ Super Apps powered by Polar Mobile on BlackBerry smartphones today have been used by over 4,000,000 people in 100 countries. The likes of Time Inc, Conde Nast, Bloomberg, CBS Sports, Shanghai Daily and Transcontinental Media are some of Polar Mobile’s customers.“Tablets represent a massive opportunity for our customers to increase reach, drive engagement and create a new revenue stream”, says Kunal Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Polar Mobile. “We are excited to extend our Platform to the PlayBook and believe it will be a key content consumption device that Publishers need to be on”.IDC forecasts worldwide shipments of tablets to reach 70.8 million units by next year. RIM has announced the launch of the PlayBook tablet for April 19th.“Polar Mobile is a leader in helping Publishers launch high-quality mobile Apps easily and quickly, while enabling a compelling user experience”, says Tyler Lessard, Vice President, Global Alliances, Research In Motion. “The PlayBook is an important device that partners like Polar Mobile are investing heavily on, given the opportunity to grow distribution and revenue”.Polar Mobile’s SMART™ Platform provides Publishers with an affordable solution that is fast and easy to get to-market across every major device. The Platform is a fully hosted and managed solution, incorporating a variety of mobile ad servers, mobile reporting, end-user support and other key platform services. To learn more about launching Apps with Polar Mobile, visit http://www.polarmobile.com/.

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It looks like RIM is extending their free BlackBerry PlayBook for developers offer yet again. I think this is a great move by RIM though I have not seen the change reflected on the RIM website yet. Long time reader Marc received an email today stating:

The BlackBerry developer community has already begun developing and submitting applications for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™. Registered developers who submit a qualifying BlackBerry® PlayBook™ app that is accepted into BlackBerry App World™ prior to the initial product launch in North America (April 19th) will receive a free BlackBerry® PlayBook™. Learn how to qualify for the free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet offer.

I am not sure if RIM changed their qualifications for the offer anymore but I expect we will hear from them soon. I think this is a brilliant move on RIM’s part because it will net them many more than the 100 or so Android 3.0 HoneyComb tablet apps available now.

Keep an eye out on BerryReview for updates!

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If you needed any more proof that RIM originally planned on launching the PlayBook in March this should clinch it. Doug (Hayes Developer) noticed that RIM has filed an extension with the FCC asking them to keep the PlayBook’s details confidential until April 19th (the launch date). The previous date was set for March 31st.

They want the FCC to do this to:

…ensure sensitive business information remains confidential until the actual marketing of the device.”

Now this makes me truly wonder what is in these approval documents that RIM has not told us already??? Any guesses? I am hoping for a built in sonic screwdriver.

RIM is asking them to withhold the:

External photosTest setup photosUser’s manualInternal photos

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Retailers are gearing up for the April 19th launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook. I got an email yesterday from Sears Canada announcing that they have opened the doors for preorders for all three variants of the BlackBerry PlayBook. Quite a few readers also let us know that Office Depot in the US is also accepting preorders. The prices are the same across all these retailers but the trend I am seeing is that many of them are only really going to have quantities of the 16GB variant in stock at stores.

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Yesterday we pointed out a picture on RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook site showing a then unknown app with popular magazines featured. Having no idea what the app was I decided to open up to floor to our readers to figure out what it was and it looks like we have it figured out. The BlackBerry PlayBook render of the app looks exactly like Zinio.

In case you have never heard of Zinio (I hadn’t) they offer up popular digital magazines and books through their service. From what I can tell Zinio offers National Geographic, Rolling Stones, Harvard Business Review, and Popular Mechanics which are shown in the rendering on RIM’s site. What really clinches it is that their latest Zinio Reader4 beta is built on Adobe AIR which should be super easy for them to port to the BlackBerry PlayBook.

So it looks like we will probably hear an announcement about the PlayBook getting Zinio soon. What do you think?

Thanks to Tenniscpa and Michael for pointing this out!

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Now that RIM has officially set the BlackBerry PlayBook launch date for April 19th along with opening up preorders I keep wondering one thing. Where are all the BlackBerry PlayBook ads. RIM has really stepped up their game with BlackBerry smartphone ads but I have yet to see one ad for the BlackBerry PlayBook. No billboards, web ads, nothing…

So I have to wonder if we are in the quiet before the storm? Will we suddenly see the floodgates open in the next three weeks? What do you think RIM’s game plan is?

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I can’t believe another month has gone by and we are only weeks away from the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook on April 19th. Today is the last day of our March Rewards contest with a BlackBerry PlayBook up for grabs. The contest is still going on until midnight tonight with a BlackBerry PlayBook (base model) when it is publicly available or a $500 Amazon/PayPal gift certificate as the prize. With all the news on the PlayBook this is a great way to get one for free when it comes out!

As many of you know every comment, forum post, and tip submission you make on BerryReview during the month of March 2011 will be counted as an entry to win. That means every forum post or comment you contribute increases your chances of winning! You must be registered and logged in to BerryReview when leaving comments for them to be included in the contest and the winner will be chosen by the BerryReview staff in the beginning of March.

You can check out all the details and official rules in the announcement post. If you have any questions comments leave a comment on that post. So what are you waiting for? Today is the last chance to win this months PlayBook!

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PS: The last three months of PlayBook giveaways have been awesome. We are taking suggestions on what we should try to do for next month since the PlayBook launches in April! Let us know in the comments what you would want to see as a prize!

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