BlackBerry just confirmed the last smartphone to make its way to the market this year is the Q20 or the so-called BlackBerry Classic.

So what else is in stored for BlackBerry fans? During the same talk BlackBerry CEO John Chen gave at the MIT Enterprise Forum in Hong Kong. he also confirmed the company is working on a new tablet and a slider concept that will bring to the table a larger display and a physical keyboard (as seen at N4BB).

The next-gen Blackberry tablet has been rumored for some time

Such products were long coming, as talk about an upcoming BlackBerry tablet made rounds online a few months ago. On top of that, at some point a patent detailing a slider concept showed up, indicating the company is at least experimenting with the idea.

The patent described a device with a large display could a hide a physical keyboard by virtue of using a hinge that would allow the keyboard to unfold out. When users would need to type something out, the keyboard could be unfolded out.

Well now the company’s CEO himself confirms these products will hit market shelves at some point.

As we already mentioned, rumors about Blackberry launching a new tablet have been circling the web for some time now.

Blackberry hasn’t been an active tablet player in a while now. Back in 2011 the company launched the Playbook, a product that didn't seem to be quite popular with consumers, so Blackberry had to ax down its prices quite significantly.

Even so a poll conducted not so long ago pained an interesting picture. 60% of Playbook adopters are still using the device and are actually quite happy with it.

So judging by these results, a follow-up of the Playbook should generate a decent amount of interest for those who have already pledged their hearts to Blackberry. But would it mange to attract new customers?

Remembering what the original Playbook was all about

Since the original Playbook launched three years ago, it boasts pretty outdated specs. The slate has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and draws power from a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor fitted with 1GB of RAM.

So Blackberry has some serious upgrading to do in order to be able to match today’s offerings. Still, it’s a mystery when the tablet (and slider) will make a debut on the market.

At some point the rumor mill said a certain device codenamed “Visa/Victoria” will be launched in 2015, so chances are the product will end up being a slider or a tablet, but so far we’re only speculating.