Research in Motion formally took the wraps off the "BlackPad" tablet on Monday, now called the "PlayBook."

SAN FRANCISCO - Research in Motion formally took the wraps off the "BlackPad" tablet on Monday, now called the "PlayBook".

The PlayBook is a 7-inch tablet with a 1024-by-600 multitouch capacitive display, designed around a dual-core, 1-GHz Cortex A9 microprocessor backed by a full gigabyte of RAM. Executives described the new PlayBook as one that would be appropriate for both consumers and businesses.

"This is one of the most exciting times in our history," said Mike Lazaridis, co-chief executive of RIM, in a keynote address at the company's DevCon show here on Monday. He described the PlayBook as "always connected, always on."

The tablet will run QNX's mobile operating system, not one by Android or another provider. to tie the BlackBerry to cars and other applications. The PlayBook will also run HTML5 and Flash 10.1, with native hardware support to accelerate the apps further.

It will be "super comfortable to hold," Lazaridis added. The PlayBook will measure 5.1 inches by 7.6 inches by 0.4 inches, and 0.9 pounds.

Lazaridis did not say what the graphics capability of the PlayBook would be, but said it would run HD video and contain HD cameras on the front and rear. Dan Dodge, the former chief executive of QNX, primised that the PlayBook would be a great gaming experience for the developer, the designer, and of course, the game player.

QNX has been used in 4-, 8-, and 16-core architectures, so it's "future-ready, and future-proof," Dodge said. It's POSIX certified, for more UNIX friendly development, Dodge said.

"The browser will be an absolute jewel," Dodge added.

The PlayBook will contain both a "standard" HDMI and a USB connector, Lazaridis said. It will also contain both a 3-megapixel high definition forward-facing camera, and a 5-Mpixel rear-facing camera, RIM said.

RIM said that the PlayBook will contain 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity. It appears that the PlayBook will not contain an integrated 3G modem, as RIM said that the PlayBook will allow "seamless pairing for a secure window into your BlackBerry smartphone," with "3G access via [an] existing BlackBerry smartphone service plan."

Lazaridis said that RIM has sold 12.1 million devices in its last fiscal quarter, and 115 million BlackBerrys to date. Over 250,000 copies of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server have been sold, he said.

Reports have circulated for weeks that RIM might announce a tablet to compete with Apple's iPad, which has defined the category and sold over 3 million units.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal that the tablet would be announced at the DevCon show here.

The BlackPad be released some time in the fourth quarter, the Journal had reported. But RIM officials did not announce a price or a ship date for the PlayBook besides "early 2011".

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:32 PM PT with additional details, and to correct a misspelling of Lazaridis' last name.