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"With BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry now has a smartphone platform that can compete with Android and the iPhone, and the Z10 and Q10 phones will roll out globally over the next few months. For tablets, however, BlackBerry only has its nearly two-year-old PlayBook, and it looks like it won't get any siblings anytime soon.\nIn a Q&amp;A with reporters following the the BB10 launch keynote, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said the company would \"continue\" in the tablet space, but that it was still looking for a way to differentiate and position any new tablet. Heins noted that the cost-to-profits ratio of tablets was a challenge \u2014 alluding to the rise of smaller, cheaper tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire \u2014 which are sold at or near cost and make money through services.\n\"We want to provide a value proposition that is not just hardware, but software, too,\" Heins said. \"What we\u2019ll be doing in the tablet space is looking for specific services on top of the tablet \u2014 financial, healthcare verticals. We are still exploring various use cases for it.\"\nHeins did, however, reiterate the promise that all existing BlackBerry PlayBooks will get upgraded to BlackBerry 10, though he wasn't specific on timing. The current PlayBook software is based on the same software code as BlackBerry 10, so it's the only current BlackBerry device that's compatible with the new operating system. BlackBerry has essentially used the PlayBook as a real-world testing ground for many of the experiences in BB10.\nSEE ALSO: Will Lytro Ever Go Mainstream?\n\nHowever, the PlayBook had a tough time in the market. Unveiled in fall 2010, the PlayBook didn't debut until spring 2011, and it launched in a semi-incomplete state, without a native email app. It could only access email when it was bridged with a compatible BlackBerry phone, and the software was notoriously buggy at the start. \nThe PlayBook software has since been updated and polished, and BlackBerry says sales have picked up, mainly because its price was slashed considerably.\nIt may have a checkered history, but the PlayBook is BlackBerry's first and only tablet, and it looks like it will be for a long time to come.\nWould you like to see a new BlackBerry tablet? Who should be its target audience, and what features should it have?\nBONUS: BlackBerry 10 Launch Event\n\n\nBlackBerry 10 Launch Event\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry 10\nBlackBerry 10 is finally here.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 \nBlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins shows off the first two BlackBerry 10 handsets: the full-touch Z10 and the physical keyboard Q10.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry 10 on the Z10\nThe Z10 is available in black and white.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Story Maker\nOne of the new built-in apps is called Story Maker. It makes it easy to create multimedia videos using photos, music and video clips.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStory Maker Effects\nA finished Story Maker clip plays.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry World\nBlackBerry 10's BlackBerry World is full of games, including Angry Birds Star Wars\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry 10 Apps\nBlackBerry is boasting 70,000 BlackBerry 10 apps at launch. Is that enough to take on Apple and Google?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry 10 Virtual Keyboard\nJust because it has a touch screen doesn't mean it's not still a BlackBerry.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Hub\nThe BlackBerry Hub is any easy way to access contacts at a glance.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Balance\nBlackBerry Balance lets users separate their business and personal information on the same device.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBBM for BlackBerry 10\nBBM is here -- and it supports video calling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBBM Video Calls\nThe world's first public video call over BBM.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Remember\nKeep track of reminders and to-dos with BlackBerry remember.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Picture Editor\nThe built-in photo editing app includes filters and free-form crops.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBlackBerry Creative Director Alicia Keys\nGrammy-winning artist Alicia Keys has joined BlackBerry as its new Creative Director.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImage courtesy of BlackBerry"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/01/31/future-blackberry-tablets/>