PlayBook - more for less than cheapest iPad

IT'S smaller and has features you won't find on an iPad. Now RIM says its PlayBook will be cheaper than Apple's magical device.

RESEARCH in Motion, maker of BlackBerrys, said its PlayBook tablet will go on sale in North America in the first quarter of 2011 for less than $US500.

The least expensive iPad costs $US499.

With a seven-inch screen, the PlayBook is also smaller than the iPad.

However, it has features the iPad lacks - namely, the ability to pair the device with a BlackBerry phone.

The phone's content can then be seen on the tablet's bigger screen.

The tablet also has two cameras, one of which can be used for video chatting.

It also has a port, so one can connect the device to a high-definition television and watch a movie stored on the tablet.

The PlayBook wasn't intended as an iPad clone, though - it will be marketed toward larger businesses.

By contrast, the iPad has been marketed toward consumers.

Samsung on Wednesday began selling its Galaxy Tab tablet, which also has a seven-inch display.

RIM has said that it will eventually release versions of the PlayBook that can get online over cellular 3G connections, but it has not yet announced any agreements with phone companies, nor has it said when it might sell those tablets.

The ones coming first use Wi-Fi connections.