RIM (RIMM) Appears to Be the William Hung of Tablet-Making

Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) may be missing the boat again, and this time it's on its upcoming tablet PC, the PlayBook.

According to a leaked .pdf FAQ sheet for the device on Wired, the tablet will ship without native support for messaging, contacts, or e-mail. Users will have to hook-up an existing BlackBerry device, which will then display apps on the PlayBook's screen.

The FAQ states: "In a future software update for the BlackBerry PlayBook, we will also provide native e-mail, calendar, and contact apps for those customers who prefer to have these apps directly on the tablet." Right now, a Bluetooth connection and BlackBerry device are your only hopes.

Wired makes the following convincing points of Research In Motion's rush to the market with their PlayBook:

• The software development kit (SDK), which will allow developers to write native apps, isn’t yet finished.
  
  
• In order to bring what RIM’s CEO Jim Balsillie calls a "tonnage of apps" to the PlayBook at launch, RIM has added an emulator to run Android apps.
  
  
• The PlayBook will ship with Wi-Fi only, no 3G. To connect without Wi-Fi, you need to tether a BlackBerry.
  
  
• RIM, whose business is built on messaging and communication apps, is shipping its tablet without messaging or communication apps.

The FAQ and actions seem to contradict what Balsillie said during the Company's fourth quarter conference call. With regards to shipments, Balsillie commented, "clearly, it's a major, major launch that we expect to be a growth driver for a long, long period of time...This is a shift in computing globally..."

A shift to stamps and ink?

Research In Motion shares are down 0.14% ahead of the bell today.

LINK: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/03/doa-rim-will-ship-playbook-without-mail-messaging-or-contacts/

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