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By STUART WEINBERG

Research In Motion Ltd. said it will sell its PlayBook tablet in North America next month starting at $499, ending months of speculation over the timing of the release.

The PlayBook joins a handful of new tablets already on the market and will be the latest rival to sector leader, Apple Inc.'s iPad. Three models of the PlayBook will be available in more than 20,000 retail outlets, RIM said. Best Buy Co., one of the PlayBook retailers, will begin accepting orders for the new product Tuesday.

The PlayBook launch on April 19 is one of RIM's most important roll-outs, amid an attack on the company's corporate subscriber base for its BlackBerry smartphone from Apple's iPhone, as well as new phones that run on Google Inc.'s Android-operating system.

RIM has priced its first tablet in roughly the same range as Apple's iPad 2, unveiled earlier this month. Both devices start at $499 for the 16-gigabyte model and top out at $699 for a 64-gigabyte model. Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s Xoom tablet, another competitor, starts at $599.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday at the CTIA Wireless show in Florida that it will launch 8.9- and 10.1-inch, versions of its Galaxy Tab tablet that rely on Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet. The smaller Galaxy Tab will start at $469 and be go on sale early this summer, while the larger model will start at $499 and be available June 8. Samsung didn't announce pricing or availability in Asia or Europe.

Research In Motion will launch its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in Canada and the U.S. on April 19, priced from $499 to $699. Can it compete with the market-leading Apple iPad?

Analysts said they thought the PlayBook seemed competitively priced, and some market watchers said they were surprised by how wide the retail distribution channel will be for the device. In addition to Best Buy, the device will be available in the U.S. through AT Inc., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp., Office Dept Inc. and Staples Inc., among others.

RIM unveiled the PlayBook back in September, but took nearly seven months to launch it commercially, allowing time for rival firms to launch their own tablets and for Apple to release its second-generation tablet, its iPad 2.

The initial version of the PlayBook may disappoint customers already used to some advances in other tablets. It will need to be tethered to a BlackBerry to achieve some functionality, such as reading email attachments. It also doesn't allow for a cellular connection, so users can only go online using Wi-Fi or by tethering the device to their BlackBerrys. RIM has indicated that future PlayBook models will have cellular capability.

Reuters

The PlayBook displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.The PlayBook launch has confused some mobile-market watchers over its intended market. RIM executives have said the product will benefit from RIM's proven corporate-security infrastructure, appealing to both business executives and everyday users, who want to use tablets for personal tasks—everything from booking cinema tickets to mapping out street directions.

The launch also comes amid a senior marketing-executive transition at RIM. Earlier this month, RIM said its chief marketing officer had decided to leave the company, though he'd be staying on during a transition period straddling the PlayBook launch. The company, based in Waterloo, Ontario, hasn't named a replacement. RIM is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter earnings Thursday.
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