While the corporate market eagerly awaits the release of Research in Motion’s (RIMM) upcoming professional tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, at least one company may be gearing up for a fight. Hewlett Packard (HPQ) is accusing RIMM of copying HPQ’s well received WebOS tablet platform. As BusinessInsider reports:
Although RIM’s tablet will hit the market before HP’s competing TouchPad, it uses the kind of fast app switching that has been a hallmark of WebOS since it debuted on smartphones.
For instance, both platforms display open apps as “cards” — users can switch apps by swiping the cards from side to side, and close them by swiping them off the screen. Laptop Magazine noticed the similarities and asked HP what they thought.
InformationWeek adds coverage of RIMM’s response:
RIM was sure to file a response to HP’s comments. It told Laptop magazine: “You know, cars over time end up looking a lot alike because you put them through a wind tunnel, and when you’re trying to come up with the best coefficient to drag ratio, there’s one optimized shape that gets the best wind resistance, right? Well, when you’re trying to optimize user experience that juggles multitasking, multiple apps open at once and on a small screen, you’re going to get people landing on similar kinds of designs.”
Users will get a chance to consider the charges themselves, with the PlayBook rumoured to be available April 10th:
We have been told by multiple sources that RIM’s very first tablet will be launching on April 10th in retail locations. Additionally, we’re told the OS goes GM (gold master) on March 31st and that when you boot up the device right out of the box, you’ll be prompted to upgrade to a newer version of the OS.
RIMM was down 0.86% and HPQ rose 0.77% in Wednesday’s trading (3/2).
Covestor models that hold RIMM as of end of day 3/2 – click through for more info on the models:
- Bluenose from GEARS
- Bottom-Up Analysis and Bottom-Up Analysis Aggressive from Epic Advisors
Covestor models that hold HPQ as of end of day 3/2 – click through for more info on the models:
- Large Cap from Gator Capital
- Large Cap Core Equity from ASB Capital
- Suncoast Equity from Suncoast Equity
- Domestic Dividend from Harvest Financial Planners
Sources:
“HP Accuses BlackBerry PlayBook of Ripping Off WebOS” Matt Rosoff. BusinessInsider, 3/1/11. https://www.businessinsider.com/hp-accuses-blackberry-playbook-of-ripping-off-palm-2011-3?r=US&IR=T
“HP Exec Notes RIM PlayBook’s ‘Uncanny Similarities'” Eric Zeman. InformationWeek, 3/2/11. http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal-tech/tablets/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229300025&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
“BlackBerry PlayBook launching on April 10th” Jonathan Geller. BoyGeniusReports, 3/2/11. http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/02/blackberry-playbook-launching-on-april-10th/
Share price information from Google Finance as of 3/2/11, http://www.google.com/finance
