BlackBerry has no plans for a follow-up to the BlackBerry PlayBook

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, in Australia for the coming launch there of the BlackBerry Z10, took some to discuss the BlackBerry PlayBook. In a way, the new BlackBerry 10 OS owes a lot to the PlayBook as the slate was released running the QNX OS which evolved into BlackBerry 10. But that doesn't mean that a follow-up to the tablet is on the way.

While the executive did admit that the Canadian based OEM is working on some projects to see how a new tablet might work, Heins said BlackBerry would have to add some value to the slate before releasing another one. He called the hardware side of the tablet market cutthroat and very difficult although he praised Apple, which he didn't mention by name, for doing tablets well enough to grab a majority of the market.

The BlackBerry PlayBook has not sold well, and it should be pointed out that it was the brainchild of the previous two-headed management at BlackBerry. Inexplicably, it was launched without a native calendar app and even more disturbing for a company that prides itself on doing email better than the other mobile firms, it launched without a native email application.

With reports swirling that Apple is in the process of building a smartwatch, Heins said that if the market calls for such a device, he would have one built. "And if I need to build a watch, I'll do it," stated Heins. "I don't know yet."

source: HeraldSun via BGR