Playbook OS 2.0 – Can RIM still turn it around?

RIM is set to launch Playbook OS 2.0 this coming week during the MWC. The OS will finally be moving out of the advanced beta phase and be receiving vita functions it should have had at launch. Marco posted an early review of the OS when he saw it at CES this year, so I will not extrapolate on what we already know. Yes, it will have a calendar, new contact management, and some snazzy email functions. However, the one thing no one is talking about is the one thing that might be able to save the Playbook, and maybe even pull RIM out of their nosedive spiral of despair.

The OS 2.0 update will allow devs to port Andriod apps for use with the Playback. No longer will Playbook users have to look Angry Birds with envy. I have not seen a list of the apps they expect to have ready to go on the 21’st, the rumored launch date, but the possibility opens a lot of doors for the future. The Playbook is priced at an amazing 199.99, if you shop around for it, which makes it one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, full function tablets on the market. However, because RIM botched the first version of the OS it was ignored, and even laughed at for its lack of features. Basic things people had come to expect were just conspicuously absent, and in order to obtain them you needed to have constant synch with a Blackberrry phone. Oh how hindsight must sting sometimes. However, everything RIM is doing with 2.0 is a step in the right direction.

With this update RIM is going offer the basic functionality the device has always had, but also open it up to the world of open source apps. At its current price point, the addition of the apps make it is great entry into the tablet market, and make it really competitive.  The device already looks good, and when it comes to hardware the thing is a beast. With the increased functionality and dev possibilities, maybe this is just the thing RIM needs to turn things around.

Expect to hear more next week during MWC.