RIM is currently showing off its much-hyped BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PC at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and CIO.com's Al Sacco was on the scene for a first look at how the tablet connects to a BlackBerry smartphone for e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) access. Tablet PCs are all the rage at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) is currently demonstrating one of the most-anticipated tablets at the event: The seven-inch BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM first announced the BlackBerry Tablet in September, and it held small events for developers, partners and other industry insiders during the past few months, but CES 2011 marks the first time RIM allowed the public to touch and to experiment with the PlayBook, the first version of which is expected to become available before the end of March. The initial version of the BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be “Wi-Fi only,” meaning it won’t pack any sort of cellular radio. And the PlayBook will need to connect to a BlackBerry smartphone via a Bluetooth connection to access many Web-based BlackBerry services while on the go. After getting some hands-on time with the PlayBook–I’ll post my first impression shortly on the Mobile WorkHorse blog–I was lucky enough to sit down with RIM Marketing Manager Jeff Gadway for a quick video demonstration of how the BlackBerry PlayBook will use a BlackBerry smartphone to access BlackBerry e-mail and RIM’s popular, proprietary IM client, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). In addition to e-mail and BBM, the first version of the PlayBook will also use a BlackBerry smartphone to access users’ BlackBerry calendars, address books, memos and tasks. Check out the video below for details. And read my list of 10 things you need to know about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for more specifics on the device. AS BlackBerry PlayBook and Smartphone Demonstration Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline. Email Al at ASacco@CIO.com. Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe