With the PlayBook O.S. 2.0 set to hit the market next month, the question for Research in Motion is whether it can stimulate interest in a tablet computer that so far has faced lackluster sales.
At the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, the Canadian company showcased the new capabilities of the PlayBook.
Several analysts, however, say the upgrade is unlikely to significantly improve sales of the device to businesses even though RIM has promoted the PlayBook as a business-oriented tablet.
"This is not something many enterprises will do proactively unless they already have an active PlayBook deployment program," The New York Times quoted Ovum analyst Jan Dawson as stating.
The upgrade, nonetheless, includes a variety of upgrades ranging from native email to capabilities that unite BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. RIM said the software update will be available for free to download for BlackBerry PlayBook users, and the company anticipates releasing the upgrade next month.
One of the features that won't be available on the enhanced tablet is BlackBerry Messenger, the popular instant messaging service used around the world.
"Building software takes time," a RIM executive told CBC News when asked about the absence of BBM.
