RIM has revealed that the BlackBerry PlayBook will offer a proprietary video-calling app, very much in the style of the iPad 2 's FaceTime application. David Heit, RIM's VP of enterprise strategy, let slip news of the BlackBerry-made app, telling CIO that the app will be released "very soon". The official release dates for the BlackBerry PlayBook haven't been announced yet, but the Wi-Fi only version of the tablet is set to hit the US at some point in April, with a UK release hopefully not far behind. Shocker Given the existence of a front-mounted camera on the BlackBerry tablet, it's no great surprise that RIM has a dedicated video calling app up its sleeve, but the company could have simply gone with existing third-party services like Skype. With its own video-calling application built in-house, RIM could potentially integrate the service with the much-loved BlackBerry Messenger app. Could this be a PlayBook-only app? RIM hasn't released any handsets with front-mounted cameras yet, so it seems likely for now. But if the PlayBook app proves a success, perhaps RIM will think about sticking cameras on the front of its new phones too. Related Stories An Amazon tablet would be iPad 2's only challenge, says Forrester In Depth: How iPad 3 can fulfil Apple's 'post-PC device' promise 10-inch HTC Flyer tablet coming soon? Exclusive: Acer: There's no 'Swiss Army knife' approach for consumers Vodafone to sell the iPad 2
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