From the rumor mill this week comes renewed buzz that Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is planning to unveil a BlackBerry tablet computer next week. The conventional wisdom has it that RIM is racing to launch a rival to the iPad and its many anticipated look-alikes. While this could prove to be a savvy move, it could also prove to be a liability for RIM's new mobile operating system, writes James Kendrick at GigaOm.

If the gossip is correct, the OS on the RIM tablet will be one from the recently acquired QNX Software Systems, and not the BlackBerry OS 6, which RIM rolled out not long ago. Using an OS other than the one used in its flagship product "could cast a pall of doubt" over the business and generate confusion for app developers, Kendrick warns.

"The app ecosystem is vital to both the smartphone world and tablet ventures, and with two platforms in play, RIM will be creating a mass of confusion for developers," he writes. "It will be difficult to get apps built for the tablet, and it may cause current BlackBerry smartphone app developers to drop out over uncertainty about the future of the platform."

PCWorld's Ian Paul has a series of questions about the alleged "BlackPad" in the works. Will the tablet target RIM's corporate and government user base, and if not what kind of options will it include to attract consumers? Among other curious rumors is the one that says the RIM tablet will not come with a 3G antenna, and users will have to tether it to a BlackBerry phone to make cell phone calls. Noting that the iPad and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy tablet are equipped with 3G options, Paul writes that the "hassle of having to tether your tablet to your handset may make the rumored BlackPad a nonstarter for many users."

For more:
- see James Kendrick's post at GigaOm
- see Ian Paul's post at PCWorld

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