Even as a new report from the Wall Street Journal suggested that Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) could be unveiling its BlackPad tablet computer at the company's annual developers' conference next week, a financial analyst--quoting private sources, has come forward to claim that RIM expects to build 2.5 million of them in the fourth quarter.

This is a staggering number, and if true, indicates that RIM expects the BlackPad to achieve a similar level of success as the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad. The additional fact that the new tablet doesn't appear to be based on the BlackBerry 6 operating system is a good indication that the BlackPad might not be what most people expect. I do have some thoughts on the ramifications of the BlackPad, which you can check out in today's commentary here.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Wall Street Journal
- check out this article at eWeek

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