Seven-inch tablets are all the rage again thanks to the Nexus 7, but that's not the only game in town. For $199, the 16Gb PlayBook is a very appealing choice (Flash support, anybody?). You'll also be able to upgrade it to BlackBerry 10 when that hits next year.

When the PlayBook came out, the 64Gb model cost $799. Now Catch Of The Day has that model it for $269.95 (plus $10 postage). Given the plans to allow the PlayBook to upgrade to BlackBerry 10, that's a good deal.

Some eight months after the device first appeared in Australia, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has finally released version 2.0 of its PlayBook tablet software. The big addition to this release? Native email, calendar and contact apps and the ability to run Android apps that have been optimised for the device.

If you're a BlackBerry user tempted to upgrade, this new bundle from Optus might appeal: the Torch 9860 with the PlayBook thrown in on a $49 (or greater) monthly plan.

My week on the road in Europe with a PlayBook for the PlayBook Roaming experiment has proved fairly productive. Here are my top tips for getting the maximum value from a tablet on the road.

I always knew that the PlayBook would be a handy portable video player, and I anticipated using it for that when relaxing during the PlayBook Roaming experiment. What I didn't fully realise until I started planning for the trip was how useful it would be as an ebook reader.

So I'm on the road in Europe with a PlayBook, a Torch and a netbook. Which applications have proved the most compelling on each device? Our PlayBook Roaming series continues.

BlackBerry Bridge, which lets you access data from your BlackBerry on the PlayBook tablet, is one of the main distinguishing features of the PlayBook. What practical uses does it have on the road? Our PlayBook Roaming series continues.

Tablets have become a staple for business travel, but how can you use them best to complement the existing tech (PC and phone) you already travel with? To find out, I hit the road for a trip to Europe armed with a BlackBerry PlayBook to gain some practical experience.

iOS/Android/WP7/Playbook/Web: personalised news app News360 uses your Facebook likes, Twitter profile, Evernote notebooks and Google Reader subscriptions to deliver highly personalised news to your desktop or mobile device, regardless of which one you are carrying.

The BlackBerry PlayBook went on sale outright this week with prices starting from $579, but some people prefer to buy devices on contract. Vodafone is the first local cab off the rank here, offering a number of bundles which combine the PlayBook with the Bold 9780 handset.

We've been waiting a while, but the BlackBerry PlayBook finally goes on sale officially in Australia today. I'm keen to get one, but I'll be even keener when a few software enhancements get rolled in.

We've known for a while that BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet was due for release in Q2, and now we have a firm date: June 20. The device will sell through Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, as well as via Harvey Norman.

There's still no official launch date for the BlackBerry Playbook in Australia beyond this quarter. If you want one earlier and don't want import it from an overseas site, one enterprising local has it for sale on eBay for $637.

BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet is one of the major gadget releases of the year. You've already heard Lifehacker's thoughts on the device, but what does a dedicated gadget hound like Gizmodo editor Nick Broughall think of it? Find out as we go head-to-head.

The long-in-development BlackBerry PlayBook is out in the US next week, and should hit Australia before the end of June. Lifehacker got a chance to sit down and play with a close-to-final version of the device yesterday. It's not news that I'm a big BlackBerry fan, so how did I react to a BlackBerry in tablet form?

As BlackBerry addicts and tablet fiends, we've been excited about the BlackBerry PlayBook ever since it was initially announced. BlackBerry's first tablet device is released in the US on April 19, and Research in Motion has confirmed to us that it will see an Australian release in the second calendar quarter, though an exact date hasn't been finalised.