BlackBerry tablet OS (screenshots)

Out of the box, the BlackBerry PlayBook comes prestocked with some great apps and utilities. Basic features such as music playback, video player, camera/camcorder, and weather are all here and executed with an eye for detail. You'll also find quality apps for YouTube, Kobo e-reader, Bing Maps (using GPS), and games such as Need for Speed and Tetris.

The PlayBook can be tethered over Bluetooth to any tether-friendly smartphone, and thus can access the Internet over the phone's cellular data connection.

The PlayBook's browser includes a privacy mode and advanced settings for selectively disabling cookies, WebSockets, and pop-ups.

The back of the BlackBerry PlayBook includes a 5-megapixel camera capable of taking rich, detailed shots. The camera does not include a flash, though, so there's no way to address scenes like these that have too much backlight.

The top of the PlayBook's user interface includes a task bar for common settings and alert messages.

The PlayBook's Web browser is by far our favorite feature. With its full support of Adobe Flash 10.2, video-heavy sites display just like they would on your home computer.

Kobo's e-reader app is included on the PlayBook, offering a wide range of titles, similar to the offerings of Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.

The PlayBook's browser is also capable of playing Flash-based online games, including games that take advantage of the device's tilt-sensor.

An app for Bing Maps takes advantage of the PlayBook's built-in GPS to plot your location, offer local points of interest, and generate driving directions.

Fan's of Slacker's free and premium subscription music service will be happy to see this app preinstalled on the PlayBook.

When connected to your computer, RIM's BlackBerry desktop software will take care of backing up your data and syncing your media collection (including songs and playlists from iTunes).