BlackBerry PlayBook Vs iPad In Head-To-Head Browser Test [Video]

With the BlackBerry PlayBook not expected in stores until sometime in early 2011, you can imagine our ears will prick up when RIM offers a head-to-head comparison between their 7-inch slate and Apple's iPad. This particular video – which you can see after the cut – focuses on web abilities, more specifically browser speed, Adobe Flash support and HTML5 performance.Video demo after the cut

Now, obviously this is RIM's demo, but on the face of it the PlayBook is doing a far slicker job when it comes to rendering webpages. It also seems capable of decent Flash playback, which some slates struggle with and, it has to be said, has been a contentious addition to certain tablets.

Performance goes a long way to making up for any usability loss in going from a 10-inch to a 7-inch display, and we imagine the experience will only get better as RIM polish the PlayBook's firmware closer to launch. Still, we'll save final judgement until we can grab one ourselves.