This all brings us to an important point: mobile devices in enterprise, including tablets, need to be managed and secured in order to protect corporate data and reduce liability. It started with BlackBerry® smartphones and the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server solution, and here we are today with the variety of mobile devices exploding, leaving many IT departments in a scramble to keep track of it all. Of course, each IT department is on a different path, facing unique challenges and with unique priorities. But with the growth that’s already happened and the growth of tablets in enterprise that’s expected to come, sooner is better for crafting a strategy to support and manage tablets within your infrastructure.

BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion was designed specifically to meet this need – to reduce the headache of managing multiple platforms with separate tools, consoles, and licensing structures, as well as to ultimately provide a unified means of managing the influx of mobile devices in your workforce, be they smartphones or tablets, Android™, iOS®, or BlackBerry. So what does a managed and enterprise-ready tablet look like? Take a look at the graphic below for a perspective on the ideal enterprise-ready tablet.

Let’s review the picture that we’ve painted of a truly enterprise-ready and managed tablet. The device can be integrated with your existing infrastructure, work data is encrypted, personal data is partitioned separately, VPN and Wi-Fi® profiles can be pushed, IT can remotely manage the device, end user privacy is protected, and it’s loaded with all of the features that employees want in a mobile device.

What’s the most important feature of a “managed, enterprise-ready tablet” from your perspective? Share in the comments below.

Safety, mobility, portability, and rapid access to data are crucial to public services, and this police cruiser is slick in its display of each of these features. Additionally, technology that is securely manageable is a must-have requirement for implementations in this industry – something that BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion brings to the table when considering police-issued BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets. The best part? BlackBerry Mobile Fusion prepares these forces for the future with the capability to manage upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Check out the video below to view some of the features in action, and to hear it straight from the Mobile Innovation team behind this vehicle:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Fitting in well after Government Day on April 30th, this solution is an example of embedded BlackBerry technology and is still impressive the second time around. It’s like a slice of the future when it comes to law enforcement and mobile tech.

What’s your favorite aspect of the cruiser? Can you see applications for this in community safety and law enforcement? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Beyond the announcement last month that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet is the first tablet to be FIPS 140-2 certified for use by U.S. Federal government agencies, it was also announced that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet won the “Best in Show” award at the 2011 FOSE Conference – the largest Federal government information technology conference in the U.S.! This is a tremendous honor for us, and it further underscores the importance of security to government agencies and how BlackBerry® products rise to the top when compared with other products.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet also won “Best of FOSE” in the Handheld Devices category.

Over one million government workers use BlackBerry smartphones today in North America. BlackBerry smartphones can be connected to a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet via BlackBerry® Bridge™ technology designed for secure access to government-related information and content which can be viewed on the larger screen of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

If you haven’t taken a look at the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I encourage you to get your hands on one and let me know what you think!

This year will be our ninth year at FOSE (the Federal Office Systems Exposition), the largest Federal government information technology trade show in the United States, and we’ll be providing several unique opportunities for attendees to see how technology and mobile apps are changing the way that government works.

The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ Mobile Tour Truck will be joining us on-site for all three days of FOSE, which is taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., July 19-21, 2011.

The BlackBerry PlayBook Mobile Tour Truck (Booth # 650) will give this year’s FOSE attendees the opportunity to see the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet first-hand. Attendees will be presented with an interactive experience showcasing the tablet’s powerful features – from its high resolution display, speed, performance and multi-tasking capabilities to apps, secure pairing with BlackBerry® smartphones via BlackBerry® Bridge™ technology, and high-fidelity web experience with support for Adobe® Flash®, Adobe® Mobile AIR® and HTML5.

Beyond the BlackBerry PlayBook Mobile Tour, there are a couple of breakout sessions I think you’ll want to check out:

1. BlackBerry Education sessions on Wednesday, July 20th from 10-4PM

• “Using the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet in Government”
• “The Consumerization of IT: Managing the Security and Risks of Individual Liable Smartphones”
• “The Apps Every Agency Should Know About”
• “BlackBerry Enterprise Solutions for Federal Government: Today and Tomorrow”
• “Ask the Experts: Talk to an expert about your BlackBerry solution”

2. The Mobile Apps Experience on July 19th at 1:45pm and July 20th at 1:15pm

Finally, don’t forget to visit us at the Recharge Lounge (Booth # 1301) where you can take a break while we charge your BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

If you have questions around applications and deployments, hardware and software, or mobile solutions from field service to emergency responsiveness – we’d love to meet you at FOSE.

See you soon!

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Just wanted to let you know there’s a great blog post and new video over on Inside BlackBerry today – hope you can check out what Ryan Bidan, Senior Product Manager for BlackBerry PlayBook has to say on launch day! Have you picked up your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet yet? (Businesses should be sure to check out IT resellers!)

We are thrilled to be launching the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet – the world’s first professional-grade tablet. It is available today in thousands of retail outlets across the United States and Canada.

I’ve been spending a lot of time meeting with customers to preview the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and it is abundantly clear from their hands-on reactions that the ultra-portable 7” design, best-in-class multimedia, uncompromised web browsing and unmatched multitasking performance is going to strike a chord with a lot of people.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is a great device, and those who try it with their own hands and see it with their own eyes really do get a full appreciation for the performance, so be sure to check it out at a nearby retail store if you have the chance.

PlayBook Retail Stores – United States
PlayBook Retail Stores – Canada

Read the entire post on the Inside BlackBerry Blog »

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

I’m really excited to have to have this opportunity today to present you with a new BlackBerry PlayBook video. Our friend Jonathan from the Product team at Research In Motion® (RIM®) was kind enough to help us demonstrate a few of the many BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet use cases for business professionals. Included in the video above is a brief demo of email pairing with your BlackBerry® smartphone via BlackBerry Bridge, multi-tasking, viewing Microsoft® Office® documents, and secure access to business applications such as Flash®-enabled dashboards from SAP® BusinessObjects Explorer.

I think the video demonstrates how easily the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet makes your corporate information portable and accessible in a variety of different ways. Post a comment below and let us know what you think, as well as noting which additional business features of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet you’d like to see demonstrated.

Last week we introduced you to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® Tablet OS. The BlackBerry Tablet OS is based on technology by QNX® Software Systems, which is one of the most reliable, secure and robust operating system architectures in the world. If you are interested in learning more about the QNX® Neutrino® OS (you might be surprised where it is already being used today!), key features of BlackBerry Tablet OS and more, I invite you to check out this post on our sister site: an interview with Mike Kirkup (Director of Developer Relations at RIM) and Dan Dodge (Cofounder and CEO of QNX Software Systems).

Read more about the BlackBerry Tablet OS at the BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

Today Research In Motion® (RIM) introduced the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ – check out the above video for more details on the new BlackBerry tablet!

Stay tuned for future posts on the Inside BlackBerry blog family about BlackBerry PlayBook. Of course, on the Inside BlackBerry for Business blog, we’ll discuss using the new BlackBerry PlayBook as an effective business tool. For now, post a comment and tell us what you think!