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.

To get started, connect the standard HDMI port on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to any monitor or projector that supports HDMI, and you’re ready to go – it’s really that simple. Once you connect through the HDMI output, documents, attachments, downloads, presentations, photos, videos, music and slideshows all appear on the big screen in high-definition. Here are five great ways to use the HDMI output on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for both personal and business purposes.

Presentations

Whether you’re in the office or on the road, the HDMI output on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet allows you to share high quality presentations. With the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, you have many options for presenting. You can give traditional presentations using Microsoft® PowerPoint®, with Slideshow To Go®, the Video application, or even a PDF document. You can also enable presentation mode so that your audience will only see the presentation while you are able to multitask in the background. Bonus: Connect your BlackBerry® smartphone to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet via BlackBerry® Bridge and you can control the slides from your smartphone remotely over a Bluetooth® connection, providing you with mobility while you present. For more information on presenting using your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, check out the SlideShare™ deck below:

Photo and Video Sharing

Another way to use the HDMI output on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is to share photos and videos. Do you have videos to share from a recent conference you attended? Did you take photos of a project to show how it has evolved? How about whiteboard photos from a planning session? Share them at your next meeting with coworkers or clients in high-definition by connecting your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to a monitor or projector. Use the Video app to show coworkers or clients recorded demos and product videos or use the slideshow function to automatically scroll through photos.

Video Chat

Use the front or rear facing HD cameras and dual stereo speakers to video chat with a coworker using a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in another city. Connect your tablet to the big screen using an HDMI cable and the person on the other end can lead, join, or participate in a meeting from anywhere in the world.

View Documents, Media and Files from your BlackBerry smartphone

If you’re like me and use the file manager on your BlackBerry smartphone to download and organize attachments, documents, media and files, then you can use your BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to access those files during a meeting or presentation. Simply connect your BlackBerry smartphone to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with BlackBerry Bridge and use the HDMI output to view files on a TV or projector screen. You can also use your BlackBerry smartphone to gain full wireless control of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet by activating the Remote Control within the BlackBerry Bridge app on your BlackBerry smartphone.

Use your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and Citrix Receiver as a Powered Desktop Workstation

Connect your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to a monitor through the HDMI output and use the Citrix Receiver app to get a full desktop experience. Connect a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to type and navigate as you would on a desktop computer. Through the Citrix™ Receiver app, you can have full access to Microsoft® Windows Desktops and applications as well as software, services, web-based apps and the full Microsoft Office Suite. Because the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is a multitasking power house, you have the ability to run multiple apps through both the Citrix environment and on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet itself.

You can also refer to our post Take Your Display to the Next Level with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 & HDMI Cables for some tips and best practices when using the HDMI function on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

How have you used your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s HDMI output in your work? Share in the comments below.

Gnarly waves, sun-soaked beaches, and…technology? Absolutely, says Mano Ziul. As the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) long-standing Chief Technology Officer, Ziul has helped usher in a number of innovative ways to improve the event judging and viewing experience for surfing fans around the world.
“Surfing has always been driving side-by-side with technology,” said Ziul. “We’re often in beautiful but remote locations, so any time there’s something new that can benefit our surfers, judges and fans, we’ve been amongst the first to try to implement it.”

Recent solutions have included judging terminals that had hard-to-read LCD screens used on sun-soaked beaches, computers that required serial ports and a multitude of cables, and heavy pelican cases that needed to be hauled around to each location on the tour. Albeit progressive for the time, information still couldn’t be shared instantaneously, so it was difficult to engage the millions of surfing fans hoping to follow all of the action.

When tablets started to become popular in 2010, Ziul decided to try to use them to simplify the judging process and improve interactivity amongst the ASP fans. After working with the other tablet platforms, Ziul realized that what he needed was a tablet that would be durable, light, and robust. The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet met all of his requirements.

“When you work outdoors 99 per cent of the time, you need a screen that is bright enough to supersede the sunlight,” said Ziul. “One of the crucial points for us is that we find the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet screen is one of the best on the market.”

After adopting the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, Ziul met with a developer to develop two applications that could be used during ASP World Tour events: the ASP Judging app and the ASP Surf Vote app. Both apps helped Ziul realize his goal of fundamentally changing how data was collected and shared by ASP.

ASP World Tour judges now use the ASP Judging app on their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to look at key information that is clearly displayed in front of them, including previous wave height and scores, current surfing conditions, and other information to help them make a more accurate decision. Because the information can be accessed so quickly – and is clearly visible on the tablet’s touch screen – judges can easily glance down at their tablet for details.

While helping judges make better decisions is crucial, Ziul also acknowledges that engaging its predominantly-young surfing fans is the ASP’s “golden egg.” At every event, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets are available for fans to use the unique Surf Vote app, which allows them to vote on the performance of their favorite surfers.

The ASP also has a smartphone app that puts the voting in the palm of the fans hands. The viewer can share their voting decisions by using the integrated Facebook® and Twitter® functions, and engage with the millions of other fans who are either at the event or watching the event on television or online.
Zuil jokingly admits that he starts to “hear it” from the fans, via social media, if the information isn’t updated after about 10 or 15 seconds. Certainly a change from the days of the clunky software and equipment they used to have.

Ziul goes on to say that he has been impressed with the degree of engagement and passion that the surfing community has demonstrated. With up to three million fans streaming during any one event and as many as 50,000 people interacting on the cross-platform Surf Vote app at any one time, Ziul knows that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will continue to play a huge role in future ASP surfing events.

“It’s worked wonderfully so far, and will only get better,” said Ziul. “Although it’s always nice to be at the actual event on the beach, this solution gives you the full experience right from home.”

The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet browser is far more than a simple application for viewing web pages. It has been carefully designed to provide an enhanced tablet experience, complete with options for customizing the browsing experience, private browsing, bookmarks management, HTML 5.0, Adobe® Flash® and JavaScript® capabilities, location-aware features, and so much more. Consider this powerful tool to be a window into not only viewing and interacting with a variety of web sites, but to also access powerful enterprise web applications.

There are a number of complete and secure web app solutions that you and your business can take advantage of – apps that are designed to offer new ways to collaborate in real time. Access to your internal enterprise network may also be possible from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet through supported VPN suppliers.

Research In Motion® (RIM®) has a large number of enterprise software partners in the mobile industry, and we are constantly working with them to deliver apps and access to web-based hosted solutions optimized for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This means that employees will be able to use existing tools while on the go.

I’m sure at this point you’re looking for examples. Well, here are seven of our favorite enterprise apps that are BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser-ready!

IBM® Connections (IBM®)

IBM Connections is social software for business that is designed to allow you to “access everyone in your professional network, including your colleagues, customers, and partners” (via IBM Connections overview). IBM Connections was designed to be supported on a wide variety of platforms, including the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser. Through this interface, you can engage with communities, files, wikis, profiles, bookmarks, forums, and much more. It’s as good as it sounds, especially through the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet experience.

BusinessObjects Dashboard (SAP®)

SAP offers a web tool called BusinessObjects Dashboard, which is designed to allow you to create interactive analytics and dashboards with connections to SAP backend data sources among others. These interactive dashboards can be shared via Microsoft® Office, Adobe® PDF, web sharing, and SAP sharing solutions. You can then create, view, and share these dashboards using the the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser with Adobe Flash support.

Chatter® (Salesforce®)

Salesforce.com offers a private, and secure social network for your business called Chatter. This service allows you to increase collaboration within your organization as well as assist with planning and project management. Not only did I test this service using my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I actually completed the entire registration process using my BlackBerry® 7 OS smartphone.

Basecamp®, Highrise®, Backpack®, and Campfire® (37signals®, LLC)

Back when I was running my own small business, the 37signals services were a huge relief to find. This suite of HTML5 web apps allows you to manage projects, contacts, communications, and collaboration – all through extremely user-friendly web apps. While testing this one on my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet this morning, it was hard to put it down. Check out an overview of the suite on the 37signals web site.

Zoho®

On-demand CRM software is available from Zoho, among other services, and is widely used by businesses large and small. The entire Zoho Suite, interacted with via the dashboard, is available as a mobile web application designed for tablet use and is easily accessible using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser.

Confluence® (Atlassian®)

The tagline for Atlassian’s flagship product is “More Than Just a Wiki”. This statement is true, as I’ve had personal experience working with the Confluence product, which allows for contribution, discussion, collaboration, and indexing of a wide variety of content within an organization (among other great features). Want an efficient workforce? Pool the knowledge and make it accessible. Speaking of accessibility, this one is also available via web interface using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet browser. Have Confluence set up on internal corporate servers? No problem – use the BlackBerry® Bridge™ browser.

So as you explore all that the BlackBerry App World™ storefront has to offer, don’t forget to take advantage of the wonderful world of web apps. As you can see, the sky’s the limit with the award-winning BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and its unique browsing experience, which opens up a whole world of possibility for engaging in enterprise apps online.

Are you using enterprise apps, either native or web-based, on your BlackBerry PlayBook? What apps do you find particularly useful?

Salesforce.com, Chatter and all associated logos are trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. Other names and logos used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note: Do not use your PlayBook tablet while driving. Using your tablet while driving could put you and others at greater risk of an accident causing serious injury, death, and property loss. You are responsible for knowing and obeying the laws and regulations regarding the use of wireless devices in the areas where you drive.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet holds a multitude of advantages in this position, such as freeing up real estate in the car by replacing existing bulky equipment; its ability to be detached and become portable; and the intuitive interface – not to mention Bluetooth® pairing with a keyboard and a tethered BlackBerry® smartphone.

Feature Overview

• The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet includes the full BlackBerry Tablet OS, allowing officers to access core and third-party applications on top of the custom tools tailored to police work. All of the existing BlackBerry PlayBook tablet features are included in the device, such as the popular multi-tasking functionality. BlackBerry PlayBook tablet applications specific to police work include access to databases, communications, task lists, and more.
• The tablet, even while remaining as a portable and detachable device, is hooked right into the mechanical functions of the vehicle. Pressing the right buttons on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s touch screen can toggle the emergency lights, raise the caution sign on top of the vehicle, control sirens, and eventually, video feeds from the car’s cameras. Trust me when I say that it was a “wow” moment when I touched the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet screen and the emergency lights came on!
• A Bluetooth keyboard is equipped below the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Both of these are mounted onto a swivel that allows each to be positioned in the most convenient way possible for driver, passenger, or both to have access.

How is it connected?

The setup employs the BlackBerry® Bridge™ application to extend a BlackBerry smartphone’s security and data to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This allows an officer to access information on their smartphone when away from the car, and then to continue where they left off on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet once they return. Bluetooth technology is also leveraged to connect the keyboard to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, as well as to aid in interaction between the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and the technology built into the vehicle.

So what’s the overall benefit?

This BlackBerry solution allows officers to use light, portable, and robust devices to quickly and conveniently interact with the data. The hardware and form factor also frees up a huge amount of space within the vehicle – a priority as the cars become smaller and older, and bulkier equipment becomes obsolete. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet itself is outside of the airbag zone, improving officer health and safety. Integration of BlackBerry devices into demanding police work, especially considering the rigid security protocols, is a logical step forward.

What’s next?

The additional equipment that interacts with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, such as a Bluetooth-connected printer and a barcode scanner that would improve the process of issuing tickets and scanning licenses was planned by Mobile Innovations, and brings even more tangible on-the-ground technology to the BlackBerry solution. This technology is currently being tested in Canada with interest in integrating secure BlackBerry solutions and products into law enforcement.

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!

So far I’ve covered setting up my mobile office and how I use the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet for presentations, but another powerful use case of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is to support collaboration.

The first in my arsenal of collaboration tools is Adobe® Connect. Simply attending a hosted Adobe Connect meeting isn’t the only thing you can do; it also allows for a variety of other features. If allowed by the host, you can turn on video and audio and utilize the camera to attend the meeting via video and audio. I’m also able to chat with anyone that is in attendance. You can send a message to the host, presenters or attendees, and if you touch and hold on an attendee’s name, you can start a private chat.

Wait, did the host just ask a polling question? No problem – the polling feature works from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and even displays the results. I’m also able to utilize pinch to zoom on the slides if I want to focus in on some text or a picture. As you can see above, it is nicely set up into quadrants with the ability to bring each function to the full screen.

Another essential application in collaboration is Video Chat. With my team spread out over most of the United States and Canada, I’ve started to utilize Video Chat for my team’s 1×1 meetings. Being remote doesn’t always offer the good face to face time that is sometimes needed, so I find that Video Chat helps to close that distance.

Video Chat on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is very easy to set up so that you can connect with your fellow coworkers who are BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users. Besides the standard features, I can switch which camera is being used by tapping on the screen and selecting the camera icon in the lower left corner (1). You can also change the position of your video box by touching the box and swiping it to the desired corner (2).

However, there are times when you need a little “me” time, and because you don’t need the Video Chat application running to receive a call, you can hit the “Do not disturb” button at the top of the screen.

Talking about ideas and projects is only one part of collaboration – sometimes you need the ability to work on something of a more visual nature. When it comes to that type of sharing, I turn to Shared Board, which provides a shared white board for collaboration. Essentially a shared white board, it allows me to open a group room so anyone who is invited to that group can contribute their suggestions visually on the white board screen. Each user who attends the group has the ability to mark up the screen as well as send chat messages. With a swipe down motion on the screen, you are able to select your marker color, sponge (erase) and add text. Like SketchBook, you can add an image or take a photo and use it as the background image on the screen. Once you are finished, everyone can save the board as an image on their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

So, how are you collaborating with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? I’m very interested to hear what you use today, or if you would like to comment on a “wish list” item!

Check out Paul’s previous posts in this challenge:

• Paul’s Challenge: No Laptops Allowed! – BlackBerry PlayBook Edition
• Paul’s Challenge, BlackBerry PlayBook Edition: Setting Up the Mobile Office
• Paul’s Challenge, BlackBerry PlayBook Edition – Presenting with the Mobile Office

Great news! Today, we announced pre-orders, pricing and in-store availability date of the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet with Best Buy.

The BlackBerry PlayBook will be available in Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Best Buy Canada and Future Shop stores April 19th in the following models and price points:

• 16GB Wi-Fi, $499
• 32GB Wi-Fi, $599
• 64GB Wi-Fi, $699

You can pre-order your BlackBerry PlayBook from Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores in the United States and Best Buy Canada and Future Shop in Canada right now by clicking the links below.

Best Buy BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page
Best Buy Canada BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page
Future Shop Canada BlackBerry PlayBook Pre-Order Page

The Inside BlackBerry team has a bunch of content planned to ensure you’re prepared to get the most out of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet from day one! So stay tuned to Inside BlackBerry for more posts, and make sure to visit www.blackberry.com/playbook for the latest information.

Read more at 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.

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!