RG Specs

Research In Motion is targeting the end of this year to bring out a small BlackBerry tablet powered by a 1GHz processor, according to a report from an analyst on Friday.

The 7-inch touch-screen tablet will be powered by a processor from Marvell, according to Ashok Kumar, an analyst and managing director at Rodman & Renshaw.

Marvell is working with OLPC to develop that organization’s tablet.

(Credit: OLPC)

“Research In Motion (RIMM, Market Perform) is trying to pull forward the launch of the 7-inch touchscreen tablet from early next year to year end…with a marginal point of differentiation being the front- and back-facing cameras for videoconferencing,” he said in a research note Friday morning.

RIM declined to comment on the note.

RIM would be playing catch up with Apple’s iPad, which went on sale in the spring. RIM competes with Apple in the smartphone market with its Storm and Storm 2 devices.

Marvell (which supplies the main processor for the BlackBerry Bold 9700) would also supply the tablet’s baseband silicon (used for 3G), according to Kumar.

One possible chip candidate is the Marvell 1GHz Armada 610 processor, which is aimed at tablets, mobile Internet devices, and e-readers. The chip boasts full HD 1080p playback, 16-megapixel image captures, and advanced 3D graphics.

via Analyst: Blackberry tablet has 1GHz chip, cameras | Nanotech – The Circuits Blog – CNET News.