The new tablet, which hit UK shops today (Thursday, June 16th), differs from Apple's iPad in that it is smaller and aimed at a different demographic.
It is, according to a review appearing in the Daily Telegraph, a "whole new category".
Retailer Best Buy explained to the newspaper: "The BlackBerry brand is already highly regarded amongst our customers who are looking for excellent smartphones, and we expect BlackBerry PlayBook to be equally popular".
Meanwhile, Scott Hooton, trading director at Phones4u, said that "three of the top five retail contract sales in April were BlackBerry devices".
This comes shortly after Orange UK unveiled a new budget-minded Android smartphone.
The new device boasts a 2.6-inch landscape touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard below the display. Named the Barcelona, the device features Android 2.2 Froyo with 3G HSDPA, GPS and HD Voice, as well as FM Radio and a 3.2 megapixel camera.
Posted by Simon Jones
