Today, Research in Motion has announced their much anticipated Apple iPad competitor in the Blackberry Playbook. Just moments ago in San Fransisco Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer of Research in Motion took the stage to showcase the new Playbook device. The device is a tablet PC resembling the Apple iPad.

The Playbook, which will be released in early 2011 features a 7 inch screen, and a weight of just 0.9 pounds, compared to the 1.5 pounds that the iPad weighs. The device will also feature 2 cameras, one in the front and one in the back. The processor will be 1 gigahertz, and the device is described as, “flash-loving, device-paring, and enterprise ready”. Investors hope that the Blackberry Playbook will get RIM back on track after falling behind in the smart phone market due to the popularity of the Apple iPhone and Google’s Android operating system.

There has yet to be a price stated for the Playbook, however analysts estimate a price in the $350-$600 range.