iPad rival PlayBook goes on sale

The PlayBook, which goes on sale exclusively at Selfridges in the UK at 9.30am, will take on Apple's hugely successful gadget.

Priced at £399, it is cheaper than its iPad rival, which retails from £439.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) hopes the device, which can be synchronised with a BlackBerry, will attract young buyers who want speedy web access and the ability to play video with a single touch on the screen .

The PlayBook has a 7in screen, compared with 9.7in for the iPad2.

But questions have been raised over whether its battery life will match up to the iPad's ten-hour charge.

Speaking to Sky News Online, James Holland from electricpig.co.uk said the new gadget has been aimed at the wrong target audience.

"The ideal place for the PlayBook is the business market as it is a fantastic piece of kit, but it's just not suited to the younger market - which Apple's iPad is.

"BlackBerry doesn't have that 'cool factor' which the iPad does - it's not a trendy device, it just doesn't have the credentials.

"From a business perspective, the PlayBook is great - it gives businesses flexibility and a bit of a 'cutting edge' factor, however it seems that marketing has got hold of it and thought that it should instead be aimed at youngsters."

The PlayBook does not have built-in email and calendaring apps, so you must either use online email apps or connect it to a BlackBerry phone using the supplied Bridge software for these functions.

This is likely to cause frustration to those who do not have a BlackBerry phone.

Holland added that the new gadget is unlikely to compete with the huge number of apps on market for the Apple's tablet.

There are currently 65,000 apps available for the iPad.

"The Playbook will support Android applications, of which there are about 1,000 - so nothing like range available to the iPad.

"Most people who carry BlackBerrys are either given them by work or chose them because their friends have them and they can use the messaging system for free."