Analysts have said that the $499 price point is a sweet spot for tablets, and a big part of why Apple has sold more than 15 million iPads so far. The BlackBerry PlayBook will match that price. What do you think? Will the PlayBook catch on?

Photo: A BlackBerry Playbook is demoed at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2011.Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

From Forbes:

Google’s Android mobile operating system is gaining momentum in the enterprise smartphone market against the BlackBerry OS from rival Research in Motion, according to a recent ChangeWave survey.[1] Based on Android’s impressive security and multitasking features, we think it will continue to be a formidable competitor going forward.

Forbes also compares Android’s 70,000 apps to RIM’s 10,000.

A Saudi man checks out a BlackBerry at a store in Riyadh on Tuesday.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion won a reprieve from a threatened ban on its Messenger texting service, as Saudi Arabia said progress was being made on addressing the country’s concerns.

Photo credit: Fahad Shadeed / Reuters

It’s $199 and exclusive to AT&T.

The landmark Hollywood Bowl venue has an app of its own for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

The app helps you find tickets, scout seats, get driving directions and locate nearby parking.

As part of this mobile-focused initiative, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association is also working with AT&T to improve cell service, which tends to struggled during packed shows.

Picture credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

BlackBerry is way behind in this area. Even Android lags a bit in this area to Apple. Let’s hope every smart phone platforms is able to keep pace with dedicated media players and iPods.

Let’s face it: BlackBerry phones aren’t great for watching video. Most of the screens are small, and often for that reason, most app developers gloss over the platform.

But Howcast (install), the maker of funny and informative instructional videos, recently released an app for the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Storm 2 (as long as you’re running at least OS 5).

Not a bad way to kill a few minutes on the train after you’ve cleared through all your e-mails. If that ever happens.

Image credit: Howcast

Need to call a taxi? As you probably already know, there’s an app for that. (Man, that phrase is getting old.)

Taxi Magic was featured in one of Apple’s signature iPhone commercials back in the day (like, a year ago). It’s a very handy way to book a ride when you’re unable to drive. (For whatever reason; we don’t judge.)

In March, the developer released beta versions of the app for Android and PalmOS. There’s also an app for BlackBerry. RideCharge is a similar alternative for BlackBerry, but Taxi Magic is pretty consistently nice between the four platforms.

Photo: Associated Press

Those darn kids with their iPhones and their Pokemon. All of these names can get confusing.

Blogger Ladyoktubre writes:

Dad, this is a BLACKBERRY not a STRAWBERRY.

In addition to a third-party developer making a BlackBerry command for sending articles to Instapaper’s text-only reader, we enjoy the app maker’s thinly-veiled attack on Research in Motion’s software.

The founder of Instapaper writes:

Send to Instapaper for BlackBerry

(SMALL PRINT: This is made by a third party, and I neither offer support for it nor accept any liability as a result of you using it. I don’t even own a BlackBerry to test it on. And even if I got a BlackBerry to test it on, I’d have no idea how to use it. Frankly, the BlackBerry OS is like Windows 95 to me: at one time, that was cutting edge, but it’s pretty dated by today’s standards. Do they even have color screens yet? Also, I think it’s a bit sad that the point of this is to send pages you discover on your BlackBerry to your computer for later reading, since I’ve always assumed that people with mobile devices wanted to send stuff in the other direction, but I guess reading on the BlackBerry is unappealing. Anyway, if you love your BlackBerry more than I would, this guy made a send-to-Instapaper command for it. Thanks, jemerick!)