Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), maker of the iconic BlackBerry smartphone, will launch its own tablet PC, presumably to compete with the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad, according to The Wall Street Journal. RIM’s prospects have already been badly damaged by the Apple iPhone. A successful tablet launch would be a measure of revenge.

The product will probably be available before the holidays

Wall St. has bet heavily against RIM’s prospects and will almost certainly take odds against the new tablet’s prospects. If the product sell well, it will be a miracle. It would be nice to finally see Apple challenged, but that’s just wishful thinking.

Douglas A. McIntyre