Research in Motion Tries to Save Playbook (RIMM, AAPL, AMZN, BKS)

Research in Motion Inc. (NASDAQ: RIMM) has today released an upgrade to the operating system of its PlayBook tablet. PlayBook OS 2.0 is based on the company’s recently acquired QNX operating system which will also be the basis for the next revision to the operating system for the company’s BlackBerry smartphone.

The PlayBook was an early competitor to the iPad from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), but has faced stiff resistance from buyers. RIM has sold fewer than 1 million units since last April, while Apple sold 15 million iPads in the fourth quarter alone. The Kindle family of tablets from Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reached estimated sales of around 6 million in the fourth quarter and the Nook tablets from Barnes & Noble, where sales of the device grew 64% in the fourth quarter.

RIM needs a huge success with its PlayBook and QNX operating systems, and that won’t come — if it comes at all — until the company releases its new smartphones later this year.