PlayBook gets Facebook and Video Chat Apps

RIM as part of its BlackBerry World has announced its plans to introduced two major apps for its latest creation the PlayBook. The upcoming tablet is all set to get an official Video Chat app, which will allow the users to make two way calls with other PlayBook users through Wi-Fi.

These calls can be managed via both the front as well as back cameras, somewhat similar to the FaceTime feature. Users can receive the incoming calls without running the app.

Here, the friends list is attached to a BlackBerry ID, though it is separate from regular BlackBerry contacts due to the absence of a native contact app. The tablet users can still set it to the "do not disturb" mode provided and ignore the calls when they are busy.

The Facebook app offers its users the optimized view of the social network with all of its media and live features, comprising images as well as 1080 pixels video viewing. As per Facebook, the media playback of this device is honed for the HDMI video out.

The PlayBook users will be able to experience Video Chat on their tablet from today onwards; however, the finished Facebook app would be available very soon, in this month only.

The Video Chat is an important feature for RIM, which has always been criticized by users for offering the dual cameras, but overlooking one of the significant attributes. Both the smartphone manufacturing giants Apple and Google consider video chat as an important feature for the respective tablet platforms and confirmed to include it on launch.

Research In Motion has pushed its PlayBook to stores to compete with the iPad on shelves; however, the device earlier lacked several important features like video chat, calendar, e-mail and more.