PlayBook launch big deal for Kanata developers

A Kanata, Ont., company is about to take a big bow on the world stage, after producing the software behind BlackBerry's highly anticipated PlayBook tablet, unveiled Thursday.

While the PlayBook was being revealed in New York, technicians with QNX Software were putting dozens of devices through final tests.

QNX's success is already having an economic impact in Kanata. The company hired 70 new employees over the past year, and dozens of opportunities for software development jobs have opened up.

The PlayBook, with its locally developed technology, hits the market next week. The devices are expected to retail for between $500-700.

The touch-screenon the PlayBook is three inches smaller than its main rival tablet, Apple's popular iPad. The PlayBook also handles 1080p high-definition video and flips from one application to another.

Claude Haw, the head of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, is already a fan of the Research in Motion device, hailing it as "a great business tool" with good security.