RIM's Playbook to go on sale April 19 in North America

Research In Motion's long-awaited tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, will go on sale in the United States and Canada on April 19 at a base price of USD 499.

RIM said on Tuesday it plans to sell the PlayBook through retailers and wireless carriers including Best Buy, AT&T, Verizon, Radioshack, Sears Canada and Wal-Mart.

The company's news release did not set a date for the launch but Best Buy in its own statement said it has already begun accepting pre-orders for the device and would begin selling it on April 19.

The Wi-Fi-enabled PlayBook, which will compete against Apple's iPad, will come in 16 gigabyte, 32 gigabyte and 64 gigabyte versions priced at USD 499, USD 599 and USD 699 respectively.

RIM announced plans to launch the long-awaited device, with a seven-inch screen, in 2010. The tablet will be able to stream a high-definition video to a television screen via a HDMI cable, while allowing users to run other applications at the same time.