The BlackBerry PlayBook is to hit stores by April 19. While the new gadget is smaller than most other tablets, especially the iPad 2, it might just remain a good attempt from RIM to get into the tablet war. But the question remains whether it will be a capable player in the market.

Here are ten reasons why BlackBerry PlayBook will come a cropper against its competitors:

1. Power button is too small

There are certain hardware issues RIM has to fix in their new tablet. The power button is placed at the top center and is annoyingly small. Users may have to push the button hard with their finger nails. To add to the inconvenience, the screen cannot be disabled by any means other than this minuscule power button.

2. Battery life is no great shakes

With a battery life of 7 hours, BlackBerry PlayBook is just average in its performance or at most you can say, at par with other tablets. The battery life is less than the iPad 2's and a little more than Samsung Galaxy's.

3. Smaller than iPad 2, yet thicker

The device is quite small when compared to an iPad 2. Its display is principally in landscape orientation unlike the portrait orientation in iPad 2. It has a seven-inch display with the same resolution as iPad 2's. It is thicker than iPad 2.

4. Absence of USB mass storage port

Surprisingly, the BlackBerry PlayBook doesn't have a port for USB mass storage device. Although a storage device can be used on it indirectly in a complex way by using a feature called BlackBerry Bridge, it is inconvenient if you want to just pick one file. BlackBerry Bridge is the only 'interesting' feature the company can put forward to the public. It allows the user to pair the tablet with a BlackBerry phone. This will enhance the security for the user.

5. Not very enticing for casual users

BlackBerry has always portrayed itself as a serious device for serious people. But can it be successful when competitors are providing tablets which are mind-blowing in their features and apps?

6. Very few Apps

This might be a serious drawback for the device. The BlackBerry PlayBook offers only 4,000 apps. There can be future attempts to make the device compatible with Android Apps. But as of now the device is crippled when it comes to the number of Apps.

7. It is a Wi-Fi only device

There is no 3G connectivity in this device. Most other tablets come with variants in the form of Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi+ 3G connectivity.

8. No calendar, email and contact apps

It is quite strange that the device doesn't have the calendar, email or contact apps for now. RIM may provide these apps in future.

9. Poor browser

Browsing on BlackBerry PlayBook is a pain in the neck. Sometimes the heavily-loaded sites like twitter just don't show up! The screen goes blank. It is slow and annoying when it crashes frequently.

10. No 'Home' button like iPad

Absence of a home button makes it less user friendly. But once people get used to it, its not a major issue though.

Though the device has features like1080P video display, excellent camera, Adobe Flash Player, slip resistant cover, and security chop for Power Point presentations, it has to travel a long way to be comparable with other tablets. But for the BlackBerry 'loyals', this can be something they can look forward to. It is meant for corporate use and sticks to its claim of security as an advantage.

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