RIM has inked a deal with digital music provider 7digital for a Music Store on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The app will see over 13m MP3s available for on-device purchase on the QNX slate, when it launches in the US and Canada later this year, as part of RIM’s attempt to take on iTunes and the iPad 2.
The MP3s 7digital offers are DRM-free – the company also offers tracks online using Microsoft DRM, but they don’t appear to be included in the PlayBook range – which means they’ll be easier to move around between devices than, say, tracks purchased from iTunes. There’s no sign of video downloads, however, which RIM will need if it’s to compete fully with Apple.
The PlayBook has a 7-inch screen and is expected to be launched as early as April 10 according to recent leaks. It will initially be available as a WiFi-only model, with a WiMAX version for Sprint following later in 2011.