RIM snaps up SurfBook name in Canadian trademark

RIM has fueled speculation about its BlackBerry-influenced tablet with a recently discovered trademark filing. An application at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for a SurfBook name is vague about the uses of the name but would cover all of the likely devices RIM could make, such as a tablet, a computer or a smartphone. A matching trademark hasn't the US, but it's unknown if RIM is simply waiting or is considering using different names in different countries.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company has already registered BlackPad on a wider level and may use that if it goes ahead with its plans. A SurfBook name appears closer in spirit to a smartbook than to a tablet and suggests RIM may be expanding its plans to other categories than just a tablet, although this remains far from certain.

If released within the next few months as rumored, any non-phone device from RIM may use a QNX-based platform and could even serve as a strict companion device that would draw on an existing BlackBerry device. Others have suggested it might be more independent with a 1GHz processor and its own cameras. [via Tablets Unleashed]

By Electronista Staff

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industry, gadgets, BlackBerry, tablet, Research in Motion, mobile phones, QNX, BlackPad, SurfBook