RIM's PlayBook: iPad killer?

In a word, no. And the BlackBerry maker's first attempt at a tablet has a number of glaring omissions as it hits store shelves next week.

But I still think it's a neat product that gives the market a refreshing - and much-needed - alternative. It won't knock iPad off its perch anytime soon. Indeed, at all. But its arrival makes an interesting market that much more so. And the world needs interesting. And competition.

It's been a lousy week - being sick has knocked me for a loop - but I managed to do a bit of media this evening, including clips with CBC The National's Havard Gould and Global's Sean O'Shea, as well as CBC Radio's national business guru Meegan Read. I'm dropping by the studio again in the morning (7:50 a.m. ET) for a live chat with BNN's Michael Kane and Patricial Lovett-Reid. Not about the PlayBook, though: This time we're covering Google's just-announced quarterly results.

I can always sleep and recover over the weekend. In the meantime, I had the kind of day that reminded me just how much fun life can be if you let it. I hope I always remember how to let it.