RIM is really behind in the tablet game, although a number of devices were being rumored the Waterloo-based company hasn't released any offering of this type, but latest sources say the mysterious BlackPad could be announced really soon, as early as next week according to some.

Citing “people familiar with RIM’s plans,” SlashGear says the device will be unveiled during a developer's conference that is set to take place next week in San Francisco, California, the BlackPad following to be released in Q4 of this year.

Not many infos are known at this time about this 7 inch tablet, apart from the fact this will be constructed by Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer and that it will feature a processor built by Marvell Technology.

At this time, Marvell has available a large number of processors manufactured using ARMv6 and v7 cores (Cortex A8 and A9 are based on the ARMv7 architecture) coming in single, dual and even tri-core variants while also offering 1080p decoding and encoding abilities.

According to the same sources the operating system used will be developed by QNX Software, best known for their Unix-like real-time operating system aimed at the embedded market.

Other features will include Bluetooth and broadband connectivity, but a cellular service will not be available, this tablet requiring a BlackBerry smartphone in order to use mobile networks. 

At this moment, things remain pretty uncertain, but let's hope that next week will bring us an official announcement from RIM since the company really needs to enter the ever growing tablet market.