RIM has said that its much-awaited iPad rival, the BlackBerry PlayBook, will sell at a starting price of $499 in the United States and Canada.

RIM added that the tablet will be available in more than 20,000 retail outlets. It looks like RIM will flog its gear through retailers and the wireless carriers.

The price is looking fairly competitive. While it might not be as thin as the iPad, 2 it can be used to surf the web, which without Flash, the iPad can't.

The only downside is that the number of Apps available for the beast are not as high as the Apple or Android Operating Systems.