Research in Motion (RIM) together with 7digital have brought over nine million tracks to BlackBerry PlayBook users in Singapore through their new Music Store app. The launch of the first localized music store on a tablet called for a celebration at TAB, Orchard Road, last night. According to John Leung who overseas sales and marketing in the Philippines, Singapore and other emerging markets, “It’s a first for Singapore, it’s a first for a tablet and it’s a first for BlackBerry.”

With this music store in place, it makes RIM the manufacturer of the first tablet in Singapore to have a dedicated music store for users who will now be able to purchase their music in Singapore dollars and with a Singapore credit card without any complications. On top of the that, the songs are bought DRM-free through arrangements that 7digital has with the local music labels. The localized music store services are available in the US, UK, Australia and now Singapore. RIM has not revealed which country is next on their road map for the music store but have hinted that they are working closely with 7digital to expand their services to their users.

According to John, Singapore was chosen as the first Asian country because ”The actual appetite for paying for music, downloading music, smartphone usage, tablet usage in Singapore is number one in terms of penetration. So strategically it was a perfect fit.” With over 300,000 registered BlackBerry developers, the platform and the tablet itself looks to be a major contender in the tablet wars. ”We believe it is the best, ultra-portable tablet you can get on the market. Not only because of the music store but you have got an awesome browser that is fully Flash and HTML compliant. We have got multimedia experience that is to die for. That music store adds on to that,” said Oliver Pilgerstorfer who manages RIM’s public relations in Southeast Asia.

A short demo from John highlighted some of the key features in the PlayBook. One interesting application is the BlackBerry Bridge which is creates a secure bluetooth connection between your PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to providing data connectivity via your smartphone’s telecommunication contract, it also allows you to use the PlayBook to access documents and media files that are stored on the phone. This allows you to run, for example, videos taken on your BlackBerry smartphone on the seven inch screen of the PlayBook. Other features that are accessed through the BlackBerry Bridge it full email, BlackBerry Messenger and the calendar app.

The event was held in style with a good lineup of entertainment. The highlight was, of course, the three PlayBooks RIM had out for grabs. One through a lucky draw and two by holding a deejaying competition that showcased the music capabilities of the tablet. The event had a strong focus on RIM but we felt that a lot more content could have been added to draw better attention to the PlayBook and it’s capabilities as a consumer product.