Research in Motion announced today that it would launch its PlayBook tablet on April 19 in North American at a price that rivals the iPad 2.

RIM’s highly anticipated PlayBook will cost $499 for 16 GB of memory, $599 for the 32 GB and $699 for the 64 GB, reports the New York Times, and will be available at over 20,000 retail stores.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet that is already being widely praised as a multi-tasking powerhouse with an uncompromised web experience and an ultra-portable design,” said Mike Lazaridis, president of RIM, in a prepared statement. “Given the high level of customer interest in the BlackBerry PlayBook, we are particularly pleased to be working with such an amazing lineup of retail partners,” he added according to InformationWeek.

Although the PlayBook will be priced at the iPad 2’s level, it may not reach its selling numbers among the mass consumer. However analysts say that RIM has an overwhelming advantage in its close relationship with business, government and large corporations, thanks to solid security features, portrayed by the popularity of the Blackberry in the business sector.

“Maybe ‘PlayBook’ is a misnomer,” said Tony Cripps, a London-based analyst to the NYT. “R.I.M. would be crazy not to maximize its advantages in the enterprise market.”

Equity analyst Mike Abramsky also told the times that many corporations would buy the PlayBook instead of other tablets because of their established history with the Blackberry.

The PlayBook has a 7-inch screen, compared to the iPad 2’s 9.7 inches, but offers a user interface that is effective and user-friendly, and on-screen multitasking, but most importantly will be shipping with the Adobe Flash 10.1 player, which the iPad does not have, reports BusinessWeek.

With these advantages and competitive pricing, RIM has big hopes for the PlayBook, “Some people view tablets as an extension of the mobile experience,” said RIM’s senior product manager, Ryan Bidan. “Some think it’s an extension of the laptop experience. We want to build a platform that meets both of those needs,” he added, according to InformationWeek.