Sprint Nextel and Research in Motion (RIM) on Thursday announced plans to release a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet model that will connect to Sprints fourth generation (4G) network.

Sprint said customers who purchase a BlackBerry 4G PlayBook can download content at speeds that will be up to 10 times faster than its 3G services. The wireless carrier plans to release the model in the summer.

The tablet will be the first BlackBerry PlayBook model to include wide area wireless connectivity, Sprint announced, and features a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and the new BlackBerry OS.

Sprint, making the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show, said it would disclose pricing and other details closer to the date it releases the new BlackBerry PlayBook.

RIM believes a significant portion of the tablet market will want a higher performing, multitasking, professional-grade tablet and that is why we chose to design the BlackBerry PlayBook for premium performance with a powerful dual-core processor and multitasking OS,” RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said.

The PlayBook is expected to be available from other major carriers as well.