Research In Motion plans to offer a number of dual-core BlackBerry devices in the future, according to one of its chief executives.

“We are working on multi-core smartphones, and QNX is our multi-core platform for those devices. Those devices are both in smartphone and in tablet form,” commented RIM co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, in an interview with PCMag.com.

Dual-core technology will initially be available exclusively on tablets, including the BlackBerry PlayBook, Lazaridis said. The multi-core technology will then be gradually extended to smartphones as technology improves and concerns about the size, weight, cost, and battery life of smaller dual-core devices can be addressed.

A group of Edmonton, Alberta parents are asking local school trustees to keep Wi-Fi internet access out of public schools, voicing concerns about possible health effects on students.

“Wi-Fi in schools can be 20 to 30 times the strength of Wi-Fi in your house, so the children are exposed to that radiation coming from the Wi-Fi for the entire duration of the day,” one parent was quoted as saying.

Wi-Fi technology has been around for upwards of ten years, of course, and its presence in millions of homes and offices around the world has yet to produce any hard evidence of negative health consequences. (Health Canada and the World Health Organization both take the position that Wi-Fi is not dangerous.)

School officials have argued that Wi-Fi will increase the number of students that have access to the internet.

“We believe Wi-Fi is an important part of the infrastructure to enable the use of 21st-century technologies in education,” school district staff said in a report.

The TomTom VIA 1405 and 1435 devices feature a 4.3-inch display, while the VIA 1505 and 1534 boast 5-inches of screen. The 1435 and 1535 models come with a brush aluminum finish, while the 1405 and 1505 devices come in classic black. All models feature a super-slim design and integrated mount for easy placement on a dashboard or windshield.

“At TomTom, we are continuously working to make innovative navigation solutions accessible for our consumers,” commented TomTom’s senior vice president of market development, Tom Murray. “The VIA Series introduces many of our premium features, such as Intuitive Voice Recognition and Bluetooth® Hands-Free Calling, at mid-range prices.”

The VIA devices will be available in Canada and the United States by mid-2011, with suggested retail prices starting at $169.

“From our understanding, the poor battery life of early PlayBook units may be due to its incorporation of Adobe Flash,” Wu said in a note to clients. “As seen in recent tests for the new MacBook Air, use of Flash can cut battery life in half. It should be no surprise to anyone that our checks indicate Adobe is furiously working on reducing Flash’s consumption of resources to make it a viable mobile platform vs. HTML5 that both Apple and Google are moving toward.”

Wu expects the PlayBook trail the Apple iPad’s ten-hour battery life, and says that it will only measure up to the Samsung Galaxy Tab’s six-hour charge with “significant re-engineering.” He credits the iPad’s industry-leading battery life to the fact that Apple makes its own in-house software and battery chemistry.

“Apple’s unparalleled and fundamental ownership of core technology is what enables the company to deliver superior battery life, not to mention a superior user experience,” Wu explained.

Research In Motion has responded to analysts’ concerns saying that it is on track to “optimize the BlackBerry PlayBook’s battery life” and looks forward to “providing customers with a professional grade tablet that offers superior performance with comparable battery life.”

LG Electronics is working on what is thought to be the world’s slimmest smartphone, according to a leak on the mobile technology blog, Phandroid.

The “LG B,” as the new device is codenamed, will be slimmer and its screen brighter than that of the Apple iPhone 4 or Samsung Galaxy S, according to leaked photographs. It is expected to feature a 4-inch LCD display and Android operating system.

Availability and pricing details for the LG B are not yet available, but the device is likely to be formally unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011.