BlackBerry PlayBook news, tips, tricks and fanboy enthusiasm thread

[pm]

I am publically refusing to turn this into yet another mindless debate over why someone prefers platform x over platform y.

I am publicly agreeing with Deeko. Please keep this thread on-topic which is news, tricks, tips and enthusiasm for the Playbook. If you have criticisms of the device, doubts about RIM as a company or otherwise, or observations about marketshare you can post those opinions in other more general threads about tablets. Keep this one on topic, please.

Moderator PM

 

[Pliablemoose]

Is the smart card reader another layer of security for the PlayBook?

 

[sjwaste]

It is. Keeping the Smartcard in a device is not the way to play, as it cannot be seen or used for other devices. The SCR just sits on a belt clip or lanyard and communicates with secured devices. Very elegant, if you ask me.

Depends on the application and associated security protocols. Where I've used it, separation of the smart card from the device should cause the device to lock.

I don't disagree with the elegance of the solution, but I will point out that it is unsuitable for many government/military applications.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Depends on the application and associated security protocols. Where I've used it, separation of the smart card from the device should cause the device to lock.

I don't disagree with the elegance of the solution, but I will point out that it is unsuitable for many government/military applications.

It does cause lock if the devices separate by distance. The Smart card reader is also FIPS 140-2 certified, so it's fine with the Military/Gov.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Is the smart card reader another layer of security for the PlayBook?

Yes. As posted above, the SCR itself is also FIPS 140-2.

Inside, the SCR has the guts of the original 8100 minus a screen and kb...

 

[sjwaste]

It does cause lock if the devices separate by distance. The Smart card reader is also FIPS 140-2 certified, so it's fine with the Military/Gov.

Not for all applications, which is what I said before. If you can have the card/reader in your pocket and the tablet functioning, that may not always fly. That's in addition to people not wanting to carry an additional device around if they don't have to.

An integrated card reader on this tablet would be awesome. I'm leaving it at that.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Interesting... Not relevant to my needs, but interesting.

 

[DivideBYZero]

RDM+ Remote Desktop app looks pretty nice:

http://blackberryrocks.com/2011/08/04/rdmplus-remote-desktop-app-blackberry-playbook-pc-mac/

 

[yllus]

Back from vacation in Rome! Took my PlayBook with me, didn't use it at all as the hotel's wi-fi was down the entire week and Italy isn't great for Internet in general.

RDM+ looks terrific. At $9.99, I'll have to really consider if I need RDP.

Edit: Damn, just read that it requires extra software to be installed. That's a shame.

 

[sjwaste]

Back from vacation in Rome! Took my PlayBook with me, didn't use it at all as the hotel's wi-fi was down the entire week and Italy isn't great for Internet in general.

RDM+ looks terrific. At $9.99, I'll have to really consider if I need RDP.

Edit: Damn, just read that it requires extra software to be installed. That's a shame.

Doh, we were probably in Rome at the same time. I was there the week before last.

Where did you stay? Our hotel was having wifi issues the week we were there, but internet issues were fairly common in Italy.

 

[yllus]

Doh, we were probably in Rome at the same time. I was there the week before last.

Where did you stay? Our hotel was having wifi issues the week we were there, but internet issues were fairly common in Italy.

I was at the H10 Roma Citta, which I otherwise enjoyed except for the Internet bit. Well, I guess it was also a bit more out of town than I'd like but it was just the one bus into town.

 

[yllus]

This is coming out of left field, but I just received the 78-Keys Compact Rechargeable Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard for iPhone/iPad/Desktop/Laptop/Mobile from DealExtreme for $38 shipped and it's really terrific. It's light, rechargeable, and synced right away without issue.

 

[Deeko]

Surprisingly cheap.

Also, Amazon launched http://read.amazon.com/, a web based Kindle reader. It doesn't officially support the Playbook browser, but it does work well enough. Awesome.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Surprisingly cheap.

Also, Amazon launched http://read.amazon.com/, a web based Kindle reader. It doesn't officially support the Playbook browser, but it does work well enough. Awesome.

Hmmm, very interesting. I need to check this out.

 

[Deeko]

Yea, I'm going to give it its first "field test" this afternoon on the bus. What's interesting is Amazon is only supporting Safari and Chrome - if you try it on IE (or mobile IE on WP7) it won't let you in...but it works on the PlayBook. I wonder if its their "backdoor" way of getting support onto the device without actually writing a dedicated app.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Yea, I'm going to give it its first "field test" this afternoon on the bus. What's interesting is Amazon is only supporting Safari and Chrome - if you try it on IE (or mobile IE on WP7) it won't let you in...but it works on the PlayBook. I wonder if its their "backdoor" way of getting support onto the device without actually writing a dedicated app.

What Amazon are saying is they only support Webkit browsers, and, of course, the PlayBook is one of those. They just don't mention it explicitly.

 

[Deeko]

Ahh, touche. Makes sense.

 

[yllus]

This is the rare day that I left my PlayBook at home (I walk home from work sometimes and it weighs me down). How is the Cloud Reader? As I mentioned earlier, I've done some HTML5 development on the PlayBook and the performance wasn't that great. Could just be me as a novice not knowing how to optimize, though.

 

[Deeko]

It works pretty well. The initial interface where you're picking books is a little slow, but once you're in one and reading, I had no problems. I'd still prefer a native app, but this definitely beats reading on my phone on the bus.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I'm hoping these native apps will appear once the Native SDK come out of Beta. Big names won't want to write apps in AIR.

 

[Imp]

Has anyone tried the Blackberry Bridge function extensively?

Thinking about getting a smartphone with mobile internet being the primary motivator. I think there are some lame tethering rules from carriers, haven't researched extensively.

Thinking about getting a Curve then bridging with Playbook; I don't want to spend that much on a phone because I abuse my phones. Of all my electronics, my phone is the only thing I throw, leave lying around and outside a case. So far, the jokes on everyone else because I use $50 phones.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Has anyone tried the Blackberry Bridge function extensively?

Thinking about getting a smartphone with mobile internet being the primary motivator. I think there are some lame tethering rules from carriers, haven't researched extensively.

Thinking about getting a Curve then bridging with Playbook; I don't want to spend that much on a phone because I abuse my phones. Of all my electronics, my phone is the only thing I throw, leave lying around and outside a case. So far, the jokes on everyone else because I use $50 phones.

Yep. I use it daily. I can tether with it, do all my email, docs, contacts, BBM & other bridged apps and it is really very cool. It's odd how one of the most awesome features got spun by anti-fanbois into a downside. It really is very cool.

 

[Imp]

Yep. I use it daily. I can tether with it, do all my email, docs, contacts, BBM & other bridged apps and it is really very cool. It's odd how one of the most awesome features got spun by anti-fanbois into a downside. It really is very cool.

Cool. Just have to decide whether it's worth the extra $10-$20 in my monthly charge. I also have to switch carriers, but my current one dropped the ball when I had to go a month without service, calling India once a day for weeks, so eff them.

 

[yllus]

Bridge is pretty neat. Fair warning though, speeds via Bridge are about 25% slower than speeds you'd get tethering normally to your BlackBerry or another phone.

 

[yllus]

CrackBerry.com - BlackBerry PlayBook sales are exceeding expectations in Australia

While there has been concern voiced about BlackBerry PlayBook sales in the US in its first few months of availability, the tablet is selling very well in other parts of the world. In Australia, retailer Harvey Norman is reporting that PlayBook sales are exceeding their expectations and they have had to re-order stock multiple times to stay on top of demand.

“Sales of the PlayBook are very, very good,” said Ben McIntosh, the head of Harvey Norman’s Computers buying team, who credited RIM’s success to its tablet strategy. “BlackBerry has probably come from a different direction. The PlayBook was always going to be more of a niche product based on the fact that they’re really targeting the BlackBerry smartphone base that’s in Australia and the world. The sales of the PlayBook have been fantastic, we’ve re-ordered multiple times and it’s exceeded our expectations.”

Research In Motion hasn't released any firm numbers yet on total number of BlackBerry PlayBook sales since launch, which has led many people to believe that sales are quite a bit lower than originally expected. While the numbers are no where near those of the Apple iPad - and let's be honest, probably never will be - the PlayBook is still enjoying success in its own right.

The comments on the article are interesting - people mention the display for the PlayBook being equal to/bigger than the iPad's standalone store display.