BlackBerry PlayBook tablet announced

[gsaldivar]

with the non-stop features then I say this is the mobile OS to watch in the next 5 years.

Right...

but that's what RIM fans were saying about OS6 just a few months ago and look how that turned out...

 

[DivideBYZero]

Right...

but that's what RIM fans were saying about OS6 just a few months ago and look how that turned out...

So, you're saying it will fail?

 

[TheStu]

Did anyone else notice this little tid-bit?

- multiple display support, internal and external displays can show different content.

My Netbook with Windows 7 Starter can't even do that...I know that's a deliberate gimping by Microshaft, but anyway it's impressive to have multiple display support on a tablet.

This could be what I was imagining then. A business not too far into the future, 5-10 years maybe, that just hands out tablets or smartphones and these devices are 'fast enough' that they can be docked and used as the employee's workstation. Files are stored in the company cloud and the devices can be remote wiped in the event of loss or theft. It would replace their desktop, laptop and phone, all in one device. If this thing can do dual displays then it is just one step closer to that idea.

Playbook is an odd name for RIM though. Not as stupid as iPad (still a stupid name. iPod was pretty stupid at the start too, but that was 9 years ago), but still silly.

Things to still determine however;
Will it actually come out? (Is RIM in the habit of announcing and failing to deliver?)
Will it require a contract?
--What will the contract price be?
What will the unsubsidized price be?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

as a BBerry fan, I really want to like this a lot. But they're still going to have to try pretty hard for me not to jump ship to Android/iPhone come january.

I just got an iPad a week ago and now my 8900 just feels.....old.....

 

[DivideBYZero]

I, admittedly I like RIM stuff so take it with a pinch of salt, thought PlayBook was a pretty clever name.
For Business, your strategy is your PlayBook, a sports reference.
For Home, you Play, in your free time you read books, again it works.

Seems like a pretty good name that avoids using the term Pad, like other two major devices do. On the flip side I think 'Style' for the new Full Qwerty flip is wank, but it will probably go down well with the tween girl market that it's aimed at.

 

[DivideBYZero]

as a BBerry fan, I really want to like this a lot. But they're still going to have to try pretty hard for me not to jump ship to Android/iPhone come january.

I just got an iPad a week ago and now my 8900 just feels.....old.....

Well...to be fair...it is!

 

[gsaldivar]

So, you're saying it will fail?

No, I'm saying past performance is no guarantee of future success.

 

[DivideBYZero]

No, I'm saying past performance is no guarantee of future success.

So you're saying OS6 was a success? Not really getting your point.

 

[gsaldivar]

So you're saying OS6 was a success? Not really getting your point.

I'm saying that RIM's cheerleaders are today promising the same things about the future outlook of the Playbook OS as they were saying about OS6 just a few months ago.

QNX may have a rich history as a platform, but that doesn't guarantee that it will deliver on those expectations with RIM...

 

[DivideBYZero]

I don't think anyone has called OS6 bad. The only real weakness is the hardware they used to debut it on was two years old.

 

[gsaldivar]

I don't think anyone has called OS6 bad. The only real weakness is the hardware they used to debut it on was two years old.

All the Torch reviews I read had a lot more to say about about the software than that.

Under-delivered features, confusing UI changes, serious compatibility problems, and an overall lack of polish seemed to be the general consensus.

Engadget:

"..The [Wifi Sync] concept is obviously great, but the execution needs a little work here -- it's far more confusing and inconsistent than we would have liked..."

"..It's 2010 -- if these are "super apps" (Mike Lazaridis' words), we're expecting a lot more than this.."

"..quite a few issues with apps not working (or not working properly) on the new platform, and even though RIM has improved the App World experience, there's no differentiation in the store to tell you if what you're about to buy will function with the device.."

"..you end up looking at Twitter messages in two separate places (oh wait... three separate places). The same is true for Facebook ... It's like RIM had an idea to combine every single service into one big silo, got cold feet, and gave us a half-step instead ... What should have been distilled into a deeply threaded function of the new UI is now just a messy jumble of seemingly random ideas about how people communicate.."

"..For all the improvements in the browser, the more upscale fit-and-finish of the UI, and the thoughtful changes in basic functionality, we still feel like this device is a generation behind the market.."

"..The company seems convinced that it's got a better idea about what its customers want and how a smartphone should act in 2010, but we can't say we agree.."

 

[DivideBYZero]

I'm trying hard to not let you derail a PlayBook thread into the usual RIM bashing, but I got these quotes from the same review:

"RIM has cleaned up and smoothed out a lot of the iconography and text in the UI, making the whole OS feel much more cohesive and consistent. Graphically, BlackBerry 6 occupies the same space as OS 5, though it feels softer, more polished, and a bit more upscale."

"Everything on the homescreen seems designed to help you get to your most used functions quickly, which is wonderful."

"RIM has also altered the manner in which you adjust settings on the phone, giving you a more graphic-heavy menu to navigate preferences, which is a huge improvement over the lists seen in the last version of the operating system."

"One of the nice touches we liked in the OS is a method of selecting text by tapping at the beginning and end of the section you want with two fingers -- a really smart and useful idea."

"One of the biggest -- and probably the best -- new feature in BlackBerry 6 is the universal search function."

And so on. My point? You can paint a device any way you want, if you just pick the quotes that suit your angle.

Anyhow, let's leave the OS6 discussion for another thread, as it certainly has no place in this one.

 

[MrX8503]

I'm trying hard to not let you derail a PlayBook thread into the usual RIM bashing, but I got these quotes from the same review:



And so on. My point? You can paint a device any way you want, if you just pick the quotes that suit your angle.

Anyhow, let's leave the OS6 discussion for another thread, as it certainly has no place in this one.

What engadget was stating by those quotes is that BBOS6 is better/an improvement. On the flip side they're also saying that its not good enough to compete with current OSs. A half step, rather than a full step.

Anyway, looking at the Playbook video ad, it looks like the UI is the direction that RIM needs. Hopefully with their new OS they don't alienate their biggest consumers, enterprise.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Anyway, looking at the Playbook video ad, it looks like the UI is the direction that RIM needs. Hopefully with their new OS they don't alienate their biggest consumers, enterprise.

Not a problem. The PlayBook is BES compatible out of the box. This means it has all the security and functionality you get with the standard BB offerings.

You can also pair with your BlackBerry so that you can use it as an extension of your phone when you want to use the calendar, email or other functions on a large screen.

 

[Pliablemoose]

LOL, look carefully at this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZMx2v-yIyg

The PlayBook doesn't exist in working form, that's a monitor screen jammed in a chassis, running a video loop

During the intro Lazaridis doesn't touch the screen, it just stays on all the time, and he doesn't demo a working unit.

Reporters are claiming a "Hands On" with the device, and no one was allowed to really touch one.

The videos are all rendered

 

[gsaldivar]

The videos are all rendered

It's probably just a video on a loop being displayed in a prototype PB housing. I'll bet there isn't real hardware in that tablet, just an LCD screen

 

[Deeko]

The PlayBook doesn't exist in working form )

That's a bold statement, about which you have absolutely no proof. But who needs accuracy whe theres sensationalism? Glenn Beck made a career of it, maybe you're on to something.

 

[gsaldivar]

That's a bold statement, about which you have absolutely no proof.

I think that's his point.

There *isn't* any proof that the PB exists.

It's just a bunch of rendered video so far...

 

[Pliablemoose]

That's a bold statement, about which you have absolutely no proof. But who needs accuracy whe theres sensationalism? Glenn Beck made a career of it, maybe you're on to something.

Show me a hands on video of the PlayBook functioning.

They used a mock up for the intro.

I'm not saying it won't exist, but I am saying a working PlayBook in final form doesn't exist at this point.

BB was in need of some positive buzz and generated some...

 

[Deeko]

Show me a hands on video of the PlayBook functioning.

They used a mock up for the intro.

I'm not saying it won't exist, but I am saying a working PlayBook in final form doesn't exist at this point.

BB was in need of some positive buzz and generated some...

This is a drastically different statement from your first one. Working form != final form. Of course it doesn't exist in final form, if it did, it would be on the shelves now. Do you think they'd miss the 2010 holiday season if they had the choice?

 

[Pliablemoose]

This is a drastically different statement from your first one. Working form != final form. Of course it doesn't exist in final form, if it did, it would be on the shelves now. Do you think they'd miss the 2010 holiday season if they had the choice?

Perhaps I was unclear, there is no functioning "PlayBook"

What was demo'd does not exist.

 

[gsaldivar]

Working form != final form.

There is no evidence that it exists in any form, other than in CG.

DBZ will accuse us of bashing again in

3... 2... 1...

 

[Deeko]

You're right, there's no evidence of that, but that doesn't mean it definitively doesn't exist. Is it possible that this thing is purely conceptual at this point? Sure, but unless you're looking for a reason to look down on this product (come on, no offense PM but you've been very anti-"blackpad" for a long time now, and we know you like your ipad), there's no reason to assume that.

What's more likely is that RIM has something in development that is not ready for prime time, and rather than introduce it to the press where they'd bash it incessantly for being rough and unfinished, they did the demo they did.

 

[DivideBYZero]

This is some parroted crap from a nobody blog. Moose, even from you, this is pretty sad.

Just because no bloggers can touch it, it doesn't exist? Are you serious?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Yes