Pliablemoose
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
- 25,195
- 0
- 56
http://video.allthingsd.com/video/w...laybook/7D5A65ED-E57C-46E9-9678-C41BD8F05CA0/
Mossberg's video review.
Mossberg's video review.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
- May 18, 2001
- 24,117
- 2
- 0
No advertising blitz, lukewarm mainstream reviewer reception with the general concensus of wait instead of OMFG YOU GOTTA HAVE IT NOW, typical teething problems of a first gen device and the requirement to have a blackberry as your phone for full funcitonality.
I just don't see this being a viable competitor to the iPad2.
BenSkywalker is being too harsh in saying this is infereor to a rooted Nook color, but he's right on one thing -- the value proposition isn't great. At the moment a tablet must be clearly superior to the iPad/iPad2, or be much cheaper. IMO this one is neither. Flash support may be the "clearly better" feature to some, but I'm with Jobs -- flash is a pig that doesn't belong on a handheld device and is already or rapidly becoming irrelevant.
If this ran stock Android apps it would have been a great 7" tablet. RIM is going to have a rough time establishing a thriving third app store ecosystem. Doubly so with the meh reception this thing launched to.
I just don't see this being a viable competitor to the iPad2.
BenSkywalker is being too harsh in saying this is infereor to a rooted Nook color, but he's right on one thing -- the value proposition isn't great. At the moment a tablet must be clearly superior to the iPad/iPad2, or be much cheaper. IMO this one is neither. Flash support may be the "clearly better" feature to some, but I'm with Jobs -- flash is a pig that doesn't belong on a handheld device and is already or rapidly becoming irrelevant.
If this ran stock Android apps it would have been a great 7" tablet. RIM is going to have a rough time establishing a thriving third app store ecosystem. Doubly so with the meh reception this thing launched to.
Pliablemoose
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
- 25,195
- 0
- 56
Deeko
Lifer
- Jun 16, 2000
- 30,213
- 12
- 81
So I haven't gotten mine yet - they said the free ones will be shipping on this Friday. I did stop by Best Buy and check it out though.
-After seeing it in person, I still do like the 7" size. Its not as small as I was expecting. Seems like a good combination of portability and screen real estate. Its a bit thicker/heavier than I was expecting, but not to the point of being too much...its still easily holdable with one hand. The bezel isn't too big in actual use.
-The OS is very fluid, very smooth. The keyboard is better than I was expecting, although I still wish it had auto correct.
-The store didn't have wifi it could find, so I hooked it up to my Vibrant via wifi tethering. The browser was responsive and loaded desktop pages accurately. Loading time was acceptable, I'd imagine it would be faster on a real wifi connection.
-To those that were wondering - at least for now, Hulu does indeed work in browser. And considering I was tethering to 3G, it actually worked a lot better than I was expecting, the playback was surprisingly smooth.
-As reviewers noted, the power button is dumb. I have short fingernails and could barely press it, it doesn't help that there's no clickiness to it so you don't know if you've succeeded or not. Luckily, swiping up on the screen does wake it up when its already turned on.
-I downloaded my app from AppWorld and it works well
However, so far, there's really not a lot in AppWorld. I imagine this will improve with time.
That's all I really got from the time in the store, I'll have more in depth comments after I get mine. My first impressions weren't that different from the reviewers. Smooth OS with a lot of potential, we'll see where it goes over the next few months with updates from RIM and more apps from 3rd parties.
-After seeing it in person, I still do like the 7" size. Its not as small as I was expecting. Seems like a good combination of portability and screen real estate. Its a bit thicker/heavier than I was expecting, but not to the point of being too much...its still easily holdable with one hand. The bezel isn't too big in actual use.
-The OS is very fluid, very smooth. The keyboard is better than I was expecting, although I still wish it had auto correct.
-The store didn't have wifi it could find, so I hooked it up to my Vibrant via wifi tethering. The browser was responsive and loaded desktop pages accurately. Loading time was acceptable, I'd imagine it would be faster on a real wifi connection.
-To those that were wondering - at least for now, Hulu does indeed work in browser. And considering I was tethering to 3G, it actually worked a lot better than I was expecting, the playback was surprisingly smooth.
-As reviewers noted, the power button is dumb. I have short fingernails and could barely press it, it doesn't help that there's no clickiness to it so you don't know if you've succeeded or not. Luckily, swiping up on the screen does wake it up when its already turned on.
-I downloaded my app from AppWorld and it works well
However, so far, there's really not a lot in AppWorld. I imagine this will improve with time.That's all I really got from the time in the store, I'll have more in depth comments after I get mine. My first impressions weren't that different from the reviewers. Smooth OS with a lot of potential, we'll see where it goes over the next few months with updates from RIM and more apps from 3rd parties.
zerocool84
Lifer
- Nov 11, 2004
- 36,041
- 472
- 126
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/...-available-for-playbook-users-on-atandt-unof/
This is retarded. The best feature about the Playbook and AT&T users can't even officially use it.
Deeko
Lifer
- Jun 16, 2000
- 30,213
- 12
- 81
AT&T is probably trying to figure out a way to charge you for it...or just in general being a pain in the ass. Kinda like how AT&T WP7 users are just getting the NoDo update everyone else got a month ago.
Pliablemoose
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
- 25,195
- 0
- 56
I will be very surprised if any of the carriers outside of Sprint and TMobile allow the BB Bridge & free tethering, they (carriers) make a ton of $ off data plans, they're not going to want to give away anything.
If they allow BB to do this, then manufacturers will do it with Andriod.
I know it's working with some carriers now, but I don't see it lasting (free tethering).
If they allow BB to do this, then manufacturers will do it with Andriod.
I know it's working with some carriers now, but I don't see it lasting (free tethering).
poofyhairguy
Lifer
- Nov 20, 2005
- 14,612
- 318
- 126
I love how they just say "quality experience." You assume "high quality experience like other platforms," when ATT probably means "what all other customers get-IE no free teathering."
If they are willing to go toe to toe with ATT about tethering, I become a RIM fan.
AT&T just blocked the app from being installed through app world. You can still install it manually and it works fine.
zerocool84
Lifer
- Nov 11, 2004
- 36,041
- 472
- 126
Yes but people who have Blackberrys are not the most savvy people in the world which is why they have Blackberrys so they won't do that. Just like earlier Android tablets not having the market but being able to manually install it.
amdhunter
Lifer
- May 19, 2003
- 23,332
- 249
- 106
Just came back from Best Buy also, and here are my initial thoughts.
Just read bolded parts for cliffs.
- Not a single person cared about the device, but me and a friend were excited. We got to play with it for a good 1/2 hour, and not a single person asked to see it.
- The power button is NOT that bad. Don't know why everyone is complaining, I have fat fingers and had NO trouble pushing it up and down. It's actually nice how flush it is.
- Screen is gorgeous, and the bezel isn't as annoying as you think. It definitely is thick though, and while initially you might forgive it...I got annoyed at the thickness as time passed. Also, the screen seems useless in portrait mode, as text gets really small and blurry in the browser. The demo HD video was really nice, but not as nice as it would look like on an iPhone 4 or Epic 4G.
- On screen keyboard is really nice, and the speakers are top notch. I have nothing to bitch about there. Well, maybe the speaker holes look like crap, and will probably fill with dust or lint.
- The browser is fast, but annoying. There seemed to be a LOT of pausing (right at 50% like reviewers said) before a page loaded. The iPads in the area were much quicker. What I did like, was that Hulu worked perfectly, and I watched clips on Comedy Central pretty easily. Scrolling was smooth, but nowhere as smooth as reviewers would lead you to believe. There is definitely some choppiness and skipping when using it, especially when zooming in and out. It's not bad, but it's nowhere near iPad 1, let alone iPad 2 levels.
- App store. lol, there is NOTHING to download, and the most downloaded app from their market is a grocery store list maker or something like that. The App store is 100% fail. It was not intuitive at all either, and I closed it right away.
- Need for Speed. Looked smooth. But, do you guys remember how back in the day, you could turn off bilinear filtering on games? It looked like that. Like it was super smooth software rendered high res or something. The game was boring also. Control was perfect, absolutely perfect, but the game sucks.
- Moving around the device was nice and fluid, but sometimes it showed lag. The GUI is as smooth as an iPad. Getting around the device took a minute to get used to - it took us 3 minutes to figure out how to get out of the browser...lol
In the end, I decided against buying one. The apps aren't there, the browser has flash, but nothing else (can't adblock, which I do on my iPad, and now there are flash ads!) and while the screen is gorgeous, the bezel is thick.
I am going to be honest. Paying $500 for this is kind of stupid in it's current state. I'd wait for a PlayBook 2 or get a Transformer or iPad.
I really wanted the PlayBook to succeed too. :'(
Just read bolded parts for cliffs.
- Not a single person cared about the device, but me and a friend were excited. We got to play with it for a good 1/2 hour, and not a single person asked to see it.
- The power button is NOT that bad. Don't know why everyone is complaining, I have fat fingers and had NO trouble pushing it up and down. It's actually nice how flush it is.
- Screen is gorgeous, and the bezel isn't as annoying as you think. It definitely is thick though, and while initially you might forgive it...I got annoyed at the thickness as time passed. Also, the screen seems useless in portrait mode, as text gets really small and blurry in the browser. The demo HD video was really nice, but not as nice as it would look like on an iPhone 4 or Epic 4G.
- On screen keyboard is really nice, and the speakers are top notch. I have nothing to bitch about there. Well, maybe the speaker holes look like crap, and will probably fill with dust or lint.
- The browser is fast, but annoying. There seemed to be a LOT of pausing (right at 50% like reviewers said) before a page loaded. The iPads in the area were much quicker. What I did like, was that Hulu worked perfectly, and I watched clips on Comedy Central pretty easily. Scrolling was smooth, but nowhere as smooth as reviewers would lead you to believe. There is definitely some choppiness and skipping when using it, especially when zooming in and out. It's not bad, but it's nowhere near iPad 1, let alone iPad 2 levels.
- App store. lol, there is NOTHING to download, and the most downloaded app from their market is a grocery store list maker or something like that. The App store is 100% fail. It was not intuitive at all either, and I closed it right away.
- Need for Speed. Looked smooth. But, do you guys remember how back in the day, you could turn off bilinear filtering on games? It looked like that. Like it was super smooth software rendered high res or something. The game was boring also. Control was perfect, absolutely perfect, but the game sucks.
- Moving around the device was nice and fluid, but sometimes it showed lag. The GUI is as smooth as an iPad. Getting around the device took a minute to get used to - it took us 3 minutes to figure out how to get out of the browser...lol
In the end, I decided against buying one. The apps aren't there, the browser has flash, but nothing else (can't adblock, which I do on my iPad, and now there are flash ads!) and while the screen is gorgeous, the bezel is thick.
I am going to be honest. Paying $500 for this is kind of stupid in it's current state. I'd wait for a PlayBook 2 or get a Transformer or iPad.
I really wanted the PlayBook to succeed too. :'(
Last edited:
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
GOT IT!
Charged and powered on. Immediately asked to download an update. Wish the XOOM was like that.
Tried to install and failed. Already this thing is giving me a bad vibe.
All I can say right now is the power button is easy to use, and the screen looks awesome.
Charged and powered on. Immediately asked to download an update. Wish the XOOM was like that.
Tried to install and failed. Already this thing is giving me a bad vibe.
All I can say right now is the power button is easy to use, and the screen looks awesome.
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
Shorties First Impressions:
OS is ridiculously smooth. Smart choice with that QNX or whatever the fuck it is. No matter whats going on in the foreground or background, the desktop never freezes or even hiccups. I love it. And if I get used to it, I will have an extremely hard time going back to other OS's.
Navigating the desktop is easy. They have app pages like Android and iOS but they are categorized in addition to ALL. I know Android has skins and shit that let you do that on their app page, but having by default without add-ons is cool. Of course, given the limited number of apps the device includes and that are available, this seems like a moot point.
Multitasking is fast and smooth. I like the live, real time icons that appear when you shift a program to the background. Even the 3D video games keep running, and they dont slow down the whole system. If you shift to music from the podcast player, the vids keep playing but the audio changes over to the front app. Again, no hiccups. Closing open stuff is easy with the little X in the corner, another thing I miss on Android. Apparently this puppy is very good at managing resources so you shouldnt have to manually close stuff all the time.
Screen is gorgeous, perhaps slightly nicer than the XOOM, but of course smaller. I dont mind, its more than big enough to make HD vids look good and the wallpapers are lovely. Frame rate, brightness/contrast, and color are all pristine. The case is superb quality too. This is not a cheap toy. Its a high quality BB product. Businessmen will be pleased with its subtle yet fine looks.
Stereo speakers are surprisingly good for a thin mobile device. Will try the headphone jack later. No ear buds included but I'm fine with that cuz frankly not even Apple includes good quality peripheral stuff with their devices.
Keyboard is nice, much better than the XOOM with Honeycomb (though I never tried any of the paid keyboards on that). BUT, as small as the screen is I dont think I will routinely use the display keyboard. If I keep this I will get myself a plugin or blutooth keyboard.
Another thing I miss from Android is the Menu button. Much like on a Mac I notice that right click doesn't often do anything (If I install a 2 button mouse.) They insist on you using the down swipe to access menus, if they exist. I found a lot of apps dont have menus. Youtube app has no way to log in to my account.
Oh, Youtube hiccups a lot, even though my internets are fast. Dunno if this is a Flash issue, or poor use of resources. Nothing else hiccups thanks to the OS, so I guess this one app is poorly optimized. Youtube on the web works great. Also it seems the browser tells sites its desktop by default, as opposed to mobile. Which is good cuz so many of my favorite places refuse to work correctly on a mobile browser.
Settings menu has plenty of options and thorough information on whats happening with your device. Free storage, free RAM, version info, and more are quickly accessible. Dont know if theres a widget to show this stuff at all times on the desktop. In fact I havent found any widgets yet. BUT, since stuff can always run in the background and updates in real time thats not a huge issue. Weather info for example is always easily accessible if you just let the weather app run all the time.
- MORE LATER -
OS is ridiculously smooth. Smart choice with that QNX or whatever the fuck it is. No matter whats going on in the foreground or background, the desktop never freezes or even hiccups. I love it. And if I get used to it, I will have an extremely hard time going back to other OS's.
Navigating the desktop is easy. They have app pages like Android and iOS but they are categorized in addition to ALL. I know Android has skins and shit that let you do that on their app page, but having by default without add-ons is cool. Of course, given the limited number of apps the device includes and that are available, this seems like a moot point.
Multitasking is fast and smooth. I like the live, real time icons that appear when you shift a program to the background. Even the 3D video games keep running, and they dont slow down the whole system. If you shift to music from the podcast player, the vids keep playing but the audio changes over to the front app. Again, no hiccups. Closing open stuff is easy with the little X in the corner, another thing I miss on Android. Apparently this puppy is very good at managing resources so you shouldnt have to manually close stuff all the time.
Screen is gorgeous, perhaps slightly nicer than the XOOM, but of course smaller. I dont mind, its more than big enough to make HD vids look good and the wallpapers are lovely. Frame rate, brightness/contrast, and color are all pristine. The case is superb quality too. This is not a cheap toy. Its a high quality BB product. Businessmen will be pleased with its subtle yet fine looks.
Stereo speakers are surprisingly good for a thin mobile device. Will try the headphone jack later. No ear buds included but I'm fine with that cuz frankly not even Apple includes good quality peripheral stuff with their devices.
Keyboard is nice, much better than the XOOM with Honeycomb (though I never tried any of the paid keyboards on that). BUT, as small as the screen is I dont think I will routinely use the display keyboard. If I keep this I will get myself a plugin or blutooth keyboard.
Another thing I miss from Android is the Menu button. Much like on a Mac I notice that right click doesn't often do anything (If I install a 2 button mouse.) They insist on you using the down swipe to access menus, if they exist. I found a lot of apps dont have menus. Youtube app has no way to log in to my account.
Oh, Youtube hiccups a lot, even though my internets are fast. Dunno if this is a Flash issue, or poor use of resources. Nothing else hiccups thanks to the OS, so I guess this one app is poorly optimized. Youtube on the web works great. Also it seems the browser tells sites its desktop by default, as opposed to mobile. Which is good cuz so many of my favorite places refuse to work correctly on a mobile browser.
Settings menu has plenty of options and thorough information on whats happening with your device. Free storage, free RAM, version info, and more are quickly accessible. Dont know if theres a widget to show this stuff at all times on the desktop. In fact I havent found any widgets yet. BUT, since stuff can always run in the background and updates in real time thats not a huge issue. Weather info for example is always easily accessible if you just let the weather app run all the time.
- MORE LATER -
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
Apps and stuff:
Word and Excel are very basic. And you can't make Power Points, just view them. Adobe viewer is basic but streamlined and efficient.
The Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo icons just quick link to the mobile web versions of their email sites. And they look surprisingly good on the Playbook. GMail gets wonky if you try to force the desktop version of the page. Luckily when it freezes up the rest of the OS just works fine. And if the browser crashes you can start it up again in 2 seconds, though it does take all the other open tabs with it.
Web browser is smooth, even with many tabs open. Shifting tabs or moving focus away from the browser pauses whatever was going on. Youtube vids stop, etc. Theres easy access to history and bookmarks, as well as full screen mode. Good option choices for privacy, cookies, enable/disable Java and Flash. And more.
Podcast app works nicely. Never gave a shit about podcasts until now. Easy to browse and organize and download.
Accelerometer works great and everything can be viewed from all 4 sides. Most every app looks wonderful in portrait and landscape. Desktop status bar has easy access to Orientation lock, blutooth, wifi, battery level and Settings.
No way to see exactly whats using your battery (like on Android). But good choices for power management. Still running device off USB power, seems to charge quickly, no idea how quickly it discharges.
The only app that seems to hiccup at all is Bing Maps. But it is feature rich and the pinch zoom is smooth. Will try navigation late tonight or maybe tomorrow. Dont know if it supports voice commands.
Voice Notes is basic, but works. Cant seem to rename files and the generic names make no sense. Not much to do with them except delete. Picks up my voice very well but also picks up the relatively quiet fan from my netbook. Makes it sound like a jet engine, but my voice was still easily discernible.
Also has AOL mail but really, who gives a shit.
Has nice Facebook and Twitter apps but I never use them. Did not see a Myspace app. Slacker Radio requires an account, but the app seemed nice enough. The music player was clean and neat, seemed to play music well. Again the speakers are phenomenal for a mobile device but I will probably prefer headphones for long term listening, if only to save power.
Some strange app called NFB gives me access to all kinds of videos, like a low end Podcast app. HD clips look great in the vid player, Podcast app and NFB app. Youtube HD vids hiccup a lot on the browser and app, SD vids only hiccup in the special app.
The Help program is really great, much nicer than anything I saw on Android, even Honeycomb. I suspect even my mom could get into it and learn things easily.
Camera app is basic but smooth and functional. Pics look good for a mobile device. Obviously it will not be replacing my SLR, but it will certainly be more than good enough for video conferencing and such. Front and back cams are both quality.
The included clock app is pretty good for a freebie. Stopwatch and countdown timer. Basic alarm too.
This is the first time I've seen a free calculator that was worth a damn. Basic, Scientific, and Unit Conversion all work wonderfully. You get scrolling list of all the previous results that you can go back to any time. Scientific had all the normal stuff and worked very well. Its funny that you can go to Walmart and pickup a pretty advanced one for around 10 bucks these days, but they are hard to find (or hard to find cheap) on most computer platforms. The Windows one isnt nearly as good as RIM's. Unit converter has a crapload of options and you can change them by rolling the dials, its pretty slick but also easy.
Word and Excel are very basic. And you can't make Power Points, just view them. Adobe viewer is basic but streamlined and efficient.
The Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo icons just quick link to the mobile web versions of their email sites. And they look surprisingly good on the Playbook. GMail gets wonky if you try to force the desktop version of the page. Luckily when it freezes up the rest of the OS just works fine. And if the browser crashes you can start it up again in 2 seconds, though it does take all the other open tabs with it.
Web browser is smooth, even with many tabs open. Shifting tabs or moving focus away from the browser pauses whatever was going on. Youtube vids stop, etc. Theres easy access to history and bookmarks, as well as full screen mode. Good option choices for privacy, cookies, enable/disable Java and Flash. And more.
Podcast app works nicely. Never gave a shit about podcasts until now. Easy to browse and organize and download.
Accelerometer works great and everything can be viewed from all 4 sides. Most every app looks wonderful in portrait and landscape. Desktop status bar has easy access to Orientation lock, blutooth, wifi, battery level and Settings.
No way to see exactly whats using your battery (like on Android). But good choices for power management. Still running device off USB power, seems to charge quickly, no idea how quickly it discharges.
The only app that seems to hiccup at all is Bing Maps. But it is feature rich and the pinch zoom is smooth. Will try navigation late tonight or maybe tomorrow. Dont know if it supports voice commands.
Voice Notes is basic, but works. Cant seem to rename files and the generic names make no sense. Not much to do with them except delete. Picks up my voice very well but also picks up the relatively quiet fan from my netbook. Makes it sound like a jet engine, but my voice was still easily discernible.
Also has AOL mail but really, who gives a shit.
Has nice Facebook and Twitter apps but I never use them. Did not see a Myspace app. Slacker Radio requires an account, but the app seemed nice enough. The music player was clean and neat, seemed to play music well. Again the speakers are phenomenal for a mobile device but I will probably prefer headphones for long term listening, if only to save power.
Some strange app called NFB gives me access to all kinds of videos, like a low end Podcast app. HD clips look great in the vid player, Podcast app and NFB app. Youtube HD vids hiccup a lot on the browser and app, SD vids only hiccup in the special app.
The Help program is really great, much nicer than anything I saw on Android, even Honeycomb. I suspect even my mom could get into it and learn things easily.
Camera app is basic but smooth and functional. Pics look good for a mobile device. Obviously it will not be replacing my SLR, but it will certainly be more than good enough for video conferencing and such. Front and back cams are both quality.
The included clock app is pretty good for a freebie. Stopwatch and countdown timer. Basic alarm too.
This is the first time I've seen a free calculator that was worth a damn. Basic, Scientific, and Unit Conversion all work wonderfully. You get scrolling list of all the previous results that you can go back to any time. Scientific had all the normal stuff and worked very well. Its funny that you can go to Walmart and pickup a pretty advanced one for around 10 bucks these days, but they are hard to find (or hard to find cheap) on most computer platforms. The Windows one isnt nearly as good as RIM's. Unit converter has a crapload of options and you can change them by rolling the dials, its pretty slick but also easy.
Last edited:
Bateluer
Lifer
- Jun 23, 2001
- 27,730
- 8
- 0
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/21/hulu-blocked-on-the-blackberry-playbook-android-fans-say-told/
No Hulu for you either.
Kinda pathetic for this growing market to be actively blocked instead of tapped.
No Hulu for you either.
Kinda pathetic for this growing market to be actively blocked instead of tapped.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
- May 18, 2001
- 24,117
- 2
- 0
Thanks for the honest write up Shorty. It's refreshing to read a real persons view rather than jaded bloggers.
Analysts are saying ~50,000 were sold on day one, far in excess of the Galaxy Tab or Xoom, but obviously short of the 300k of the iPad 1 launch. By all measures that counts as a success and far and away above what the bloggers reaction would have suggested.
I can't wait for UK availability.
Analysts are saying ~50,000 were sold on day one, far in excess of the Galaxy Tab or Xoom, but obviously short of the 300k of the iPad 1 launch. By all measures that counts as a success and far and away above what the bloggers reaction would have suggested.
I can't wait for UK availability.
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
Actually if you been reading me on this forum I'm pretty jaded too.
But, I'm not a BB fanboy and I've been easily disappointed with all tablets lately. Theres a lot of things this puppy got right. Its perfectly sized, not too heavy, really great screen, reliable OS. Only downside is no dedicated mail and calender apps (which is weird cuz they label this thing as the first true business tablet).
Back to my review:
App World is very polished compared to Android Marketplace (2.2 and 3.0, though the 3.0 is much improved it has little exclusively for it). Easy to search categories. Quickly able to find stuff I've installed, as well as old stuff I've uninstalled (so I can reinstall old favorites if I feel like it). Simply shows what has available updates and I think you can auto update as well.
There are tons of apps out now. Especially considering its a whole new format. You can quick sort by free vs. paid. Lots of sensible categories and sub-categories. Like everything else in this OS its quick to browse around and never hiccups or locks.
The Utilizes category has a Clocks sub area, with about 60 clock apps.
This platform is not lacking for apps, trust me. But much like Android it can be lacking for good apps. Most are not even reviewed yet.
I have found plenty of good programs and thanks to the easy to manipulate main page, I can make things easily accessible if I like them.
But, I'm not a BB fanboy and I've been easily disappointed with all tablets lately. Theres a lot of things this puppy got right. Its perfectly sized, not too heavy, really great screen, reliable OS. Only downside is no dedicated mail and calender apps (which is weird cuz they label this thing as the first true business tablet).
Back to my review:
App World is very polished compared to Android Marketplace (2.2 and 3.0, though the 3.0 is much improved it has little exclusively for it). Easy to search categories. Quickly able to find stuff I've installed, as well as old stuff I've uninstalled (so I can reinstall old favorites if I feel like it). Simply shows what has available updates and I think you can auto update as well.
There are tons of apps out now. Especially considering its a whole new format. You can quick sort by free vs. paid. Lots of sensible categories and sub-categories. Like everything else in this OS its quick to browse around and never hiccups or locks.
The Utilizes category has a Clocks sub area, with about 60 clock apps.
This platform is not lacking for apps, trust me. But much like Android it can be lacking for good apps. Most are not even reviewed yet.
I have found plenty of good programs and thanks to the easy to manipulate main page, I can make things easily accessible if I like them.
DivideBYZero
Lifer
- May 18, 2001
- 24,117
- 2
- 0
Yeah, I'm painfully aware that there are some areas, such as native mail/calendar and BBM over Bridge, that need to be addressed, but as of today owners will be on the third OS update since launch. That's pretty epic and absolutely matches the pace at which RIM develop their OS' internally. As I said before the development program inside the company is intense, even for devices in the field, yet mortals didn't see this prior due to carriers slowing the releases to an almost non existent crawl. Now they are dealing with a direct to consumer device they can push out updates any time they feel they have a gold image.
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
Alright, having WWW bookmarks to my email and google calander isnt so bad. BUT, being Wifi only means I gotta be near an open hotspot to get web. And without an app I dont know any way to keep my emails and events offline.
So checking on them is gonna be a hassle unless I tether to a phone.
That may be what I do. I like this thing, so when my Verizon contract runs out I will go to Virgin Mobile, unlimited data, and tether. If I use a mobile browser they will never care.
So checking on them is gonna be a hassle unless I tether to a phone.
That may be what I do. I like this thing, so when my Verizon contract runs out I will go to Virgin Mobile, unlimited data, and tether. If I use a mobile browser they will never care.
shortylickens
No Lifer
- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
- 17,081
- 136
Alright, this is getting annoying. I cant go to the web every time I wanna see my emails. Somebody needs to make an offline email viewer or I may have to return it to the store. It doesnt need Push support or anything. I can sync manually every time I hit a wifi hotspot. Also a unified inbox would be cool, like Honeycomb. The few folks here who have used it know what I am talking about. Nice to have all your emails in one place and easily switch accounts.
Ditto the calendar. Dont wanna check it just over the web. Would be nice to view appointments and have the alerts work when offline. And I'm not gonna manually set an alarm for everything in my calender.
Also, they charge too much to upgrade from a 16gb to a 32 to a 64 gb model. I can get 32GB SD cards online for 50 bucks. They really should have included a card slot, no bullshit. Its too big and clunky to use as a daily MP3 player, but with only 16GB I wont be installing many apps and movies on it either, so its not a great vid player.
Good news is Mass Storage is a snap, no special software. Just copy paste.
Ditto the calendar. Dont wanna check it just over the web. Would be nice to view appointments and have the alerts work when offline. And I'm not gonna manually set an alarm for everything in my calender.
Also, they charge too much to upgrade from a 16gb to a 32 to a 64 gb model. I can get 32GB SD cards online for 50 bucks. They really should have included a card slot, no bullshit. Its too big and clunky to use as a daily MP3 player, but with only 16GB I wont be installing many apps and movies on it either, so its not a great vid player.
Good news is Mass Storage is a snap, no special software. Just copy paste.
I've been using mine for a while and these are the "negatives" I've found. I have to say I really like the tablet, so I'm willing to put up with this stuff.
1. Bridging with Blackberry is incomplete. Currently BBM isn't available bridged even though it was shown off in pre-release demos. ETA is 2-3 weeks.
2. Bridged browser is extremely slow.
3. No Auto complete or spell check. No auto period on double space, either. No auto caps for i/I or first letter of a sentence. Overall keyboard is not great.
4. Tetris has a glitch. If you swipe down fast to drop the block, it might not land immediately, but once it does and you get a new block, if you try and turn it it just drops right down. Annoying.
5. Limited Apps. I can deal with this because it's a new device and there's plenty of time to release more apps. You can just start with a bunch right away.
6. Battery doesn't charge when off. I'm not sure if this is OS based or hardware. I've heard a report that if you let the tablet die, you can't charge it since it's considered "off". I don't have the stones to test that.
7. No native e-mail app. I can do without the contacts/calendar, but e-mail should have been provided. The mobile GMail page is exceptional, though. I would also like to access my e-mail offline (though I have it bridged with my BB so it's a non-issue).
8. Tethering. I simply cannot tether with my Blackberry. It's not a carrier issue or anything, it just doesn't work.
9. The filemanager sucks right now. I can't rename files. I also can't hide apps I don't want to see (can delete them, but certain ones won't delete, and the ones that do sometimes notify you of a software update which just brings them back).
10. GPS is fucked. I've only used it with Poynt but it seems completely disabled. I've heard reports of this, too.
11. Browser. Needs a refresh button next to the back/forward buttons rather than on the address bar. Also need to be able to rename Bookmarks.
12. Music App. I can't seem to find a way to make more than one playlist. That sucks.
That's all I can think of for negatives at the moment. I'm just glad because it's mostly software and the problems can be fixed, and new apps added.
As for the good:
I love the feel of the device. It's got a good weight to it, and the size is perfect for me. It fits in most of my big pockets, whereas the iPad wouldn't (not a knock on it at all). The OS is very smooth. For a 1st gen device, it seems to be incredibly stable and I'm really impressed. The display is amazing, everything looks great. The bezel is actually better than I thought; I thought it would be awkward and useless but a lot of the gestures are based on it and it really cleans everything up. I hope in the future they add a bezel gesture for webpage scrolling.
Videos look great on the Playbook. I love how you can also hook it up to a T.V. via HDMI (do other tablets have HDMI out?). I'm looking forward to DLNA support so I can stream to my PS3.
The speakers are also way better than I expected. Sometimes I forget that it's my PB and not my laptop playing the music.
Weather App. I know this may seem odd to some, but one of my favourite things about this device is the included weather app. It's very polished and well done. It's far superior to the closest comparable app that I PAID for on my phone.
Overall I'm very happy with the device. I'm looking forward to all the updates that come along and unlock features that will improve the device even further.
1. Bridging with Blackberry is incomplete. Currently BBM isn't available bridged even though it was shown off in pre-release demos. ETA is 2-3 weeks.
2. Bridged browser is extremely slow.
3. No Auto complete or spell check. No auto period on double space, either. No auto caps for i/I or first letter of a sentence. Overall keyboard is not great.
4. Tetris has a glitch. If you swipe down fast to drop the block, it might not land immediately, but once it does and you get a new block, if you try and turn it it just drops right down. Annoying.
5. Limited Apps. I can deal with this because it's a new device and there's plenty of time to release more apps. You can just start with a bunch right away.
6. Battery doesn't charge when off. I'm not sure if this is OS based or hardware. I've heard a report that if you let the tablet die, you can't charge it since it's considered "off". I don't have the stones to test that.
7. No native e-mail app. I can do without the contacts/calendar, but e-mail should have been provided. The mobile GMail page is exceptional, though. I would also like to access my e-mail offline (though I have it bridged with my BB so it's a non-issue).
8. Tethering. I simply cannot tether with my Blackberry. It's not a carrier issue or anything, it just doesn't work.
9. The filemanager sucks right now. I can't rename files. I also can't hide apps I don't want to see (can delete them, but certain ones won't delete, and the ones that do sometimes notify you of a software update which just brings them back).
10. GPS is fucked. I've only used it with Poynt but it seems completely disabled. I've heard reports of this, too.
11. Browser. Needs a refresh button next to the back/forward buttons rather than on the address bar. Also need to be able to rename Bookmarks.
12. Music App. I can't seem to find a way to make more than one playlist. That sucks.
That's all I can think of for negatives at the moment. I'm just glad because it's mostly software and the problems can be fixed, and new apps added.
As for the good:
I love the feel of the device. It's got a good weight to it, and the size is perfect for me. It fits in most of my big pockets, whereas the iPad wouldn't (not a knock on it at all). The OS is very smooth. For a 1st gen device, it seems to be incredibly stable and I'm really impressed. The display is amazing, everything looks great. The bezel is actually better than I thought; I thought it would be awkward and useless but a lot of the gestures are based on it and it really cleans everything up. I hope in the future they add a bezel gesture for webpage scrolling.
Videos look great on the Playbook. I love how you can also hook it up to a T.V. via HDMI (do other tablets have HDMI out?). I'm looking forward to DLNA support so I can stream to my PS3.
The speakers are also way better than I expected. Sometimes I forget that it's my PB and not my laptop playing the music.
Weather App. I know this may seem odd to some, but one of my favourite things about this device is the included weather app. It's very polished and well done. It's far superior to the closest comparable app that I PAID for on my phone.
Overall I'm very happy with the device. I'm looking forward to all the updates that come along and unlock features that will improve the device even further.
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