BB Playbook Pros and Cons

I have been a steady blackberry user for about 3 years now and I was interested in gettin a BB playbook. I was just wanting to know some pros and cons about the device. The good and the bad vs. other tablets than those who have one have experienced. I also wanted to kno more about the video chat feature on the device. Can you use the video chat camera on apps such as Skype, Tango, Etc. I also wanted to know if it had the poplular games on android such as Jetpack Joyride and Mutant Roadkill etc. If someone could help me make an informed decision I would surely appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

There are dozens of threads to find all of that out in. Take a look.

I have a 64 GB PlayBook (upgraded from a 16 GB model) and a 9900... I have to say that I absolutely love the pair. The PlayBook acts as extension of my 9900 when I have them bridged(not to mention no additional data plan needed)...and once BB10 comes, the relationship should even be more symbiotic. As for the PlayBook, it just keeps getting better with each OS upgrade. Yes, there are some things missing (Skype, Netflix, and Instagram), DLNA, and USB OTG...many of these are rumoured to be rolling out with BB10. The PlayBook has a native video chat app that works when chatting with other PlayBook users. It has a lot of apps (Conqu, Slacker, Box, Evernote, and Poynt..to name only a few) and a ton of games. I'm not sure if the ones referenced below are available but I'm sure they will be when BB10 arrives if they aren't already. As you can probably tell, I love my PlayBook and take it everywhere. If you end up getting one, I hope you enjoy yours just as much. You can't beat the price...knowing that it will eventually be getting BB10.

Originally Posted by mnhockeycoach99

I have a 64 GB PlayBook (upgraded from a 16 GB model) and a 9900... I have to say that I absolutely love the pair. The PlayBook acts as extension of my 9900 when I have them bridged(not to mention no additional data plan needed)...and once BB10 comes, the relationship should even be more symbiotic. As for the PlayBook, it just keeps getting better with each OS upgrade. Yes, there are some things missing (Skype, Netflix, and Instagram), DLNA, and USB OTG...many of these are rumoured to be rolling out with BB10. The PlayBook has a native video chat app that works when chatting with other PlayBook users. It has a lot of apps (Conqu, Slacker, Box, Evernote, and Poynt..to name only a few) and a ton of games. I'm not sure if the ones referenced below are available but I'm sure they will be when BB10 arrives if they aren't already. As you can probably tell, I love my PlayBook and take it everywhere. If you end up getting one, I hope you enjoy yours just as much. You can't beat the price...knowing that it will eventually be getting BB10.

Thanks for the reply. I too have a Bold 9900 and I love it. To be honest the video chat feature would have been a nice feature to have but I don't necessarily need it. For the price you can't beat it and its up to speed with the current tablets as well. Thanks for the info I think you've just convinced me to get one lol

i usually don't like telling people to go use the search function but something as redundant as the good and bad things about a device. Theres already tons of threads.

Sweet. Yell if you have any questions once you get your device.

Ps. Don't forget to download the Bridge app from rroyy.com/ota/

:yes:

Originally Posted by Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes

i usually don't like telling people to go use the search function but something as redundant as the good and bad things about a device. Theres already tons of threads.

While that is true, what would be the Search Term? And, yup, at the moment I'm too tired to try various words.

Attachment 123151

Lots of them below too

Coming from an iPad 1st generation, I must say the BlackBerry PlayBook is a unique device on it's own. I recently purchased mine from Office Depot for 159 dollars on clearance, and it's a 159 dollars well spent. Pros of the device would be it's price, you can't beat it with a stick. Also the cameras are excellent quality for taking photos and shooting video. The device feels good in the hand; I especially love the rubber backing. It makes my hands grip well to the device without feeling like I am going to drop it. Another pro that I love is BlackBerry Bridge. I like using this when I'm in class because you can send actual text messages and use BBM through bridge if you have a BlackBerry. Flash Player is definitely a plus with this device; it runs smoothly and works like a charm. The device overall is a good size. I love how weightless it feels in my book bag when I ride my bike to college. Now coming from an iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook took at least a day for me to get used to. I had to sit down for a few hours, figuring out how things worked. The mail app doesn't really make any sense to me, and in fact makes me not want to use mail at all on the device. I don't understand how hard it is for RIM to have a select all or select multiple items option to delete mail off the playbook. Its rather annoying. Now lets go into the cons. Now there are many, especially coming from a luxurious device like the iPad. First, of course like many have said, they are barley ANY usable apps on the BlackBerry App World to download to the PlayBook. RIM hasn't made a Twitter app for the PlayBook which is head scratching to me. Why skip over this? They have a FaceBook app but it's horrible compared to using it on a smartphone or the actual website. Apps are very far, few inbetween, to me it's a big turn off. BlackBerry, to up the number of apps on the device, allowed developers to repackage and sign their Android apps for the PlayBook. I find a lot of them rather janky and slow. I don't understand why Skype hasn't made their video client available for the PlayBook, it just to me doesn't seem to make any sense. I heard though that it will come along with the BB10 update, hopefully. Another con is battery life. I usually get maybe 6 hours or so of use out of the device. Usually what will help is turning down the brightness and closing unused apps. Compared to the iPad's 10 hour of battery life, this seems rather sub-par. Another con is how the UI isn't user friendly. I don't find it at all user friendly, especially when deleting photos or files off the device, trying to close apps without a home button or exit button, and finding menu options in apps. The touch screen is basically the main control of the device. To close apps you have to swipe up from the black bezel and then hit the x. Also menu options are available through swiping down from the bezel. Other then all those things stated, it's definitely worth the 199 dollars for the 16gb or wherever it's on sale. Hope this helped.

well, as far as exiting apps, instead of swipe up then hit x, just swipe up then swipe the minimized window up-app closed two up swipes("swipey" as Adam Z calls it). and i have to agree the FB app sucks, but the PB browser is phenominal and i use that for FB. as far as twitter, well, although its not free, i use Blaq. its worth the small price. but i find myself using my device more for twitter. its "micro-blogging". no need for me to really post a tweet using a tablet when it can take me seconds on my Style. overall, i find the PlayBook a beast!! ive never had a problem with the email app personally. and if you have a BB, texting from my tablet is a head-turner! i use my PB to blog on wordpress, mix music on Pacemaker, write up documents, play massive amounts of games, make ringtones, follow my sports, read my books, draw, take pics and vids, make memes!(dont judge me lol) i use it to show off my piercing portfolio, watch movies and shows, and theres so much more you can do that you really dont need an app for since its browser is great! now you can probably do as much on other tabs, but this one is a real multitasking beast. and for its size and price, it cant be beat imo. when it gets its BB10 upgrade....whoa. my PB turns 1 on Christmas and im nowhere near board with it!

Pros:
Its a great, reliable platform at a great price that doesn't require an additional data plan when using the bridge. It'll cost you less than $200 to find out and will resell for close to that if it doesn't work for your application.

Cons:
Its not an iPad. Thats only a con if you want an iPad. It'll cost you up to $850 plus a monthly data plan if you want it to be mobile. If it doesn't work for your application you can resell it for just over half what you paid for it (about a two playbook loss).

i love the stability of the qnx platform, along with its smoothness and application performance (gaming for example) which has clearly caught up to the competitors... ive been playing shadowgun and i swear this is not far off console graphics... BB10 will really shine.. i think RIM has really done a good job of getting out of the dumps (or is doing a great job to get out of the dumps)....

Also one great thing ive noticed is the quality of apps coming to the playbook.... its good games.. and good apps! quality ones... and with BB10 hopefully this continues to increase!!

I agree with con of the playbook not being an ipad.. the ipad is just so popular.. i hope the public can giv RIM a chance now with all that QNX clearly has to offer.. unfortunately some people are die hard fans for no other reason than its just an apple product..

Just to be of help. It is possible to select multiple items in the email app. Just swipe from the top, and touch select. you can select multiple emails to delete. You can also close apps by swiping up from the bottom, minimizing the app and swipe up from the minimized app screen you want to close. It's better than the little red x.

Originally Posted by mistermichaelreyes

Coming from an iPad 1st generation, I must say the BlackBerry PlayBook is a unique device on it's own. I recently purchased mine from Office Depot for 159 dollars on clearance, and it's a 159 dollars well spent. Pros of the device would be it's price, you can't beat it with a stick. Also the cameras are excellent quality for taking photos and shooting video. The device feels good in the hand; I especially love the rubber backing. It makes my hands grip well to the device without feeling like I am going to drop it. Another pro that I love is BlackBerry Bridge. I like using this when I'm in class because you can send actual text messages and use BBM through bridge if you have a BlackBerry. Flash Player is definitely a plus with this device; it runs smoothly and works like a charm. The device overall is a good size. I love how weightless it feels in my book bag when I ride my bike to college. Now coming from an iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook took at least a day for me to get used to. I had to sit down for a few hours, figuring out how things worked. The mail app doesn't really make any sense to me, and in fact makes me not want to use mail at all on the device. I don't understand how hard it is for RIM to have a select all or select multiple items option to delete mail off the playbook. Its rather annoying. Now lets go into the cons. Now there are many, especially coming from a luxurious device like the iPad. First, of course like many have said, they are barley ANY usable apps on the BlackBerry App World to download to the PlayBook. RIM hasn't made a Twitter app for the PlayBook which is head scratching to me. Why skip over this? They have a FaceBook app but it's horrible compared to using it on a smartphone or the actual website. Apps are very far, few inbetween, to me it's a big turn off. BlackBerry, to up the number of apps on the device, allowed developers to repackage and sign their Android apps for the PlayBook. I find a lot of them rather janky and slow. I don't understand why Skype hasn't made their video client available for the PlayBook, it just to me doesn't seem to make any sense. I heard though that it will come along with the BB10 update, hopefully. Another con is battery life. I usually get maybe 6 hours or so of use out of the device. Usually what will help is turning down the brightness and closing unused apps. Compared to the iPad's 10 hour of battery life, this seems rather sub-par. Another con is how the UI isn't user friendly. I don't find it at all user friendly, especially when deleting photos or files off the device, trying to close apps without a home button or exit button, and finding menu options in apps. The touch screen is basically the main control of the device. To close apps you have to swipe up from the black bezel and then hit the x. Also menu options are available through swiping down from the bezel. Other then all those things stated, it's definitely worth the 199 dollars for the 16gb or wherever it's on sale. Hope this helped.

That was very informative. Thanks

Originally Posted by reschp

Pros:
Its a great, reliable platform at a great price that doesn't require an additional data plan when using the bridge. It'll cost you less than $200 to find out and will resell for close to that if it doesn't work for your application.

Cons:
Its not an iPad. Thats only a con if you want an iPad. It'll cost you up to $850 plus a monthly data plan if you want it to be mobile. If it doesn't work for your application you can resell it for just over half what you paid for it (about a two playbook loss).

Quite the lopsided comparison there. Don't compare 4g devices to base devices. Everyone knows what an iPad costs, so tossing a crazy number for the highest priced device is just silly. Also, you're a fool if you can only get 1/2 of what you paid when reselling an iPad. They regularly sell for about $50 below retail.

@OP - check out this recent Playbook review that's been going around the forums. I think it will provide you with enough information to make an informed decision about the Playbook Playback: RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook, 18 months later | Ars Technica

Originally Posted by mistermichaelreyes

Coming from an iPad 1st generation, I must say the BlackBerry PlayBook is a unique device on it's own. I recently purchased mine from Office Depot for 159 dollars on clearance, and it's a 159 dollars well spent. Pros of the device would be it's price, you can't beat it with a stick. Also the cameras are excellent quality for taking photos and shooting video. The device feels good in the hand; I especially love the rubber backing. It makes my hands grip well to the device without feeling like I am going to drop it. Another pro that I love is BlackBerry Bridge. I like using this when I'm in class because you can send actual text messages and use BBM through bridge if you have a BlackBerry. Flash Player is definitely a plus with this device; it runs smoothly and works like a charm. The device overall is a good size. I love how weightless it feels in my book bag when I ride my bike to college. Now coming from an iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook took at least a day for me to get used to. I had to sit down for a few hours, figuring out how things worked. The mail app doesn't really make any sense to me, and in fact makes me not want to use mail at all on the device. I don't understand how hard it is for RIM to have a select all or select multiple items option to delete mail off the playbook. Its rather annoying. Now lets go into the cons. Now there are many, especially coming from a luxurious device like the iPad. First, of course like many have said, they are barley ANY usable apps on the BlackBerry App World to download to the PlayBook. RIM hasn't made a Twitter app for the PlayBook which is head scratching to me. Why skip over this? They have a FaceBook app but it's horrible compared to using it on a smartphone or the actual website. Apps are very far, few inbetween, to me it's a big turn off. BlackBerry, to up the number of apps on the device, allowed developers to repackage and sign their Android apps for the PlayBook. I find a lot of them rather janky and slow. I don't understand why Skype hasn't made their video client available for the PlayBook, it just to me doesn't seem to make any sense. I heard though that it will come along with the BB10 update, hopefully. Another con is battery life. I usually get maybe 6 hours or so of use out of the device. Usually what will help is turning down the brightness and closing unused apps. Compared to the iPad's 10 hour of battery life, this seems rather sub-par. Another con is how the UI isn't user friendly. I don't find it at all user friendly, especially when deleting photos or files off the device, trying to close apps without a home button or exit button, and finding menu options in apps. The touch screen is basically the main control of the device. To close apps you have to swipe up from the black bezel and then hit the x. Also menu options are available through swiping down from the bezel. Other then all those things stated, it's definitely worth the 199 dollars for the 16gb or wherever it's on sale. Hope this helped.

Only thing I could argue with is the UI is very easy.

I'll be completely honest with you. The playbook is fantastic device that gets extremely biased and unfounded negative press..

Pros: size..i take this with me everywhere for work and play. I work in sales and am always on the go, I can slip this into my jacket pocket or into my back pocket if my case is off of it. I have a mount in my car and it makes a fantastic music player while driving. I feel completely comfortable carrying this around daily and not feel like a . The screen is even also FANTASTIC for gaming. (Major Mayhem is so much fun on this screen). Its also comfortable in any orientation.

Price: you can get a 64gb for 299.99...maybe even cheaper. For what you get this blows a kindle fire out of the water.

Hardware: listen you'll hear a lot of nonsense about the hardware being 2 years old and not competitive. LIES. The hardware was released almost 2 years ago sure but it was packed with things some new tablets don't currently have for remotely the same price to boot. 1080p playback & video recording. HD front cam as well. Micro usb & micro hdmi. I'm sorry but this is downplayed wayy to much. This is an awesome feature. QNX handles the 1ghz (or 1.5 if you have the 4G version) like a beast. Never have I felt underpowered. Battery life is excellent if you know how to power manage. I get a solid 10-12 hours out of my busy work day with it. Anybody that's getting 6 hrs or less isn't doing something right. The design is comfortable & grippy. That little LED is an addictive little thing..just like on the phones lol. Screen resolution is excellent as well.

Security: its a blackberry...as a consumer or businessman...security SHOULD be important to you. I love this because i have alot of data that needs to be kept safe and this gives me absolute peace of mind. Its the only tablet govt certified. Me and my boss collaborate data all the time and my clients can be assured their info is safe.

Navigation/OS: the gesture based navigation is intuitive and once used to it its impossible to go back to a homescreen imo. Is it immediately apparent? No. Is it rocket science to learn? No. So taking a couple hours to play around is a small sacrifice to be lightning fast at moving around the device. You will be hard pressed to try this and tell me its not completely fluid and natural to use. I refuse to buy into the "its not user friendly sentiment". The QNX software is also a powerhouse. The best multitasking capabilities & security & overall performance are unparalleled. Also being able to sideload android apps is just cool. I really like the way the native PIM apps work personally. And the docs to go & file management are invaluable. Could they use some updating. Yea I'll give that. It works great as is...But is there a better built in and FREE solution out there? No.

Browser: the browser is fast, plays flash content, has a great reader mode, & is best in class HTML5 wise. Nuff said.

Blackberry bridge: no longer a necessity but a definite advantage. I'm typing this all out via bridge on my lovely 9930 keyboard. The list of bridge functions alone are worth a post. Remote, open on, text & BBM , full synchronization,

Apps: I have every app I have found useful on this device sans about 10 or 12. Box, evernote, splashtop, print to go, adobe connect, poynt, package tracker, zinio, blackberry news, pacemaker, inlink, etc etc... Not to mention TONS of games. TONS. Yes there needs to be more. And the most popular ones for sure. If this is a deal breaker than I'm sorry...they will be there. I find that what I want is there & I can wait for the rest.

CONS: Apps. Not enough & like before there are some that NEED to be there. (I really want square to make an app).

Poor media representation.

No cross platform video chat. See apps for this one.

I really really wish there were 2gb of ram on here. Like I said I never feel underpowered, BUT...just a little more memory couldn't hurt.