[wayoung]

I thought it would be helpful if there was a thread listing various sites previews of the Playbook:

Crackberry

BlackBerry PlayBook Review | CrackBerry.com

Summary:
"All in all, things are looking solid on the BlackBerry PlayBook. We'll have a lot more to say once we have a chance to spend more time on it....The hardware has great specs and the operating system is fast and stable already which means it's only going to get better as it's refined and more and more features get added."

Engadget

BlackBerry PlayBook preview -- Engadget

Summary:
"If you can't tell, we're very impressed. Overall the device is blazingly fast, comfortable to hold, and intuitive to use. Our largest concern is the apps...If RIM can find an aggressive price, a nice market lull to launch in (before the Xoom and perhaps an iPad 2 launch and grab all the limelight), and smattering of fairy dust, we could be looking at a pretty successful product here."

Gizmodo

BlackBerry PlayBook Preview: The First Great 7-inch Tablet?

Summary:
"RIM's got something here that could really stand on top of the bajillion other crappy tablets that are going to launch this year. They just have to take it the rest of the way."

Note: Despite the rather unenthusiastic review (it didn't say anything bad about the playbook, it just spent most of the time focusing on the necessity of tethering) Gizmodo has the Playbook listed at the top of it's Best of CES list.

Some of Tomorrow's Best Gadgets

"the Playbook is The Hotness: beautifully built, quick, and just dead sexy. Check out our killer custom flyby video."

Digital Trends

Hands-on with the BlackBerry PlayBook, one of the best tablets at CES

Summary:
"I’d dare say the PlayBook runs a lot slicker than most Android-based tablets and certainly could sit on a shelf next to the iPad without feeling embarrassed. If RIM decides to make a 10-inch version of the PlayBook, Apple may have something to worry about."

Slash Gear

BlackBerry PlayBook demo and hands-on by Mike Lazaridis - SlashGear)

Summary:
"Considering this is still a prototype and RIM are continuing to work on the software, it’s already at an impressive stage. Slicker than much of the other hardware we’ve seen, and sufficiently consistent with BlackBerry handsets that the staunch RIM-faithful shouldn’t have too much trouble getting up to speed with it, we’re confident the PlayBook will find a place among the tablet influx of 2011."

Cnet

CES: BlackBerry PlayBook (hands-on) - CES 2011 CNET Blogs

Summary:
"The PlayBook packs a lot of punch in its small package, boasting power, speed and precision unlike any Android tablet that's come across my desk. It's a serious machine."

Yahoo!

CES: Hands-on with the BlackBerry PlayBook - Yahoo! News

Summary:
"So, will the PlayBook successfully launch RIM into the tablet "space," as we say in the tech biz? Good question. I'd be nuts to render a definitive opinion on the PlayBook based on a brief hands-on with an early test unit, but from what I've seen so far, the PlayBook—particularly thanks to its flickable "Home" and "Menu" controls—looks promising."

Financial Times

FT.com / Technology - Review: BlackBerry PlayBook up to the portable challenge

Summary:
"Overall, I was really impressed and as a BlackBerry user, I can’t wait for RIM to build similar features into its smartphones."

PC World

Hands On With RIM’s PlayBook - PCWorld Business Center

Summary:
"While the PlayBook's design and ecosystem look promising, it has other challenges ahead. Yes, it supports Adobe Air, Adobe Flash, and HTML 5 open standards for app development, but even so RIM has a lot of catching up to do to provide the app breadth that Google Android and Apple iOS provide."

Berry Review

Hands On Pictures of the BlackBerry PlayBook! - BerryReview

Summary:
"I got my first chance to play with a live BlackBerry PlayBook this morning and I am blown away. RIM really has a solid device which just feels perfect in your hands."

Note: Berry Review actually divided their hands on up into several articles. This link is to the short, first one.

PC Mag

RIM's BlackBerry Playbook 4G Tablet at CES 2011: Hands On | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Summary:
"iPad? Android? Who needs them? Meet RIM's BlackBerry 4G tablet with its own operating system."

Note: PC Mag has named the Playbook the best tablet at CES.

The Best Tablet at CES 2011 | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

__________________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Added Jan. 8th

IGN

Blackberry Playbook Hands On Video - IGN

Summary:
No quote this time as the preview is video only. If you can get by all the "like"'s, "but, you know"'s, and "and all that"'s, the preview is generally positive but, because this is IGN and the playbook does do other things than play games, they arn't particularly bullish on it.

Electronista

RIM gives us PlayBook hands-on, alludes to sync with iPhone | Electronista

Summary:
"...the PlayBook is much more impressive to use first-hand than it is to look at from afar. It's evident RIM realized that it needed to not only catch up but possibly leapfrog ahead of others."

Note: This site claims a rep told them the playbook could pair with non-bb phones in the future and release will be March. I wouldn't trust any of that.

Netbook News

Blackberry Playbook hands on | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more

Summary:
No quote as preview is video only. They don't really their opinions of the device, just show a walkthrough.

Wired

Hands-On With the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Summary:
"If — and that’s still a big if — RIM can launch its first-gen PlayBook by March and 4G model by summer, we’d have ourselves the makings of an epic tablet war."

Note: This is the first preview I've seen which compares QNX to IOS, and it is in Apple's favour.

Unwired View

Blackberry Playbook Hands-On at CES 2011 » Unwired View

Summary:
"...overall it really is a smaller device, but doesn’t sacrifice screen space or functionality in the process. Needless to say, I’m definitely looking forward to playing with it more as it becomes available."

Techno Buffalo

CES 2011: RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Hands On (video) | TechnoBuffalo

Summary:
"...but to us it was just yet another tablet on the market."

[wayoung]

Since all I'm doing is continuously editing this, if anyone is actually reading it, feel free to make a post to bump it back up top once in awhile (or, if the mods feel it is worthwhile, to sticky it for a couple of days) or the thread will drop off the page. If that happens I'm not gonna bother continuing to update it, as I will assume no one is using it

[barrist]

From the FT Times one:

The PlayBook I tested was connected to Sprint Nextel’s ‘4G’ wireless broadband network and I was able to watch two streaming movies at the same time, play online games and browse the web as from a laptop or PC.

am i reading that right, he was able to test the 4g playbook?

[wayoung]

Other articles have confirmed that the 4G model is there.

[barrist]

The best tablet of 2011?

PC Mag says its the Playbook
The Best Tablet at CES 2011 | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

So, the CES tablet craze can be summed up this way:

• There may be 75 or more tablets at CES 2011, but most of them are quite similar and not running operating systems intended for tablets—meaning they are almost exclusively running Android 2.2.

• The Motorola Xoom is promising, but with no true demos available to the press, it doesn't feel like a fully fleshed-out device yet.

• RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is the real deal: a beautiful, working 4G tablet—and the best bet to contend with Apple's iPad in 2011.

[wayoung]

Cool, thanks. I will add it to the list.

[gots2beme]

5-star thread right here! There's actually a couple reviews here I hadn't seen yet. Thanks for the compilation.

[DjDante]

Great post! I'm glad this post was the first one I ever thanked.
instead of people building there post counts. We need quality post like this

just waiting for the leaving playbook for the .... post

[Erandhawa]

great compilation thanks for ur hard work.

[1812dave]

There are so many "thanks" flying around here, I think we need to have a "You are Welcome" button now...

[Chrisy]

Good post.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[wayoung]

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

I've added a bunch more this morning (although at this point they're all reading pretty much the same). I've separated them out from the ones yesterday by a solid line through the page and a date. IGN is the first of the new previews. Most of todays are less gushing than yesterdays, but they also seem to be looking at the playbook for specific purposes (for example, IGN wants a gaming tablet).

[BBThemes]

great thread, top work

[espresso1967]

Thanks for compiling everything in one thread. For a while got lost with all the info coming our way, this week i can sit down and go through more of these reviews/videos.

Thanks again

[j.fiore]

Bump

This should definitely be a sticky. Lots of great info here. Thanks for taking the time to compile this list

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dsquared2]

oh thanks man this is great! very helpful im obsessing about this thing

[dsquared2]

BlackBerry PlayBook vs. Android Tablets - TheStreet

[anthonybaker]

good stuff, this need to be a sticky for sure! thanks for making this list i could watch videos about playbook all day.

[caligrl7]

As everyone has said, great post! And thanks!

[SaMaster14]

BlackBerry PlayBook hands on shows zippy interface and touch-enabled bezels (video) | VentureBeat


From venturebeat. Article plus video! A LOT of apps running. Games and media look amazing! And super super quick and snappy!

(sorry if this has already been posted!)

[wayoung]

Thanks both dsquared and Samaster for their links. I am unable to add them to the original post today, I will do so tomorrow.

[dsquared2]

great video with pb in portrait mode (not sure what time, its 9 mins long)

[UrbanGlowCam]

great video with pb in portrait mode (not sure what time, its 9 mins long)

The video shows off the accelerometer but does not show it in portrait mode.

[dsquared2]

The video shows off the accelerometer but does not show it in portrait mode.

oops by bad

[dsquared2]

Hands on with the BlackBerry PlayBook @CES | RCR Unplugged