1. ratfinkstooley's Avatar
    I am a long time BlackBerry fan and I have an iPad already, but I am considering buying a new BlackBerry Playbook. I found one online for about $45. I have never used one before. I know it's ghastly old at this point and leaning towards obsolete, but I am curious if $45 is a reasonable price for a Playbook that isn't going to have to be my primary device, and if so, what can I expect to reasonably use it for without great frustration?

    Maybe a weird question, but thanks for humoring me.
    04-10-17 10:18 AM
  2. Sarek1701's Avatar
    It is old, unsupported tech, so first I'd be worried about battery life. If it is new (never used and sitting in the box with no charge since manufacture,) you may have to do a 'stack charge' to revive it. There are guides on CrackBerry to help with this.

    I do have one that I use strictly as a games tablet (there are still some games available, but I installed the ones I have years ago) and for playing videos and streaming music. It's also a decent book reader. The size makes it comfortable to bring on flights, and the battery still lasts for a full movie and more. The gestures which were the precursor to BB10 are still familiar and easy to use.

    Mine is usually docked on a magnetic charger, so it's usually charged to full. I figure if you don't expect too much from it, it will do as a basic media/games device. The stock web browser is not great, but the last time I checked there were still third-party ones available.

    There may be other Android options out there for a simliar price with newer tech and access to more apps.
    04-10-17 10:34 AM
  3. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Put you $45 into a lower end Android Tablet.... then you would not have to ask what it could be "reasonably" be used for.


    Only reason I could see using as PlayBook is as a companion device for another BlackBerry... BRIDGE App.
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-10-17 10:37 AM
  4. Drenegade's Avatar
    $20 for a PlayBook would be fair.

    Posted via CB10
    04-10-17 11:24 AM
  5. anon(5597702)'s Avatar
    $20 for a 16 gb
    $30 for a 32 gb
    $40 for a 64 gb
    04-10-17 11:59 AM
  6. thurask's Avatar
    If they paid you $45, maybe.
    04-10-17 12:23 PM
  7. bleninger's Avatar
    I still have a Playbook as well. Not used as much as it used to be. But it does a good job of playing my music (typically ripped from CD and then copied to the Playbook's storage which is plentiful. The speakers on the Playbook are good and I can boost the volume up so I can hear my music while in the shower.

    But for $50 you can get a cheap Amazon Fire which can run all the Android apps (have to install Google Play Store, instructions are on the internet). Speaker isn't as good, limited on internal storage, so there are drawbacks. But I am using my Fire much more than the Playbook now.
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-10-17 01:02 PM
  8. fschmeck's Avatar
    I think any thing more than 25 would be pushing it. It makes a great media player, and fantastic for movies for a trip or a durable kids tablet (assuming you have the official flip case). I love mine and use it for all kinds of things but I wouldn't pay more than that at this point.

    Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-10-17 06:27 PM
  9. TheBirdDog's Avatar
    I don't know... it depends on what you are using it for.

    As a portable media player (install Kalemsoft Player), it easily whoops any cheap (and even not-so-cheap) tablets out there. If you want to use it for apps and games or even Web browsing, it's going to be limited. Though, again, even for the web, it's better than many entry priced (sub $100CDN) Android tablets.

    Personally, I think depending on the storage capacity, you could do worse than $45.

    When I think about how much we paid for our portable DVD player way back when, and how much more the Playbook can still offer than just video playback, I will be buying another one if and when ours croaks and I will be happy if I find one for $40 to $50.
    ratfinkstooley and dmlis like this.
    04-10-17 06:36 PM
  10. Imperial Technical's Avatar
    I see them on Amazon for around $54 for the 64GB model. I'm looking to purchase 10 units as I simply need a 5MP camera device with wifi capability. And with the StorageMadeEasy auto sync feature it does pretty much everything I need for my particular situation. The email seems to work good and so does the calendar feature. I'm going to use them in individual workstations where my tech's will document each step of their assembling with photos. All other tablet options seem to be 4 times this amount.

    Mark
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-11-17 10:35 AM
  11. forrestishmael's Avatar
    well if you are a blackberry fan, then I would say its get it for sure. remember they are not making th
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-11-17 11:59 AM
  12. forrestishmael's Avatar
    they are not making them anymore. and soon they will be gone. especially when people are buying them in bulk to be wasted and used as some office tool. still a remakrable piece of tech and even for 60$ that's pretty much giving them away I would say get it because you will not regret it!
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-11-17 12:04 PM
  13. rhp525i's Avatar
    I paid about $39 for my 32g playbook about a week ago. Turned on fine and I sideloaded youtube, and facebook lite on it so far. If you know it's limitations, not really an issue. My main problem is for such a small tablet, it is a bit heavy. But build quality is typical BlackBerry...pretty solid. Get it a little cheaper if you want the 16g model. Since my wife had acrued cashback rewards on her card, the playbook cost me nothing.

    Posted via CB10
    ratfinkstooley likes this.
    04-11-17 12:16 PM
  14. ratfinkstooley's Avatar
    Great feedback! Thanks. Can any of you give your experience on the Playbook in regards to Word docs, Spreadsheets, Bible app, note taking? Worky stuff. Again, I know this won't be the ideal tablet for anything, but I *heart* BlackBerry and I've always wanted one, and they're cheap. Thanks again!
    04-11-17 12:29 PM
  15. pacoman03's Avatar
    Be forewarned about one thing. Probably the single most common hardware issue that users experience is with the cameras dying. It's happened to me and to a number of others. It was an issue prevalent enough that in the old days BB would replace Playbooks with defective cameras even after the warranty expired. I doubt that such is the case anymore.
    04-11-17 04:54 PM
  16. Imperial Technical's Avatar
    Well now you tell me after I just ordered two more primarily for the 5MP camera. ;-)

    Mark
    04-11-17 05:30 PM

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