[torndownunit]

The Kindle Fire is more an entertainment media device like all the other tablets than a true e-reader though. Just bc its says "Kindle" on it, doesn't mean its any good for reading books. The way I see it, no tablet is any good as e-readers for books, but are excellent for newspapers and magazines. Why back lit screens will cause you to go blind if you read text for long amounts of time, its bad for the eyes. I can blow through a newspaper or magazine in about a half hour. Books? Books take several hours and rely less on pictures and just on text.

I agree with you Netflix, Kindle, etc. are important for first time buyers bc consumers are familiar with them. But the more you use a tablet, the more you realize reading entire books or watching full length movies is not practical.

I am in complete agreement functionality in some of the major consumer media apps/sites is important for the success of any tablet, but when you really see what tablets are good at after you buy it, not having those things is not that bad.

I can read newspapers from all over the world on my Playbook and have a dedicated Youtube app. Why do I mention those two things? Tablets are useful for newspapers/mags and shorter videos, kind of illogical to use it for full text based books on back lit screens or 2 hour movies on 7''-10'' screens.

But the consumer should have a CHOICE, even as illogical as it may be, just to give them peace of mind in their purchase that they can use it to do certain things. RIM just hasn't delivered on getting the popular consumer apps/ sites and I wonder if they ever will?

I am not sure why your are so focused on e-reading? Everyone admits in the thread that tablets aren't for e-reading. So I think that point can maybe be set aside? If I ventured into that subject by mentioning the Kindle, sorry. I was referring to the Fire's overall functionality, not specifically ereading.

I agree completely that the Fire is an entertainment device... but a ton of consumers want that easy integration with their media and media services in their tablets. That is the reason the iPad and Fire do well. There is no way the Fire is a better device than a lot of the competition, but it does have a user experience similar to iOS/iPad. All of the media functions are all nicely integrated with the OS, and third party apps follow suit. I don't want the Playbook to BE the Fire or iPad. But I do think they need SOME of that user experience and cohesiveness.

[BlackBerry Guy]

Solution for reading ebooks on a backlit screen: enable white on black - Easier on the eyes and probably uses less battery too.

[conix67]

The Kindle Fire is more an entertainment media device like all the other tablets than a true e-reader though. Just bc its says "Kindle" on it, doesn't mean its any good for reading books. The way I see it, no tablet is any good as e-readers for books, but are excellent for newspapers and magazines. Why back lit screens will cause you to go blind if you read text for long amounts of time, its bad for the eyes. I can blow through a newspaper or magazine in about a half hour. Books? Books take several hours and rely less on pictures and just on text.

I agree the e-ink ereaders are better for books. Most people spend all day destroying their eyes through LCD monitors regardless, which is still far better than CRTs we are used to in old days, so the argument of "LCD" not being suitable for ebook reading is moot to most people. Many books contain colorful illustrations and now multimedia. Color screen, be it LCD or something better, is a way for future of ereading.

I agree with you Netflix, Kindle, etc. are important for first time buyers bc consumers are familiar with them. But the more you use a tablet, the more you realize reading entire books or watching full length movies is not practical.

I've been doing this on my PB, which was my primary use for it - ebook reading and multimedia consumption. I'm sure many other consumers will look for a tablet for similar reasons.

I am in complete agreement functionality in some of the major consumer media apps/sites is important for the success of any tablet, but when you really see what tablets are good at after you buy it, not having those things is not that bad.

People want tablets to be as versatile as it can be, just like what people expect from PCs. If it is about purchasing specific device for a specific purpose, there's portable movie player, email device (bb), ebook reader (eink based), and so on. That's not a market for today's tablet.

I can read newspapers from all over the world on my Playbook and have a dedicated Youtube app. Why do I mention those two things? Tablets are useful for newspapers/mags and shorter videos, kind of illogical to use it for full text based books on back lit screens or 2 hour movies on 7''-10'' screens.

Sadly, the Youtube app on PB sucks big time. I can't get any of my own videos, favorites or channels on it. I use browser for that matter, and RIM seems to have no interest in improving it which is really minor enhancement for major benefit to all users.

Newspapers and magazines, there's a good news paper app on PB now but not for magazines. On both counts, I find 7" screen limiting factor as I do like to read most of it in full screen mode. Even 10" won't replace full newspaper size, but at least for magazines I find 10" better than 7".

But the consumer should have a CHOICE, even as illogical as it may be, just to give them peace of mind in their purchase that they can use it to do certain things. RIM just hasn't delivered on getting the popular consumer apps/ sites and I wonder if they ever will?

Yes consumers are given a choice already, and the market will decide the fate of certain products. All of us on this forum are driven by that choice and purchased PB, that's why we are here. We can only point out what would make PB better, and hope for RIM to take notice and deliver.

[conix67]

Solution for reading ebooks on a backlit screen: enable white on black - Easier on the eyes and probably uses less battery too.

Actually, on LCD there's no difference in power consumption. The backlight is still on, unless it employees some local backlight modules and able to take advantage of it.

[pythons]

At $199.99 for the Playbook 16gb I think RIM found a reasonable niche for it's product...
...Provided that consumer does not care to dabble in the majority of the popular functionality of the other slabs.
...Such as being able to use skype, hulu, and about everything thing else "popular".
...I got one for Intl Video chat and it works perfectly for that.