[Lucky_Boy]

Recently bought a laptop with Windows 8... Struggled through for 3 months and it never failed to £$%^ me off. I could be doing something serious on desktop and for some reason it would want to ram up my throat the stupid swipe icons. I was never a fan of laptops but put up with them because of my travels. So, off I went to PCWorld to look at touch tablets. Well, if Bill Gate insists on silly swipy icons I may as well go wholesale touch.

I started looking at touch screen computers and tablets and landed on Playbook because it looked solidly made and for the price pretty good but I didn't know how to use it. So, I called the assistant over and asked if he could demo it for me. Oh Boy, Blackberry must have upset his mother. He switched it on, opened a few windows.and said,

'I wouldn't go for this one. It's cheap little $^!- of a tablet... not much going for it'.
I said, 'All I need it for is PDF reader, Browsing and email'
He replied, 'And.. it does not do any of that. Email, calendar and contacts are buggy, PDF reader is so so. The browser is half decent - we get quite a few back.'

I looked around the others but I landed on Playbook again - price, build quality etc. Spoke to assistant on the till and found that if I did not like it, I could take it back within 7 days and take out a 'replace with new whatever happens' insurance for 3 years.

Now, I am proud owner of the Playbook. Hope it is the right decision.and hope you guys can point me in the right direction. I am not a good manual reader so a pointer to any 'demo' videos would be greatly appreciated.

Please accept my humble apologies for stupid questions, I am sure to ask.

Thanks and Regards, Lucky

[kirikouestpetit]

How many days do you have to give it back and have your money back ?

[loftylewis]

welcome aboard and enjoy your new purchase

my only recomendation would be to remember that any forum, including this one, are where like minded and helpful individuals go to find solutions to questions and problems they are experiencing - and therefore you could be forgiven for thinking that the PlayBook is a complete lemon and is completely useless - which it isnt!
as with any piece of equipment, it is as good as you want it to be for your own personal requirements and finances allow :-)
enjoy your PB and ask any questions you may have, someone will be along to offer as much help and advice as theh can!

cheers

Paul

[NakedPaulToast]

I said, 'All I need it for is PDF reader, Browsing and email'

It does browsing and email great, pdf fine.

So yes, you have done the right thing.

However, if in a few weeks you come back asking where's BB10, Netflix, Skype, then no you didn't do the right thing. But that would be your fault, because your needs changed after your purchase.

[MarlenaRosie]

Blackberry Playbook how to videos - Bing Videos

Here's a page that has tons of how to videos for the Playbook.

I just got mine before Christmas and really love it - way more than the 10" Lenovo K1 tablet I have. (and barely even used). True, it doesn't have Netflix or Skype but personally I think the hardware and even software is much better. The native browser is desktop quality although I did purchase another one just for the heck of it.

I use my Playbook all the time for browsing the internet, email, twitter, downloading and reading ebooks from my local library, reading pdf files from all over the net, listening to audiobooks from my local library, watching movies I've transferred from my pc, watching everything under sun on YouTube, using Tubemate to download directly from YouTube to my Playbook, listening to music I've purchased from the music store and transferred from my pc, renting movies from the Video Store, playing solitaire, playing mahjong, playing the piano (badly) listening for free to pretty much any radio station in the world (Tune In), draw, checking on the weather, watching livestreams, etc.etc.

And, I hear you can even do business things on it although as you can see, I go with a different definition of 'playbook'.

[xamdam]

Make sure to turn off flash and java as the browser is way faster then and turn them back on if need for certain websites like cnn.com or hotmail.com.

[xamdam]

The browser sometimes hangs when trying to load a Page or it does not even go all the way to loading the Page, just turn wifi off and wait 5 secs and turn it back on and all is okay for awhile like maybe 2hrs or more or at times 5-30min but some people have no issues.

[xamdam]

BB10 OS we are all hoping will arrive in March to April this year, so a new browser will be on it and so forth, just hang in there and you will be blown away by BB10

[Broxster]

First of all i would never buy Currys /PC world warranties......the Playbook has a years warranty anyway,these places are more interested in selling warranties than their products.......i guess it was £129.99,what have you got to lose,if you don't like it stick it on Gumtree for £100..lol.

BTW they didn't sell you the Android tablet security did they.........it was being mis sold to Playbook buyers before and over Christmas.

[ChrisMay]

Hi. Much the same as you, I bought a playbook as my first ever venture into the world of tablets about a month ago. So far, I have no real regrets. Assuming you paid the same as me(130 quid or thereabouts) I can't really see that you can't go too far wrong. To get the most out of it, check out the tips and tricks thread at the top of this forum. Regrets (to almost quote Frank Sinatra or Johnny Rotten-depending on your musical tastes) I've had a few, but then again too few to mention. My only real gripe is that the browser can't seem to handle ITV Player or 4od without constant buffering. But maybe that could be cured by the (whisper it) fabled upgrade to BB10 in the not too distant future.
So yes, I think you have made the right decision. have fun with your new toy!

[Motherboard2010]

'All I need it for is PDF reader, Browsing and email'

The PDF reader is good, but if you need to highlight and markup, you can learn to sideload an Android app called Repligo Reader. But that is later ... just saying that the PlayBook is worth persevering with.

[Scotter75]

My suggestion: Put a drop of whiteout on the charging plug that has the BlackBerry Logo on it. This goes up when you plug it in to recharge. Don't insert the plug the wrong way, it will damage the connector in the base if the PlayBook. Don't let the battery charge indicator drop below 10%, it will cause you plenty of problems. I have had mine for 18 months and love it. Have only had a few minor glitches since purchasing. I use it to do 95% of my work, laptop hardly used anymore. It is great for traveling. Enjoy the PlayBook. Any problems come back to this Site or to the BlackBerry Community Forum.

[windozeless]

I heard similar comments a few years ago about linux netbooks as staff steered with some determination shoppers to the more expensive Windows laptops. When I asked about one the guy said, it has something called linux on it which you won't understand. I pointed out I had installed Ubunto on my laptop. He had no idea what it was. Similar story when I went to buy a new router, they don't work with linux - the salesman said. When I went to look at a BlackBerry Playbook I asked the guy if he could attach a powerful supply, he said it didn't work and hadn't on his last shift. They only want to sell Windows, none of them have any knowledge beyond the cost if insurance.

[djcush007]

Where did you find Tune In? I have it on my phone but I can't find it in BB World

[MarlenaRosie]

Where did you find Tune In? I have it on my phone but I can't find it in BB World

I went to tunein.com on my Playbook's browser and saved the main page to the Playbook's main screen and use it as an icon in my 'Listen' folder. It fuctions pretty much the same and just as well as the app on my android phone.

I'm listening to a station in New Zealand right now. Excellent sound - could be next door to me in Canada.

[xamdam]

Where did you find Tune In? I have it on my phone but I can't find it in BB World

Gooereader has tunein radio converted to .bar file you will need the program DDPB to load it up to the PB, have any issues private message me.... its easy to install.

The only thing is it does not load all stations, well maybe in your area yes, but in mine the mlost favorite one will not load due to a decoder error thats because its a android app and the PB does not have the decoders for that station to play, but it does play the other 2 stations i listen too, i love tunein radio as i use it on two of my phones.

Just to note as well you can listen to the radio stations on the PC too from the web browser, but on PB it will play too, but again that one damn station won't for me.

[MarlenaRosie]

I didn't know you could sideload TuneIn. I'll try that and see if it works as good as my method which I use for lots of things. Ersatz apps. r' us.

[xamdam]

I didn't know you could sideload TuneIn. I'll try that and see if it works as good as my method which I use for lots of things. Ersatz apps. r' us.

Yeppers, just remember what i said some stations will not play due to decoder missing, i emailed the developers and told them about this and i hope they have tunein radio soon for us that has decder files and so forth for the PB.

They have yet responded to my email.

[Bbnivende]

Make sure to turn off flash and java as the browser is way faster then and turn them back on if need for certain websites like cnn.com or hotmail.com.

That is a great Idea ... how do you do it ...Thanks

[xamdam]

That is a great Idea ... how do you do it ...Thanks

Swipe down at the top of the browser to see settings gear icon click it and then go to content and turn off the java and flash there.

[jpash549]

OP:
1. Become familiar with settings you can access through the gear.
2. Look at info and videos available under Help and Discover Now! 2.0 which is free in the app world.
3. Get a rapid travel charger so you can save the micro USB port for other uses. Also be careful with how you plug into the port as a previous poster noted.
4.There are other browsers available in the app world. You can load more than one and switch between them.
5. Many good tips in this forum and it has a search function.

[2010GOLD]

Please keep your receipt. It would be prudent to go another direction. BB is a little bit lacking

[jpash549]

Please keep your receipt. It would be prudent to go another direction. BB is a little bit lacking

What direction are you recommending? Every device has something lacking. The PB will do well in the areas the OP stated.

[2010GOLD]

Jpash549 I've been a RIM/BLACKBERRY guy forever. But when my 86. Yr old mother (8 yr old LG phone) and (barf) iphone using sisters can receive pdf files and pic attachments and the PB and Z10 says corrupt or damaged files, then it's time to move on. It's awfully difficult to defend BlackBerry. I'm extremely disappointed in the Z 10. It is inferior to (gag/vomit) to Apple iPhone, LG phone and Samsung Galaxy. When those products can receive / open files and BlackBerry PB and Z 10 cannot. It's game over. I've had BB products since 7700 and we'll now it's over. When other phones/ tablets can open ALL files and BB10 and PB can't. It's time to call UNCLE.

[jpash549]

2010Gold: Wow!! If a product doesn't satisfy you it is certainly time to move on. I have had very little trouble in the areas you mention. My congratulations to your mother on her ability to adapt to the brave new world.