[euro2low]

I will try not to make this too long as I do not want to bore anyone. However I am pretty certain that what I have to say might help some people decided if they should buy the Playbook or not.

First off: I went to Walmart today and picked up a Blackberry Playbook for 498$ + tax. I made sure to ask one of the employees about the return policy for the Playbook. They kindly replied that it was a 14 day grace period of all returns on electronics. "Even open box?" i asked. "14 day's on everything Sir." He said. This is what I had planned out from the start even before I went out to buy the Playbook. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to give some time to the device and be able to return it should I not be happy. I had just been handed my ideal situation.

Rewind just a little bit. My initial intention was to buy the Playbook at retail price, test it out for 2 weeks (normal return policies at stores) and then if I found it worth the money, purchase it from kijiji / criagslist for a significant discount to save some money. I did not care about not having a receipt should I decide to buy it off of an individual since RIM's products have been so reliable to me for as long as I have been using them. I was not worried about having to return it for repairs or warranty issues. RIM has went above and beyond my expectations when it comes to replacing / fixing my devices with little or no questions at all. This is something, to ME, that is VERY valuable when looking into buying a product and comparing it to it's competitors. So far, so good. Everything is working out to how i had hoped.

Now, I had just purchased my PB and could not wait to break open the seal. For a moment, I had just wanted to keep it sealed and store it away for years hoping one day it would be worth something. That thought vanished as quickly as it came as i slid my hand along the edges of the box. I have to hand it to RIM on the packaging of the PB. It was equal to Apples quality, design, and simplicity of packaging. Simple and inviting. As if you are uncovering an ancient artifact that the world has never seen. A gift from the land in a little black box.

So on and on and on I could go about the review of the device and details about this and that but what I really wanted to share was the conclusion I came to.

Yes there is still work to be done on the device. Loading up NFS I was stuck until the opening video ended to be able to do anything and escape from the app. Tilting the PB to portrait mode during the video revealed an odd bug where 1/2 the screen was the video and the other half was the "desktop" of the OS where I could view all my apps. It was very strange and I am sure something that was not meant to happen. I found BBM over bridge to be quite laggy and not being able to get the notifications unless I was directly in the app somewhat of a bother. These bugs however had no bearing on the decision I would make. The PB is awesome. It has a great feel, it is the PERFECT size, for me at least, as I have owned 2 iPads before. Sold them both since my iPod touch did the exact same thing only on a smaller scale. Found that the iPad was a drag to carry around where I went, always having to hold it or worry about it when you lay it down that someone would come by and snatch it up. The PB just seemed to make sense in every way. The hardware could beat up the iPad with one arm behind it's back and the OS is very intuitive and well thought out. I will not get talking about Apps as everyone has their own opinion about how useful they are. For me it had absolutely nothing to do with any choice I made. They are not an essential part of my criteria for choosing a product.

In the end I will be returning the Playbook tomorrow for my full refund and leaving my love affair with it at that.

The device is GREAT. I have nothing to say to bash it at all as I really do love it and think it is an awesome first generation product that RIM has put out. The reason is that, I really cannot justify paying 400$ for the amount of use I will get out of it at this point. I have confirmed that my need for a tablet at this point in time / in my life is just not useful to me. I can do everything I need right from my Blackberry. Emails, chat, mobile banking, facebook and twitter (both of wich are better on my Torch anyways) and so on...

I hate for it to end like this but tablets are just not for me. I wish I would have found a great excuse to keep it but in the end I have to make the financially right move and keeping the Playbook is just not the right one even though I have no problem affording it.

One thing is for sure, the 9900 will be mine the day it hits the stores. I am BEYOND enthusiastic about where RIM is heading even through all bashing around every corner. These people just do not see it. They are blinded by shiny new things with no substance and distracted from the important things one should consider when handing ones money over to a company for their product. I love this new found love I have for RIM and SOOOOO happy I didn't give in and turn my back on them. I feel like all those geeks who were Apple fanboys before Apple got to where they were today. The ones who believed in them when they were just a spec in the market. The days where you would almost get beat up because you used Apple products. Now, those geeks are the ones laughing at all the new "fanboys" of Apples products. The ones who only converted because it's the cool thing to own. I can't wait until RIM is back on top and all of us believers will have the last laugh and be proud we stuck though it thick and thin!

Thank you RIM and please don't change what you do! Stay true to your roots because the other path that everyone wants you to take will make you lose everything you are. You are GREAT and GREAT is A LOT to lose!

[jpg]

i thought you said you were going to try to not make your post too long.

[lesarmitage]

Crikey - I'm exhausted.

[drudometkin]

Sounds like you are going to miss it. Sometimes you have to spoil yourself a little bit and enjoy a luxury item like a tablet. Something which is not necessity like a phone, but something fun to have around.

[euro2low]

sorry guys i know it's long but i guess i vented a little to much this is the only place that i could express my feelings to people who might care even for just a little

[BergerKing]

No worries, euro, because this is a forum for getting it off of your chest, anyway.

The PlayBook is definitely a nice piece of work, and if I had the budget would love to have one, but for now it's just not in the cards. I am hoping I can get a laptop later this year, though, for a variety of reasons.

My PlayBook experience was only about an hour in-store, but it was a fun one. Well, until the anti-theft alarm started squalling. That kinda ruined it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[drethos]

i cheated ans skipped to the end so i can comment on that. i do want them to change there roots just a tiny bit. make the product a little bit consumer. all work and no play make john a dull boy. most of what people don't like about the blackberry is its desire to be all professional. its great have a secure device but its better to have a secure device you can enjoy on your off time. but atleast for one thing you can play any mouse controlled flash game pretty well, better when 10.3 comes out but saying rim should stay the same is like saying "im going to stick with the same uninteresting car i've had for years because im a borring human being and will never change". not saying keeping old ideals is bad just saying those who don't evolve go extinct. still not giving up my playbook.

[Mark PPG]

Man, you guys all b!tch when somebody comes on here and talks trash...then you complain when somebody takes too much of your time :-)

I find it refreshing to have someone take that much time NOT to bash RIM/Playbook.

#justsaying

[mjs416]

Thanks for the honest review OP. I know the feeling of wanting, really wanting to like something and having it fall flat ( while not with the PB - I like it but with other electronics).

[euro2low]

I don't know... he claimed that he was bashing. Yet, he went into details describing how the PB was buggy, bridging laggy, and then how he finds no use of it above his BB and ipods... The only he liked was the size.

actually not bashing at all. yes i said there were some bugs but i didn't mind them. I wouldn't tear them apart for it as every first product usually has small bugs.

saying that (I) have no use for it has NOTHING at all to do with bashing RIM or the PB. I just find that I can get along just fine with my BB. The size was NOT the only thing I liked. I think the device is GREAT!!!! and I would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone over the ipad or android devices.

[stubbornswiss]

actually not bashing at all. yes i said there were some bugs but i didn't mind them. I wouldn't tear them apart for it as every first product usually has small bugs.

saying that (I) have no use for it has NOTHING at all to do with bashing RIM or the PB. I just find that I can get along just fine with my BB. The size was NOT the only thing I liked. I think the device is GREAT!!!! and I would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone over the ipad or android devices.

I find it extremely difficult to understand how you could have come to that conclusion, after owning the device for just 8 hours.

Using my case as an example, I was so excited with my first one (16gb), that 2 days after I got it I exchanged it for a 32gb unit. But then as I settled down to actually try and use it as a business tool, as opposed to just playing with it, the flaws became more and more apparent.

Now of course everyone has different uses and expectations of the PlayBook, but in my opinion, 8 hours is really not enough time to develop an opinion of any device.

[markettantrik]

Wow! After all that reading, nothing really useful.

Thanks for sharing your impressions anyway.