[drthunder]

This is my first post so please be nice.

I have been a blackberry fan for years but was really unsure which tablet to purchase. I had unfortunately read a lot of rubbish about the blackberry playbook and also the sales advisor wasnt too complimentary (in Staples). I was unsure whether to just not to take the risk and get an ipad or a galaxy tablet. I, however, loved the bridge idea and not having to have another contract for wanting to use 3g on my tablet. I played around on it in store and thought it was amazingly responsive and therefore took a gamble and bought one.

I have now had it for around a month and I cannot fathom the negativity which I have read. I think it is amazing. I can watch all my films on it, great for commuting, the bridge is phenomenally good, also iplayer etc work on it so well. I also use fastpasstv - like a streaming tv site where you can watch tv shows (being from the UK i get pissed off being years behind the US) and they all work amazingly. I even can stream football matches on it. The other thing which blows me away is how good the pdf reader works. I get my emails on it, can download the pdfs read them. Its so good.

I can understand that there is not as many apps as other formats (my brother has a samsung tablet and their app world is massive) but I am really happy with what I have got. I think the quality is a lot better, Ive also sideloaded some apps which works great. I'm not doing the signing thing just using other crackberry peoples bars thank you for that . My ONLY negative would be I would love a skype like app, Ive been using the aol thing but I think its a bit less stable and I have had a few problems and I think its just a shame that we cant use skype. As i dont know anyone with a playbook so ive never used the video chat and i know a lot of people with tablets so I could skype them. So that is a hope for me but that is all.

I was wondering whether anyone would be able to give me a heads up with any apps they recommend or anything else which im missing. I've bought groovynotes - which I really recommend, plants vs zombies amazing commuter game, monopoly as well - just as a bit of a throw back. Was wondering if there was anything else people would recommend. I also bought airbrowser which is helpful, and tablet tv - thats a real nice app but not great for the UK as not many of the channels work but I think i was being a lil optimistic when I saw all those channels .

Sorry I know I've waffled on, but the negativity has really annoyed me. As i was close to not buying one because all the c**p Id read but im glad i went with my gut. One of the best purchases ive made this year and I just hope more people do the same as me.

[Jamaicangirl81]

Glad to see u like it


head into the apps forums... they'll give you lots of suggestions

http://forums.crackberry.com/playbook-apps-games-f243/

[sputneek]

Welcome to the club and if you happen to need any help you found yourself to be in the right place.
Btw. don't be surprised if your first post reaches epic proportions as you went and mentioned Skype, good luck J/J

[varunsain]

You should get Files and Folders.. I find that really useful.. and lots of games.. since playbook has many quality games available.. Tapatalk is cool if you're into forums.. and then umm.. really you can buy the whole app world.. it's upto you..

[varunsain]

Welcome to the club and if you happen to need any help you found yourself to be in the right place.
Btw. don't be surprised if your first post reaches epic proportions as you went and mentioned Skype, good luck J/J

Have got used to speed reading these posts I completely missed Skype in there.. maybe it's there somewhere but I just don't see it..

[amrovi2014]

I too, purchased a playbook despite some negative reviews. If you read other os platforms you will also find complaints, ios, android,etc. My Playbook is super great with minimal issues. Welcome aboard to a great forum and a helpful world nation to assist you.

[stackberry369]

I have had mine for a week and love it!!!

[BigAl_BB9900]

You should get Files and Folders.. I find that really useful..

agreed - Files & Folders is the best app for business usability that I have purchased

If you have interest in Astronomy, the Solar System, etc (or you have children to be educated about these things without them knowing they are being educated....), then I would especially recommend:

• Solar Explorer
• What's Up

Free Apps I use a lot, include:

• Wikipedia
• Tube Map (I live in London)
• Handy Converter
• Nobex Radio

The other Paid App that I use a lot is Handy Scanner

On a non-App front - my two best accessories purchases have been:

• Folding Case that works as a stand
• Blackberry Charging Stand

Hope this helps

[rshew]

One great App I found very useful for security having all my Banking and Credit Card numbers and passwords is "Vault" If I lose my wallet everything is recorded in "Vault" on my playbook.....

[jacknewp]

Welcome to the PlayBook club! I've only had mine for a few months, but love it.... Some of my fav apps (in no particular order):

- Wikipedia (free)
- Scoremobile (free)....great sports score app - all sports!
- box.com..... free 50G cloud storage
- PicShop..... photo editor
- Blaq..... ($1.99)..... Twitter app for PlayBook
- nobex radio
- Tablet TV

Have fun!!!!

[Chrysalis1156]

Wow! It's nice to read a post from a Newbie that did their homework and even managed to mention Skype without making it sound like a rant. Can't add anything of value at this point cuz it looks like it's been pretty well covered already but wanted to say welcome and, if you need any help, there are some really smart, helpful people in here who will jump in and do their best to get things sorted out for you. Enjoy!!

[Princepia]

Hi! Glad you're enjoying your Playbook!

In terms of video chat, have you tried Reel portal? You can download that in app world, and tell whomever to visit ReelPortal Video Chat - Home and it is really stable, and works great!

Just used it recently with a friend in Florida!

[TIMSHULL]

Had mine 2weeks now and I love it. The bridge thing seems a little lame soon as I un bridge I loose everything???? But that's my only I loaded up compose email thanks Crackberry nice app....

[goku_vegeta]

Had mine 2weeks now and I love it. The bridge thing seems a little lame soon as I un bridge I loose everything???? But that's my only I loaded up compose email thanks Crackberry nice app....

Yeah that's the entire point of using BlackBerry Bridge, secure bluetooth connection, if you lose your PlayBook or BlackBerry smartphone, connection is broken, no data saved on the PlayBook. As well as not to mention some corporations don't like having their company emails, information etc. being stored on a mobile device which they may not have issued themselves. The way around this is to simply use the native PIM apps, now granted there's no native tasks, memopad, BBM, or notes. There are apps for that (besides the BBM one, you're kind of stuck with no Native BBM for now ).

Bridge is also great for enabling your PlayBook to be connected to data services 24/7, I know I know, mobile hotspot we get it, but listen to this, living in Canada we've got the luxury of getting mobile hotspot at no additional cost, sounds great, but not everyone lives here in Canada, so Bridge is actually a free way to tether your BlackBerry PlayBook to have internet access, pretty neat feature when in a pinch or you have your PlayBook and want to use that instead.


BlackBerry Bridge is probably THE most underrated application on the BlackBerry Smartphone. It all depends on HOW you make it work for YOU. I can go on an on and on about how Bridge is great and yada yada yada but if you don't find a good use for it in your routine of how you use it, then yes of course you'll think it's a terrible feature.


Just like what I did with Print to Go, after everyone was complaining I demonstrated how this could be used in a variety of ways, here's the link to that thread here in case you want to read up on that http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...behind-706815/


So the moral of my little story is that the community can offer you ideas about how to make good use of an application or service or feature, but at the end of the day if you don't make it fit into your routine you might see it as a pointless or wasted feature even though it has potential.


Hope that helps

[PatrickMJS]

If you like to listen to music videos, vevo has a pb app;

For quick easy photo editing, Touch Up Pro... $2 I think;

For cloud file sharing, try Microsoft Skydive Microsoft SkyDrive - Online document storage and file sharing (if you install the skydive app on your pc or mac, you can access files on that computer from your PlayBook by simply going to the skydive website. ipads, iphones & windows phones need an app to do that);

For an alternative to Bing Maps (which is very good for close ups in birds eye view mode), try Map Search for Google in AppWorld... I find it is really good at locating what I'm trying to find, plus it shows a lot of what is in the neighbourhood... good for landmarks.

Scrapbook is a sweet little app - free I think that let's you make up your own scrapbook" pages using your own photos, or various themes, badges, stickers etc provided in the app);

Splashtop HD allows you to control your desktop pc remotely using your PlayBook;

Poynt is a handy free app to find nearby businesses, movies, restaurants, etc...;

Zinio is an app that allows you to read magazines, some free, most of them require paid subscriptions, but still...

Well... there are a few for you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I've been enjoying mine!

[drthunder]

Thanks for all the positive comments and helpful advice. I've already got a charging stand such a good purchase. Really recommend it. Also bought a leather cover, kind of wish I'd bought a convertible one now. But it's great for when I chuck it in my bag to commute.

As for reelportal will try that later. Thanks for the heads up. Is it easy to use? And yep I've got score mobile its so good.

I also love the bridge its constant Internet wherever I am! For free (well no additional cost)

Thanks for all your help. Oh can anyone point me in the direction of a good list of already signed and converted bars as there's a few android app games I want to try

[goku_vegeta]

Thanks for all the positive comments and helpful advice. I've already got a charging stand such a good purchase. Really recommend it. Also bought a leather cover, kind of wish I'd bought a convertible one now. But it's great for when I chuck it in my bag to commute.

As for reelportal will try that later. Thanks for the heads up. Is it easy to use? And yep I've got score mobile its so good.

I also love the bridge its constant Internet wherever I am! For free (well no additional cost)

Thanks for all your help. Oh can anyone point me in the direction of a good list of already signed and converted bars as there's a few android app games I want to try

Here are two great resources, http://forums.crackberry.com/playbook-apps-games-f243/

as well as Good e-Reader - Your online destination for e-reader, Digital Publishing and Tablet PC News


Enjoy

[Scotter75]

I travel quite a bit and need my numbers close at hand. I use Vault for all account numbers, passwords,everything. If you lose the PB, the finder gets 5 tries to open it and if not successful it deletes everything in the vault. The vault also has an excellent password system, unbreakable. Excellent app.