[kretch]

I hate this thread! I've been sitting on the fence about selling my 32G PB and buying a Nexus 7 with some of the proceeds, and all the posts make me even more unsure what to do. The PB pros are that the hardware is solid, and the obvious con is that we have very few applications.

It's times like these which really make me wish that the PlayBook's bootloader was unlocked. I'd gladly contribute cold hard cash to a project which cracked the bootloader and ported Cyanogenmod 10 (Jelly Bean) onto the Playbook. For me this would be a win-win - quality hardware (ok, not as fast as a N7, but the speakers & HDMI out are worth it, in my opinion) and the app experience I crave!

__________________________________________________ ____________________

I must be living on another planet. Last I looked playbook has more than just a few apps.
What do people want to do with a 7inch tablet. App world has an app for almost anything you want to do.
Oh...... I forgot it doesnt have netflix and skype, I'm sick of those two apps being what the playbook bashers world revolves around.

.

[deltact]

__________________________________________________ ____________________

I must be living on another planet. Last I looked playbook has more than just a few apps.
What do people want to do with a 7inch tablet. App world has an app for almost anything you want to do.
Oh...... I forgot it doesnt have netflix and skype, I'm sick of those two apps being what the playbook bashers world revolves around.

.

The gripe about not having Skype is legitimate. I love my Playbook, but Skype is a must because video chat is only good for others who have a Playbook, and not everyone has one.

[dougmor2000]

I've been a playbook user for a while and find myself using it less and less. Yes the email program is good and yes the browser works fine. The app thing really is a big deal, in my opinion. Basic things like ESPN, Kindle, B&N, my Bank's app, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, etc. These are not fringe apps at all. I find myself looking at the app store and it's almost funny how few mainstream apps there really are, unless you count the hundreds of, ah-hem, fine literature available as books.

I had a discussion with my peers who have been tried and true blackberry fans and they are making the switch to other platforms. I want to hold out hope, but it's getting harder and harder when you see your peers and your company abandoning the platform.

[kbz1960]

Nice review. So what about all the quality issues that have said? Are they no issue now?

[cgk]

Nice review. So what about all the quality issues that have said? Are they no issue now?

Without knowing how many were produced or sold, how do we determine what level of quality issues product x has?

My nexus has no issues but who registers on a forum to share that piece of knowledge?

[kbz1960]

Without knowing how many were produced or sold, how do we determine what level of quality issues product x has?

My nexus has no issues but who registers on a forum to share that piece of knowledge?

I guess only people that own them and want to troll?

Seriously hasn't there been a lot of talk about poor quality with them?

[jpash549]

Skip purchasing the Nexus 7 if you must have an Android tablet, and buy an Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 instead. It is the best Android tablet EVER. I'm guessing that most of you on this forum can afford the extra $250. I too got caught up in all the Nexus 7 hype, but sold it on eBay after a week. I felt the build quality was garbage. I doubt a Nexus 7 will last more than a year of daily use.

Since the Nexus7 is also built by Asus one would think that any initial quality control issues would be resolved. If you have quality control issue with any piece of hardware you may think it is garbage. The basic Nexus7 design seems to be similar to the Transformer 700 which is not surprising since it apparently started out to be an Asus model before Google jumped in and partnered to promote it as a device for selling Google Play content.

[torndownunit]

I guess only people that own them and want to troll?

Seriously hasn't there been a lot of talk about poor quality with them?

There has been mention of QC issues, but there has also apparently been a ton of them sold. It's tough to find many products that don't have some issues with the first release. There are mentions around this forum of charger and charger port issues on the Playbook, which I myself experienced. If the Playbook sold as many units as the Nexus7, what would those reports be like?

[JerryButtons]

Nice review. So what about all the quality issues that have said? Are they no issue now?

Have not had a single quality issue since getting the Nexus 7 one week ago. Additionally QNX runs just as smooth as Jelly Bean on a lower clocked dual core but that's only half the battle having a well optimized OS (which Jelly Bean finally is also) . Everything else (games, browser, videos, apps, etc) run much better on the Nexus 7 than on the Playbook.

There's no debate there. Just look at the benchmarks.

[kdeckels]

What the Nexus really needs is some swipe action- the playbook really has spoiled me with this feature. As far as quality, I believe between Google and Asus, they'll get it right.

[JerryButtons]

What the Nexus really needs is some swipe action- the playbook really has spoiled me with this feature. As far as quality, I believe between Google and Asus, they'll get it right.

If you had read my post you would know that the Nexus 7 has all the swipe action you could want and more. When rooted (which is one click away) and having installed a custom ROM (which makes the already fast Jelly Bean blazing fast) you can install a program called "gmd gestures" This allows you to use default or create your own custom swipe gestures to do almost any task (far more customizable than the set bezel gestures on the Playbook).

I have it set to "go back" by swiping left from the edge, "leave and app your on to homescreen" by swiping four fingers in and "hide the bottom bar" by swiping three fingers up anywhere on screen which allows any screen or app to be truly full screen.

At this point, other than hdmi, back camera and security (all three not commonly used by most tablet users), I can't find a single thing better on the Playbook. Please prove me wrong as I was a Playbook admirer for a long time while I had it.

[hurds]

OP,

What android site did you post this on?

Can't believe there is no back facing camera or hdmi out. These should be standard on all tabs. Also since google makes their money mining user data I'd never buy an android product. But thats just me.

[tofo17]

Sounds like a great tablet. I'd have one except the lack of HDMI out and storage is a deal breaker. I travel a lot and always bring my PB loaded up with media and a HDMI cord as most good hotels now have TVs with HDMI inputs.

[deanrw1]

I was ready to get the nexus and came so close to getting it. When i found out about the lack of hdmi, well that was the killer for me. I guess my playbook has me spoiled in that regard.

I like buying new toys and i would love to get one like the nexus, but with hdmi out to play around with. I am sure someone will come out with with something as powerful that is also at an attractive price including hdmi. I would also like a new version of the playbook, with updated processor etc. I can go without the 4g though. That is not a feature i am interested in.

[atrclpv]

OP - How is the Nexus in bright sunlight? The Playbook is brilliant for using in the garden on hot sunny days (not that we have that many of those!).
Like a lot of users, I think the hardware of the PB is excellent. Both cameras are good, speakers are great. Never use hdmi so not an issue for me. If only App World was better....
Both my wife and I have Playbooks but are considering changing.....

[torndownunit]

OP,

What android site did you post this on?

Can't believe there is no back facing camera or hdmi out. These should be standard on all tabs. Also since google makes their money mining user data I'd never buy an android product. But thats just me.

I'd be curious to see a poll finding how many people find a back camera essential. Or I guess more to the point, how many people actually use their back camera. In my case, I never touch it and wouldn't miss it if it were gone. If I had the choice between the back camera, or the having more apps, it wouldn't even be a choice.

HDMI is definitely a useful feature when travelling. When at home I don't need it because I can just connect to my TV through wireless means which I actually prefer. I haven't used the Playbook to travel yet, but can definitely see the HDMI port coming in handy when I do.

[cgk]

I guess only people that own them and want to troll?

Seriously hasn't there been a lot of talk about poor quality with them?

Yes there has been a lot of talk but how do we work out what that "lot" translates to?

If 10,000 people register for forums to complain about problems and they only made and sold 100,000 that's a problem - but if it's 10,000 and they sold 2,000,000 - is it the same level of problem? Do you see what I am getting at? Without sales figures it's impossible to work out - and that's before you get into the problem of self-selection.

[rich_a]

I agree with cgk re: quality concerns.

Let's not forget that the PlayBook has it's fair share of quality issues (dead pixels, uneven backlighting, back bulge and dodgy power buttons, to name a few).

I'd only be concerned if Google don't offer functional replacements to those affected by quality issues.

[rich_a]

I must be living on another planet. Last I looked playbook has more than just a few apps.

I agree with you. The playbook has a number of applications, but it's still missing a number that people need and want. I could create a list of non Skype/Netflix apps I'd like to see, and indeed I have a few of them 'sideloaded' with varying degrees of stability on my playbook, but I don't see how that would make anything better for anyone.

[ritesh]

I love the 7" form factor, though, the ability to toss it in a jacket pocket is a huge plus. What I wanted was something that would serve as a portable media player, with additional functions being a plus. I wanted enough room to keep an entire TV season and a few movies on the device without having to stream.

+1 on the bolded part. Exactly my reasons to hold on to my 64GB PB.

[tirza12]

Thanks for the nice fair review.
Can you elaborate more on the browsers performance of the two though?
And do you know how many gb of storage left for the users for Nexus 7 (after considering OS, etc)?

[malwayne66]

Pretty good and honest review. As already known, a persons choice is really based on personal preference, but this review seems to give a good overall comparison

[JerryButtons]

@atrclpv - The Nexus 7 screen brightness is about equivalent to that of the Playbook. It fend relatively well in sunlight.

@tirza12 - There is absolutely no question that the Nexus 7 browser performs LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than that of the Playbook. I always heard people saying "The Playbook browser is the best out there.", although, aside from the poor app selection, that was my biggest frustration. The browser was slow to load a lot of the time and almost EVERY page I pulled up was checker boarded to some degree. I liked the desktop feel, but you can get that on Android no problem and with root you can have Adobe Flash back.

Final Thoughts

I am retiring from being on Crackberry as I no longer own a Blackberry product. I will check back on this thread for a couple more days if anyone has any further questions about the Nexus 7: rooting, ROMS, gestures, quality, etc (that have not already been answered in the thread).

At this point, being a great admirer of the Playbook while I had it and now becoming a great admirer of the Nexus 7, there are only a few reasons why you should go with the Playbook as opposed to the Nexus. If these reasons don't apply to you, or you can live without them, then you probably have the wrong tablet.

1) micro-hdmi out
2) back camera
3) need for larger internal storage
4) need for high end security (work for government)

If you want this, then the Nexus 7 is the right tablet for you

1) LARGE app selection (Netflix, Skype, HBOgo, NYT, PDF readers, google maps, etc, etc)
2) Faster tablet, in every way (streaming, video, games, apps, etc)
3) Higher resolution screen (makes all reading on a 7" much better and videos much more crisp)

Thanks for keeping things civil, just wanted to give a little insight to those considering the Nexus 7 due to Playbook frustration (like I had).

[bdegrande]

__________________________________________________ ____________________

I must be living on another planet. Last I looked playbook has more than just a few apps.
What do people want to do with a 7inch tablet. App world has an app for almost anything you want to do.
Oh...... I forgot it doesnt have netflix and skype, I'm sick of those two apps being what the playbook bashers world revolves around.

.

It's WAY more than just a couple of missing apps. There are entire categories of apps that can be done on tablets that either don't exist at all or are awful - audio editing, photo editing with layers, video editing, text editing with Markdown. There isn't even a decent podcatching app, searching for very popular podcasts turns up no results on the ones I have tried. 7" tablets can do a lot more than the Playbook can do now, I am hoping that OS 2.1 improves the situation somewhat.

[kbz1960]

@atrclpv - The Nexus 7 screen brightness is about equivalent to that of the Playbook. It fend relatively well in sunlight.

@tirza12 - There is absolutely no question that the Nexus 7 browser performs LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than that of the Playbook. I always heard people saying "The Playbook browser is the best out there.", although, aside from the poor app selection, that was my biggest frustration. The browser was slow to load a lot of the time and almost EVERY page I pulled up was checker boarded to some degree. I liked the desktop feel, but you can get that on Android no problem and with root you can have Adobe Flash back.

Final Thoughts

I am retiring from being on Crackberry as I no longer own a Blackberry product. I will check back on this thread for a couple more days if anyone has any further questions about the Nexus 7: rooting, ROMS, gestures, quality, etc (that have not already been answered in the thread).

At this point, being a great admirer of the Playbook while I had it and now becoming a great admirer of the Nexus 7, there are only a few reasons why you should go with the Playbook as opposed to the Nexus. If these reasons don't apply to you, or you can live without them, then you probably have the wrong tablet.

1) micro-hdmi out
2) back camera
3) need for larger internal storage
4) need for high end security (work for government)

If you want this, then the Nexus 7 is the right tablet for you

1) LARGE app selection (Netflix, Skype, HBOgo, NYT, PDF readers, google maps, etc, etc)
2) Faster tablet, in every way (streaming, video, games, apps, etc)
3) Higher resolution screen (makes all reading on a 7" much better and videos much more crisp)

Thanks for keeping things civil, just wanted to give a little insight to those considering the Nexus 7 due to Playbook frustration (like I had).

You left one thing out. BRIDGE