[thisdudenick]

Here is my story...a few months back I sold my ipad for and ipad2. The only issue was the ipad 2 wasn't in stock. So I picked up the Playbook only to test drive for 14 days until the ipad 2 was back in stock. Long story short...I kept the playbook.

I love the playbook but there are a few things driving me crazy:

1. Lack of apps - I'm mostly talking about great apps such as RDP, Netflix, Hulu, Angry Birds , My lovely tower defense games, Dropbox , etc...
2. Battery Life - I fee like the battery life on my playbook isn't nearly as much. Ipad gave me 9+ hours but it seems I'm only getting a good 5 hours of of the playbook. I'm going to Brazil next week and the battery life does matter
3. Native PIM - I'm going to Brazil..would like to be able to reply and check email on the go VIA wifi. I don't think their is any other tablet on the planet that doesn't have email support
4. No NDK - well..that's the reason there aren't any great apps

Don't get me wrong; I still enjoy the playbook and it has greatness:

1. HDMI port - this is a great feature and I use it a good 4 hours a week to watch movies
2. Form Factor - i was skeptical about the 7inch screen but it's grown on me and fits perfectly in my hands. Although when I use my GF's ipad..i do miss the larger screen
3. Bridge - When I'm in the states...Bridge is great for email/pim but its limited. Sometimes it's buggy and slow.

I'm most likely going to pick up the Zoom and use it while on vacation. Then return when I get back. I need email and apps to keep me busy on my 11 hour flight..I have the nintendo 3ds but with 4 hour battery life..it sucks. I will give the playbook until September 15 then I will sell at a loss and pick up the lenovo thinkpad tablet or ipad 2. I'll most likely go with the thinkpad tablet since it will be around much longer..seems apple like to upgrade every few months .

This isn't a rant; just my opinion...let me know what I should do?

PS - I can't wait for the PlayStation Vita to come out...that looks f'in sick

[bounce007]

An iPad2 or the ThinkPad seems to be what you want. At the end of the day buddy, you and only you know what will better suit you! Good luck! By the way, are you going back to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup??? If not. YOU SHOULD lol

[snowindec9]

5 hours of battery life?that doesn't seem right.did you download the latest software update?yea the pb is lacking in apps but its going to develop.as for email support,native email is going to come too on pb.but your all set on the thinkpad.so go with it.

[Fubaz]

go for it
we cant make up the opinion for you

[rickgainsmith]

Wait for the high rez iPad. I cant go from the Amazing PlayBook screen to my iPad 1, its terrible.

I prefer a 7" form factor but can carry a 10" I guess.

I prefer the gesture and multi tasking also, maybe the next iPad will do this.

iPad with hdmi out would be good.

Dam it, I'll stick to the PlayBook... :-)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[caboose01]

Not sure why you can't get to your email via wifi, I do everyday, send receive, attach pictures. If you are connected to wifi you should have email.

I have dropbox on my playbook too.

5 hour battery life is wierd, I get way more than that and figuring out the battery life issue. Do you put it in standby mode when you're not using it?

Hulu might be a problem and games but other than that

[MikeLip]

The iPad is basically the go-to tablet. If you need to do it, you can on the iPad. My next choice for you would be the HP Touchpad. Both are great if you don't mind the larger size.

If you want 7", you might want to look at the new Acer Iconia A100, running Android 3.2. Android email clients suck though. But at least they exist.

EDIT - based on the breaking HP news, forget my recommendation of the Touchpad. Sorry. That was a painful bit of news. HP has gone from being the premier technology company in the world to a holding company for, well, not much of anything right now. I bet Hewlett and Packard are pretty unhappy, wherever they are. I'd definitely look at the iPad, or that Acer. Keep a charger handy for that Acer though. Of the big pads, I find the iPad the easiest to travel with and hand carry and use.

[CrackedBarry]

If youre waiting for the app situation to improve on the Playbook, you'd have to wait a long time. (Development takes time, even if the ask was out today.) IF it ever improves.
But if the 7 inch size and HDMI is important to you, there is a handful of cool Android tablets that. have both... The app situation is a LOT better, esp. when it comes to modern games and selection of must-have apps. As for battery life, you can expect 6-8 hours, and as an added bonus, some of the 7inchers are available with 3G or 4G...

As for the iPad, both hardware and apps are unbeatable right now, and it also has the best battery life. 11-12 hours, and standby time of a month! If you fan get used to the slightly bigger size, you can also hook it up to a HDMI port, besides the wireless streaming options ...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Cynn]

Go with what's going to make you most happy. That said, Playstation Vita is going to take care of your gaming needs and most likely Netflix and other apps as well... So think about it.

I too am looking forward to the PSV and the future of the PlayBook.

[joshua_sx1]

I suggest, get an iPad2...

...unless you like 7" than 10", flash enabled browser and current BB phone user, playbook would be an advantage...

[Cozmik]

I returned my PlayBook back in May and got an iPad 2 to try it out. I kept it. As has been mentioned the things that a majority of people want from a tablet it does.

I do miss some things about the PlayBook like Flash and the amazing speakers/sound it produces but at this point the iPad is working for me. I would really like for the PlayBook to catch up though. It's great hardware. Don't want to see it go the way of the TouchPad.

[ignites]

with that attitude u wont be happy unles u have an ipad so go for it

[bpdude]

I vote ipad. Seems to be what you need.

[shootsscores]

Should the OP get an apple thing?

No.

[Beakman]

I can't tell you what to get, only my experience. I recently came back to the States from 7 weeks on a job. Everyday at the hotel at the bars and restaurants, all around me the iPads were up and running while I was sitting there wondering why the f my PB wouldn't connect. Sometime not at all, sometimes a half hour, but the iPods - Bang Zoom!
In the hotel room, i had a wifi router I bought local in order to use the PB. From less than 16 feet away it would show 2 or three bars. My work-issue laptop saw full signal. And again, connection problems. I tried every config AND router setting under the sun, but always the same.
It won't happen again, that's for sure.

[DangerMouseUK]

I know this is CB, but I am a diehard ThinkPad user along with a BlackBerry user and I'd be lying if I hadn't had the odd thought over the ThinkPad tablet.

Then again, ThinkPads haven't had the same build quality they once had but I have thought about it once or twice.

Don't shoot me ! lol

[BlackStormRising]

iPad2 all the way. 5 hrs is the battery life I'm getting on my playbook, and two others that I've had. But i can get a whole day if I leave it on standby. And never yet had a successful backup...

[LewLew23]

iPad2 all the way. 5 hrs is the battery life I'm getting on my playbook, and two others that I've had. But i can get a whole day if I leave it on standby. And never yet had a successful backup...

Really? I get about 10 hours on my PB and im always Bridged and using it too. Just the other day on a roadtrip, after 7 hours I was sitting at 45%

But to the O.P. it sounds like an iPad2 is the way to go for you. Maybe whenever this OS 2.0 launch is finally revealed, you'll come back. By then I bet the PB will be everything you want and more

[dave_2611]

the ball is in your court man, we cant make the choice for you. Get whats best for you. Not what everyone else thinks best for you. In the end your the one that has to live with the choices you made not us lol

[blackjack93117]

Here is my story...a few months back I sold my ipad for and ipad2. The only issue was the ipad 2 wasn't in stock. So I picked up the Playbook only to test drive for 14 days until the ipad 2 was back in stock. Long story short...I kept the playbook.

I love the playbook but there are a few things driving me crazy:

1. Lack of apps - I'm mostly talking about great apps such as RDP, Netflix, Hulu, Angry Birds , My lovely tower defense games, Dropbox , etc...
2. Battery Life - I fee like the battery life on my playbook isn't nearly as much. Ipad gave me 9+ hours but it seems I'm only getting a good 5 hours of of the playbook. I'm going to Brazil next week and the battery life does matter
3. Native PIM - I'm going to Brazil..would like to be able to reply and check email on the go VIA wifi. I don't think their is any other tablet on the planet that doesn't have email support
4. No NDK - well..that's the reason there aren't any great apps

Don't get me wrong; I still enjoy the playbook and it has greatness:

1. HDMI port - this is a great feature and I use it a good 4 hours a week to watch movies
2. Form Factor - i was skeptical about the 7inch screen but it's grown on me and fits perfectly in my hands. Although when I use my GF's ipad..i do miss the larger screen
3. Bridge - When I'm in the states...Bridge is great for email/pim but its limited. Sometimes it's buggy and slow.

I'm most likely going to pick up the Zoom and use it while on vacation. Then return when I get back. I need email and apps to keep me busy on my 11 hour flight..I have the nintendo 3ds but with 4 hour battery life..it sucks. I will give the playbook until September 15 then I will sell at a loss and pick up the lenovo thinkpad tablet or ipad 2. I'll most likely go with the thinkpad tablet since it will be around much longer..seems apple like to upgrade every few months .

This isn't a rant; just my opinion...let me know what I should do?

PS - I can't wait for the PlayStation Vita to come out...that looks f'in sick

Looks like you got it all figgered out why you asking us?
.

[lophreaque]

I'm a little miffed at the thought of the original poster using retail outlets for "test drives" of various products.
Is this some sort of sense of entitlement (i.e Big Box Store owes me a "free" test drive that is going to cost them money which they'll pass on to the folks that actually want the device)?
You buy it and then return in within the exchange period as a matter of strategy?
If something was mis-represented to you or actually defective then that's proper use of the policy.
I hope that the rest of us realize that people like you drive the costs of the products up as we have to bear the burden of the losses they take on the return process.
David

[Beakman]

I suggest the OP get one of those $100-150 HP Touchpads. It'll still do most everything any other tablet can do and it won't blow a hole in your bloomers if you don't like it. Perhaps the true worth of these gizmos?

[thisdudenick]

I suggest the OP get one of those $100-150 HP Touchpads. It'll still do most everything any other tablet can do and it won't blow a hole in your bloomers if you don't like it. Perhaps the true worth of these gizmos?

I ended up getting 4 touchpad's; one for me and the rest for family. So far its great. Its good enough for email which is great and give me a bigger screen for web browsing. I still enjoy the blackberry more and I'll look forward to the greatness that RIM brings in the upcoming months

[Cozmik]

Well, 4 TouchPad's for $100 less than 1 PlayBook or 1 iPad 2 is definitely a bang for your buck purchase. And going in you know you bought an orphaned OS so you enjoy what you have out of the box and that's it. Enjoy. And please let us know about your experience with the TP. I know nothing about it other than it was cancelled.

[thisdudenick]

Well, 4 TouchPad's for $100 less than 1 PlayBook or 1 iPad 2 is definitely a bang for your buck purchase. And going in you know you bought an orphaned OS so you enjoy what you have out of the box and that's it. Enjoy. And please let us know about your experience with the TP. I know nothing about it other than it was cancelled.

So far the touchpad is great but far from the Playbook in terms of speed and quality. I decided to keep the Playbook, now that I have the touchpad for my email needs, when I don't have my blackberry.

The touchpad is a nice device but I'm getting used to the form factor..it doesn't sit in my hands right; after using the playbook for so long. Also the box.net, dropbox and skype integration is sweet. The device can actually be used as a skype phone without being in the app. The photo organizer integrates with facebook so i can view, comment and upload photos to my facebook without using the facebook app. So far so good