[sportline]

rather than getting depressed on the miserable updates, why don't we go on some business analysis and technical decisions.

Future playbook - What will be the next playbook's size?

today lenovo launch 10" tablets, 3 of them.
major competitors are all 9-10" inchers from android (xoom, gtab) , hp webos to apple (ipad).
only few 7" tablets exists - major player being galaxy tab 7" and playbook. few acer products and viewsonics running android but don't know how is it selling..not popular among enthusiast, maybe going for lower/cheaper entry level market
if 10" is the size then why rim is abandoning the 10" tablet?( or so rumoured?)

smartphone getting bigger
now the biggest tablet phone being dell streak (i have one now) with 5" screen - in footprint it's not that much smaller than a pb.
android phones is getting bigger, normal size being 4" and upward. latest rumour being samsung galaxy with 5.3", beating dell streak screen size.
if bigger screen is the trend then what is the biggest slab-screen future phone from rim? would it be wise to have at least 4" slabscreen phone?

existing 7" playbook
is the 7" size is too small for tablet - too big for a phone ? why its not popular? because its too small ? or people rather be carrying big-screen phones instead?
if so then this midsize tablets are facing 2 side wars against bigger phones and bigger tablets which got a fairly strong hold on the market.

if pb is not selling well, then will a 3G version with sim card and full BIS service make a difference? the 3G pb which can make calls and receive texts , plus full BIS service?

[AngusMcTavish]

It'll be 10". I wonder if the "coffee table" sentiment will be the same around here.

[Kevin Michaluk]

None of the above... i say RIM goes all the way and does a tablet the same size as a sheet of paper.. 8.5 x 11".

[sportline]

10" is ok if its light and thin enough. but netbooks size and battery life will cross over the tablets at some point..so any tablets more than 10" is probably no longer attractive. just like any phone bigger than 5" - too big for a phone and too small for a tablet. so 7 to 8" is (theoritically) ideal for portability - but why it's not selling?

[AngusMcTavish]

None of the above... i say RIM goes all the way and does a tablet the same size as a sheet of paper.. 8.5 x 11".

Would that be the overall size or just the screen? 8.5x11 with a super thin bezel would be a great size for a tablet.

[Kevin Michaluk]

Ooo.. and maybe does a version with a swivel out keyboard. I'd love that. I bought a Windows tablet back in 2002 or 2003 or something like that.. was a Toshiba (or maybe Compaq??) TC1000. A modern day version of that form factor by BlackBerry would be wicked.

[sportline]

None of the above... i say RIM goes all the way and does a tablet the same size as a sheet of paper.. 8.5 x 11".

A4 size? if its portable enough. bigger screen means people expect to actually generate work/data then you may want to have a physical keyboard (folio case or something else). so it ends up as thick as a netbook/notebook or a mac - 1,5" or so.

[AngusMcTavish]

Ooo.. and maybe does a version with a swivel out keyboard. I'd love that. I bought a Windows tablet back in 2002 or 2003 or something like that.. was a Toshiba (or maybe Compaq??) TC1000. A modern day version of that form factor by BlackBerry would be wicked.

I wouldn't buy it. Maybe a BB branded BT Keyboard as an addon tho.

[Kevin Michaluk]

Would that be the overall size or just the screen? 8.5x11 with a super thin bezel would be a great size for a tablet.

I'd say overall, but with a thin bezel. That would be cool.

If you think back to the current PlayBook's size... it was inspired by real world standards.. a paper back novel, the size of a dvd box, etc.

So if you think "bigger tablet" and go for this notion where RIM gets inspired by other things in nature... the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper would be sort of the next up sized standard. Or full out magazine size, but that's getting big.

[sportline]

Ooo.. and maybe does a version with a swivel out keyboard. I'd love that. I bought a Windows tablet back in 2002 or 2003 or something like that.. was a Toshiba (or maybe Compaq??) TC1000. A modern day version of that form factor by BlackBerry would be wicked.

if its hinged then its a netbook.
slider may not work well with such a big surface area, otherwise we'll see a lot of 10" slider tablets. i think bluetooth keyboard is the way, as in folio case..always have an option to leave it at home

[_StephenBB81]

Would that be the overall size or just the screen? 8.5x11 with a super thin bezel would be a great size for a tablet.

I would suspect RIM's 8.5x11 would probably be in the 10.5" range assuming a slightly larger than 1" bezel around the perimeter

[sportline]

i got my torch in front of me...its 3.2" screen with 15mm thickness...imagine if it stretched to 10" with similar or less thickness - will need 3 or 4 slider rails instead of just 2 to make the two portion robust enough..

[_StephenBB81]

I'd say overall, but with a thin bezel. That would be cool.

If you think back to the current PlayBook's size... it was inspired by real world standards.. a paper back novel, the size of a dvd box, etc.

So if you think "bigger tablet" and go for this notion where RIM gets inspired by other things in nature... the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper would be sort of the next up sized standard. Or full out magazine size, but that's getting big.

I kind of agree, though I really think they should be looking at 8.25 x 10.75 as the dimensions thinking of the size the device would be inside a case, or binder. ensuring it isn't sticking out and can be enclosed in a standard "sales rep binder"

[sportline]

what about thickness? slider won't be thin.
what about the 7" tablet..is there any future for it? i really want a sim-card equipped 7" pb.

[01itr]

I kind of agree, though I really think they should be looking at 8.25 x 10.75 as the dimensions thinking of the size the device would be inside a case, or binder. ensuring it isn't sticking out and can be enclosed in a standard "sales rep binder"

Exactly this reason, RIM can't alienate the business market when creating a product, a tablet which is bigger than a sheet of paper would not be reasonable for a business person, whose binders and such are tailor fit for sheets of paper.

Another thing to worry about is the aesthetics. BB has never been the company who puts much priority into weight and thinness, so they would definitely need to work on that. A big screen tablet is nice, but not if it weighs 2lbs and is an inch thick.

TBH though I believe it is the software they need to be focusing on.

[kbz1960]

7 to 8" for a tab seems like it'd be good with the ability to have a keyboard project on your desktop. I saw somewhere in the past that they working on a computer or ? that would project a keyboard on the desktop that you type on.

[lucian777]

7" in my opinion is the maximum size for portability without the need to carry another bag with you, 10" its about the size of my netbook... why buy a 10" tablet without a physical keyboard when you can carry a netbook? I guess its all about being in fashion.

[sportline]

yeah but still the 10" tablet sells..and its taking some market share from netbooks
if 7" is so portable, so ideal, then why 10" sells more than 7"?
what happened if apple makes 7" tablet? will it sell?
what happened if playbook launched as a 3g version? will it sell?

[_StephenBB81]

Exactly this reason, RIM can't alienate the business market when creating a product, a tablet which is bigger than a sheet of paper would not be reasonable for a business person, whose binders and such are tailor fit for sheets of paper.

Another thing to worry about is the aesthetics. BB has never been the company who puts much priority into weight and thinness, so they would definitely need to work on that. A big screen tablet is nice, but not if it weighs 2lbs and is an inch thick.

TBH though I believe it is the software they need to be focusing on.

You have NO idea how many Playbook owners I know who are looking for a playbook binder that will hold the playbook in landscape on the top half of the cover, with business card slots beneath, and then a full 8.5x11 paper pad on the right side and a slot for a 1/4"thick catalog/information booklet

atleast a large tablet would give them the cases they want.
and I could see myself having both a 7" and a 10ish inch playbook, the 10ish with MS Office and a BT Keyboard would replace much of my needs of a work notebook, and would be much lighter than the near 7lb dell notebook my office issues me

[sportline]

10" + bt keyboard would be good - definitely lighter than a laptop.
anyway the new thinkpad tablet looks very good. maybe 10" pb will look like it..got 4 hardware button upfront.
all in all a hardware button is more practical than having a 100% touch control. especially if you get tired of swiping/gestures.

[AngusMcTavish]

You have NO idea how many Playbook owners I know who are looking for a playbook binder that will hold the playbook in landscape on the top half of the cover, with business card slots beneath, and then a full 8.5x11 paper pad on the right side and a slot for a 1/4"thick catalog/information booklet

atleast a large tablet would give them the cases they want.
and I could see myself having both a 7" and a 10ish inch playbook, the 10ish with MS Office and a BT Keyboard would replace much of my needs of a work notebook, and would be much lighter than the near 7lb dell notebook my office issues me

Does no one carry a Briefcase anymore? 10" or 11" isn't an issue in one of those.

[kbz1960]

yeah but still the 10" tablet sells..and its taking some market share from netbooks
if 7" is so portable, so ideal, then why 10" sells more than 7"?
what happened if apple makes 7" tablet? will it sell?
what happened if playbook launched as a 3g version? will it sell?

If apple made a 7" it would sell. The 10" sells because it's apple, don't know about the droid ones.

If playbook launched a 3g version it would sell the same or less then the current one if it is the same OS that is on the playbook now missing basic functionality, barely any app/dev support, no native email PIM etc.

Just my opinion and by the sales numbers I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

[sportline]

if people are still doing business with A 4 papers then 10" size is not too big for any business briefcase.
the issue will be thickness and weight..and at those sizes, as a business tool, to get full functionality you will need a bt keyboard + mouse. basically a thinned down, lightweight touchscreen laptop with 10 hours battery life, on 3G with pushmail, and ms office.

[sportline]

If apple made a 7" it would sell. The 10" sells because it's apple, don't know about the droid ones.

If playbook launched a 3g version it would sell the same or less then the current one if it is the same OS that is on the playbook now missing basic functionality, barely any app/dev support, no native email PIM etc.

Just my opinion and by the sales numbers I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

3g pb is a scaled up, full touchscreen blackberry..so it definitely run on BIS/BES and get PIM functionality. will be easier to sell, i believe.

[lucian777]

This is my dream tablet 7"+sliding keyboard+Ms office+email+QNX