1. bbfanboi's Avatar
    The PlayBook was a necessary platform to give birth to the BB10 platform. It was were RIM experimented and perfected the UI and the QNX implementation. It is also a platform that was used to seed BB10 compatible apps into App World (now BBW). It most definitely wasn't a lost cause!

    There hasn't been much support for the PlayBook lately and RIM needs to keep that going. It is a great little tablet, but it needs some BlackBerry love. I hope RIM doesn't get out of the tablet business because of prior mistakes. All the above mentioned stuff wasn't a mistake, but most folks misunderstand the mistakes that were made:

    * having ridiculous swings in market price of the PlayBook (32GB), from $599 to $399 back to $599 then $299, $199, $118 now $149 - consumers were so confused
    * no native email and calendar app at launch - something basic is better than nothing at all
    * writing core apps (like the keyboard software, email & calendar) in Adobe AIR
    * no BBM for PlayBook - what in the world were they thinking!!!! Still no BBM for PlayBook!!
    * courting developers only started for BB10 - little developer interest in the PlayBook
    * RIM did little to really communicate their plans for the PlayBook to consumers, and so the uncertainty of RIM's survivability in 2010/11 also posed deep questions in the minds of buyers - will RIM be around to support their purchase?

    Let's not be fooled to thinking that there is no money to be made in the tablet world. The future is more and more tablets. Desktop PCs are becoming a thing of the past. I only have one because I need to run BlackBerry Link and BlackBerry Desktop Manager (for older phones). Gotta have backups of my stuff and somewhere to sync my music and photos. RIM can address that.

    The PlayBook remains an awesome tablet. The hardware is as good as the best tablets out there, but selling hundreds of dollars less because the software didn't match up to the quality of the hardware. I have four PlayBooks in my household. I love it, but sadly with my Z10 it has taken a back seat. The Z10's browser is so awesome, and the software better integrated. I am only hoping RIM sticks to their promise and releases a basic version of BB10 on the PlayBook.

    Note that the Z10 has 2 GB of RAM to run BB10, while the PlayBook only has 1 GB of RAM, hence the challenge! RIM really needs to thank the early adopters of the PlayBook especially and win back their love and support. Some people feel burned by BlackBerry and that is unfortunate. However, I feel future PlayBooks will be respected as the BlackBerry name has renewed people's hopes and confidence in the platform.

    RIM cannot make another mistake with the PlayBook. They cannot afford to. The tablet market IS an essential next step for BlackBerry. I want a large 12 inch BlackBerry tablet for home as my 'desktop BlackBerry' - the family hub I also want a medium sized 9 inch for students, teachers, real-estate agents, photographers, and the like. I also want a compact 7 inch tablet for person use - surfing, reading books, gaming - something I can take with me most everywhere.

    There is a future for the PlayBook, and it really wasn't ahead of its time. It came at the right time and played a very important role for RIM. RIM needs to reward the PlayBook and PlayBook adopters with more options and choices in the future. I'll buy the next PlayBook they sell without question, if it runs BB10 or some derived next generation OS.

    Go Team BlackBerry! Bring it!
    WeAreNotAlone likes this.
    03-17-13 01:01 PM
  2. jimread1949's Avatar
    Love my playbook, used daily since purchase $399.00 july 2011 at Staples. Only one regret, got sick of hearing the you have no angry birds brigade go on about it. So when it got released I bought it $4.99. Hey great I have another version of Frogger WTF.
    03-17-13 01:04 PM
  3. taz323's Avatar
    I do like my Playbook, but I have run into some of the issues mentioned on the forum. My main problem is that I am finding I have to do security wipes since the last 2 updates because things just slow to a crawl, mainly the browser. A security wipe speeds things right back up, then a couple of weeks later it slows down again. There are also some sideloaded apps I use, but with every update it seems to be a crapshoot as to how well those apps will work after the update. It makes me think I might be better with a device I can run those apps natively on since I use them so much.

    I am tempted to try out some other devices. I keep reading on this forum how good the Playbook browser is compared to what's on other tabs though. Which kind of scares me because I personally don't find the browser to be that good.
    My PB, browser for the most part is great, (depending on wifi strength ). And the only wipe I had to do was my fault, had to upgrade windows 8.
    But everyone has there own preferences and no matter what anyone else says. There's nothing wrong with looking at other tech.
    03-17-13 01:07 PM
  4. bbfanboi's Avatar
    Check out html5test.com and see how the PlayBook compares with HTML5 compatibility. Note the PlayBook also runs flash better than anyone else out there, so over all you have the very best of both worlds. The browser has some shortcomings, as any tablet or phone browser will also have, and that it because of the touch navigation. Sometimes you do need a mouse to move the cursor within a frame so that the entire screen doesn't scroll. The PlayBook keyboard kit from RIM has trackpad for mouse control so that really makes the PlayBook browser shine even more.

    The BB10 browser is even better!
    03-17-13 01:14 PM
  5. stillpointworks's Avatar
    I find it mildly amusing that responses to this post are uniformly positive yet there are so many other posts citing all the problems they are having with their PB. Personally, I don't have any problems with mine except that it needs a really strong WIFI signal to work in a hotel etc. and none of the apps that I have wanted are available. It is fine at its price point.
    03-17-13 01:15 PM
  6. helloz10byeiphone's Avatar
    I've had my 64GB PlayBook for about 3 months now and had no issues as of yet apart from the app gap.. But here in the UK I've never seen it advertised ever but I'm sure if it was to more people would buy it especially because of the price I brought mine for �129.99 (RRP �250.00) thats an amazing price tbh and if the demand increased I'm sure top named apps would be happy go come over to blackberry within the past month I've had 5 friends buy the PlayBook! (these was all anti blackberry -.- ) but apart from the app gap. Their very pleased with their purchase this is good news just need a few more top apps, come on blackberry i belive in you Haha
    03-17-13 01:19 PM
  7. MartyMcfly's Avatar
    I have said--and still believe--the actual purpose of the PlayBook was to test a QNX based mobile operating system in the hands of end users. That's right, we were all beta testers. And we paid for the privilege. I have never minded helping BlackBerry get BB10 to the market sooner. And the PlayBook has been my constant companion. I'm posting this from it right now.
    I strongly disagree. Beta products are used by people prior to release. Management was under the impression that they could charge premium prices for a half arssed product. They didn't do the brand any good by releasing a bad (or in your opinion beta) product, because now consumers associate the name playbook with not so great or horrible tablet. So even if the next pb happens to be good or great, the perception in consumer's minds will think otherwise.


    Don't kill my vibe using Tapatalk
    Drew808, richardat and randall2580 like this.
    03-17-13 01:29 PM
  8. EauRouge's Avatar
    They should have waited. I dont know about being ahead of its time, but if Os 2 launched with it I think it would have enjoyed great sucess
    03-17-13 01:35 PM
  9. kupfernigk's Avatar
    Microsoft got 90% of the desktop market by making its users beta testers. Even SQL Server wants to send feedback to them.
    melb_me likes this.
    03-17-13 03:46 PM
  10. Bbnivende's Avatar
    IIRC RIM at the time was already under tremendous pressure to release PlayBook and the device was already considered a vaporware by many. So RIM buckled and released PlayBook the way it was, without native PIM apps, barren app ecosystem, and so on. PlayBook was a testbed for QNX that RIM paid dearly for.

    RIM was under similar pressure for BlackBerry 10 but this time they did not buckle under Thorsten's leadership despite being trashed continously online.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk
    I am not sure I agree with this post. It seems to me that RIM saw the Playbook as a useful extension of one's business BB phone. ( the bridge) The target audience would have a BB phone but could use a bigger screen to be used when tethered with the phone. I don't think that corporations saw the need to supply their employees with laptops, phones and a tablet. I just don't see a BB10 Playbook selling very well because there will be so few apps. Low sales will compound the apps problem. I guess they can make it the most premium spec'd tablet and some might buy it for it's technical qualities alone.
    03-17-13 05:07 PM
  11. Phone Guy 4567's Avatar
    MS became successful because it gave business the apps they wanted, & at a price point far below what the competition could offer. BB owes it's success to the same thing, they gave business a product they wanted, that no one else at the time could provide. Everyone does the send feedback thing, that doesn't mean the product is a beta.

    Microsoft got 90% of the desktop market by making its users beta testers. Even SQL Server wants to send feedback to them.
    03-17-13 06:14 PM
  12. torndownunit's Avatar
    My PB, browser for the most part is great, (depending on wifi strength ). And the only wipe I had to do was my fault, had to upgrade windows 8.
    But everyone has there own preferences and no matter what anyone else says. There's nothing wrong with looking at other tech.
    See what's frustrating for me is I do LIKE it and I don't see any major hardware issues going on because as mentioned, after a security wipe it will run fantastic. If it ran like that all the time, I would be thrilled. But to keep that performance, it seems I have to do frequent wipes. Slow browser, and keyboard lag are my main complaints.
    03-17-13 06:23 PM
  13. kirikouestpetit's Avatar
    I have said--and still believe--the actual purpose of the PlayBook was to test a QNX based mobile operating system in the hands of end users. That's right, we were all beta testers. And we paid for the privilege. I have never minded helping BlackBerry get BB10 to the market sooner. And the PlayBook has been my constant companion. I'm posting this from it right now.
    Are you serious ? A beta test ??
    Really ?

    You really think RIM was losing money, reputation, share value, customers on this tablet to beta test BB10 ?
    Come on, you gotta be kidding.
    You fanboys livin on another plantet

    Someday someone should recap all the dumb stuff we've read over here, a best seller on its way imo
    03-17-13 06:51 PM
  14. Barracuda7772's Avatar
    yes it was more or less a beta test for the brand new mobile computing platform.

    in the very same way windows phone 7 phones were all beta tests for microsofts new phone os windows phone 7.
    if I'm not mistaken I believe microsoft said so themslves so why is it so hard to believe a product that reached the end user could of been a beta test ?
    03-17-13 07:04 PM
  15. bdguru's Avatar
    Just missing a joystick for games. Great device.
    03-17-13 07:14 PM
  16. Barracuda7772's Avatar
    [QUOTE=bdguru;8144633]Just missing a joystick for games. Great device.[/QUOT

    is there really no bluetooth joysticks ?
    03-17-13 07:33 PM
  17. CBCListener's Avatar
    I disagree that the PlayBook was an intentional beta test. I do agree that by virtue of its being the first-of-breed (QNX-wise) it was incomplete, bug-ridden and app/environment-deprived, much like the iPhone and iPad before it (I have to keep reminding people that when iPad first launched, apps were obtained through iTunes, which suggests that Apple looked at iPad and the phone simply as media players, the latter with communications capabilities).

    I also disagree that RIM should have waited until it was "finished". Time was ticking so far as the opportunity to launch a tablet to compete with iPad. Further (and I can't speak with authority on this, since I wasn't monitoring the rumour mill with regards to Apple's plans, but) RIM had already started work on "Cobalt"/"BlackPad" before iPad actually launched, so clearly RIM management already had recognised the value of a larger screen, bridged to the personal device, despite Palm's failure.

    RIM's failure here was, as a number of pundits have asserted, complacency in their leadership position, failure to recognise the threat that iPhone/iPad and the Android devices posed to that leadership position (stealing some of RIM's best ideas in the process, please note). RIM Management's foresight (which some say was entirely Lazaridis' doing), however, was to acquire QNX and The Amazing Tribe to put together, first, a test launch of a radically different mobile device which holds its own to laptops that have far more resources at their disposal, and then, learning from that experience, creating what we see in the Z10 (and soon to be seen Q10).

    So, all indications are that the song's not done yet, and that BlackBerry has another day in the sun. There have been other companies, most notably Apple, who were written off as roadkill, only to have been reborn only a few years later. So it may be with RIM...with the appropriate amount of vision and inspiration, a side of superb execution, a successful replanting of the BlackBerry name in the mindshare of those who might use one...in other words, making no mistakes. The jury's still out to know that that...but so far, so good.
    Last edited by CBCListener; 03-17-13 at 09:26 PM. Reason: I like paragraphs
    03-17-13 09:18 PM
  18. itmccb's Avatar
    The launch date (in and of itself) was the least of the PlayBook's problems. Now, if RIM were concious of every [prominent] issue, used that time to fix as much of it as they could manage and had a clear roadmap for further fixes/improvements, then the PlayBook would be in a much better position than it is now. Though, you can't change the past and I think the way things turned out was for the best. At the time, RIM wasn't at their best and had the attained any degree of success likely could have driven the to keep plodding along as they were. I think the bleakness of their situation is a good part of what drove them to want to get everyting as good as it could be at launch, leaving them with a much better product than they would have had otherwise and a stronger brand. They can always update the PlayBook some time down the road then come out with a revised tablet later.
    03-17-13 09:18 PM
  19. kill_9's Avatar
    IIRC RIM at the time was already under tremendous pressure to release PlayBook and the device was already considered a vaporware by many. So RIM buckled and released PlayBook the way it was, without native PIM apps, barren app ecosystem, and so on. PlayBook was a testbed for QNX that RIM paid dearly for.
    BlackBerry management brought the failure upon themselves by not having a complete tablet operating system and applications ready for the April 2011 debut. The BlackBerry PlayBook is feature complete as of BlackBerry Tablet OS 2.0 but now needs BlackBerry Bridge restored to the same features as for BlackBerry OS 5/6/7 smartphone on the new BlackBerry OS 10.

    Posted via CB10 from the BlackBerry Z10
    03-17-13 09:57 PM
  20. Orange UK's Avatar
    No, it will however be ahead when PB10 drops And thus in reality it was two years behind, still great hardware regardless...
    FF22 likes this.
    03-17-13 10:40 PM
  21. red stripe's Avatar
    I have said--and still believe--the actual purpose of the PlayBook was to test a QNX based mobile operating system in the hands of end users. That's right, we were all beta testers. And we paid for the privilege. I have never minded helping BlackBerry get BB10 to the market sooner. And the PlayBook has been my constant companion. I'm posting this from it right now.
    RIM released a product that was a massive flop in the marketplace. They lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a direct result. I have read estimates of over a billion in red ink. End of story.

    Insert reasons here if you want (overpriced, missing basic functionality like *email*, buggy etc).

    To attempt to revise history and say this was all part of a clever master plan to "beta test" a future OS is laughable.
    FF22, Drew808, richardat and 1 others like this.
    03-17-13 11:11 PM
  22. Bbnivende's Avatar
    RIM released a product that was a massive flop in the marketplace. They lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a direct result. I have read estimates of over a billion in red ink. End of story.

    Insert reasons here if you want (overpriced, missing basic functionality like *email*, buggy etc).

    To attempt to revise history and say this was all part of a clever master plan to "beta test" a future OS is laughable.
    Well laugh along with Thorsten ... and I quote: "Mr Heins admitted the company made mistakes in its inital foray into tablets, saying it had been overly ambitious to launch without native email and many apps, but the decision had come from a desire to show off its operating system. However he said internally it had been viewed as a valuable trial run in getting BB10 right."
    http://www.afr.com/p/technology/blac...esjnkEY5anJlZP
    03-18-13 12:31 AM
  23. Phone Guy 4567's Avatar
    yes it was more or less a beta test for the brand new mobile computing platform.

    in the very same way windows phone 7 phones were all beta tests for microsofts new phone os windows phone 7.
    if I'm not mistaken I believe microsoft said so themslves so why is it so hard to believe a product that reached the end user could of been a beta test ?
    WP7 wasn't released as a beta, but IMO essentially became one after MS decided to change WP8 under the hood & keep the UI. MS would never admit to WP7 being a beta, can you imagine the uproar that would have caused LOL.

    If MS had gained significant market share with WP7 they would have left it as it was, but it didn't. If you're going to make drastic changes to the OS the time to do it is when you have a small user base.
    03-18-13 12:38 AM
  24. Phone Guy 4567's Avatar
    Well laugh along with Thorsten ... and I quote: "Mr Heins admitted the company made mistakes in its inital foray into tablets, saying it had been overly ambitious to launch without native email and many apps, but the decision had come from a desire to show off its operating system. However he said internally it had been viewed as a valuable trial run in getting BB10 right."
    BlackBerry chief lays out survival plan and says iPhone is old news
    The part you quoted reads like we made mistakes with tablets, we learned from them, & we took what we learned & applied it to BB10. They are not saying we knew the software or product wasn't complete, but released it to an unsuspecting public so they could find the bugs & glitches. When something is in beta they tell you so. You & I can call it a beta out of frustration or excuse as to why it's bad, but a CEO would never in a million years admit something was a beta after the fact.
    randall2580 likes this.
    03-18-13 12:57 AM
  25. Acumenight's Avatar
    I say the whole PlayBook debacle could have been a game changing success by simple pricing.

    If playbook launched at today's pricing - at cost, they would have sold a massive shed load of them 7' inch blacks! This in turn would have spurred rapid growth to its App catalog as developers would have quickly jump onto it.

    History would be so different - all those kindle fires wouldn't have sold as those customers would have bought the playbook. Developers would have been working hard on the playbook propelling the virtuous cycle with more users. Ultimately, this would have drove further demand for the z10 & other BB10 devices.

    Sigh, if only...
    03-18-13 03:05 AM
126 1234 ...

Similar Threads

  1. Playbook has mind of it's own
    By jermck in forum BlackBerry PlayBook
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-13-12, 02:41 PM
  2. Is the PlayBook ahead of its time?
    By varunsain in forum BlackBerry PlayBook
    Replies: 43
    Last Post: 02-24-12, 12:32 AM
  3. Well it's offical K.O.D is the greatest album of all time.
    By Archangel00195 in forum Rehab & Off-Topic Lounge
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-21-09, 09:03 PM
  4. Time to get rid of it.
    By kaznaaa in forum BlackBerry Storm Series
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 06-14-09, 05:56 PM
  5. GMail to my Phone - Message Time States One Hour Ahead of Real Time
    By Smerri in forum BlackBerry Storm Series
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-23-09, 12:04 PM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD