[oddboy]

Hi gang,

I'm digging the playbook and am looking forward to getting one.

i have a question though.

the feature of pairing the playbook with my blackberry sounds awesome. definitely a killer feature over other tablets. some slick integration would be very cool - like opening my inbox from playbook shows me my blackberry inbox, etc.

one question: why are there no demo's of this feature yet? seems like it would be one of *the* killer features / differentiators of the playbook, but RIM (and others) are not showing how it works.

get us a demo and show it off already!

oddboy

[Ghostnyc]

You gotta save some tricks for actual release day

[howarmat]

because once they show it it is probably going to be a complete turn off for anyone that doesnt have a blackberry and lose tons of interest from those people, thus lose $$$

[BBThemes]

from what iv read, you need an app on your BlackBerry for this to work, guessing thats how they wipe afterwards as its been confirmed theres no lingering cache when you disconnect for security, so im guessing the app is early stages, as nobody seems to have the app

[oddboy]

oh, that's interesting... so not just a straight up bluetooth pairing?

[WillieLee]

oh, that's interesting... so not just a straight up bluetooth pairing?

No. Otherwise any phone could pair with the PlayBook. Since the device will (potentially) be passing secured content across the connection, they have to create a way to let the BES server know that it is allowed as well as telling the PlayBook not to store any of the information.

[BBThemes]

oh, that's interesting... so not just a straight up bluetooth pairing?

as i say im only going off what iv read and heard, so i could easily be wrong, but they have already said that when you disconnect there will be no trace on the PB, so no cookies or personal info, so an app to communicate it would be logical too. think it was on the mobilityinsder post where they said they are waiting for the app

[TheScionicMan]

It would make sense to keep some gems hidden to continue to stir interest. It doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't work. Just look at all the cool stuff we are seeing already that blows other tablets away and some people are like "Meh, what's next?" The way people are looking for the slightest bit of lag (in a web video, no less) to claim failure, if any part of it isn't perfectly polished, its just going to get dumped on. It may still be in development and isn't ready, but its not released so it doesn't have to be yet.

because once they show it it is probably going to be a complete turn off for anyone that doesnt have a blackberry and lose tons of interest from those people, thus lose $$$

You're such a Debbie Downer. What other companies are giving access to unfinished and unreleased products? Well, Apple did with the iPhone4, but not intentionally... The BB pairing will be gravy for BB owners but doesn't cripple the tablet by not having one.

[WillieLee]

You're such a Debbie Downer. What other companies are giving access to unfinished and unreleased products? Well, Apple did with the iPhone4, but not intentionally... The BB pairing will be gravy for BB owners but doesn't cripple the tablet by not having one.

That's something that needs to be remembered. RIM never previews devices until they are ready to ship. They are trying to build the development angle and business and consumer interest for the PlayBook but they are also still working on the finished product. It's a unique opportunity we have here.

And Bababooey to you.

[jlb21]

Of course, they also risk negative press if they wait and it's underwhelming. If they have concerns about that, might it not be better to spill all details now, while they have to to address complaints/issues/etc prior to release?

[WillieLee]

Of course, they also risk negative press if they wait and it's underwhelming. If they have concerns about that, might it not be better to spill all details now, while they have to to address complaints/issues/etc prior to release?

Yeah, because RIM is known for its glowing press coverage. They would sure hate to risk doing something that's going to send the media into a tizzy.

[oddboy]

well, either (any?) way, this will be the killer feature for me. if it works, then i get a 7" blackberry. woot! if it doesn't work, i get another gadget that will probably end up in the drawer after a few week.

[bacon612]

I think this will be a hot topic. As a storm2 user I have lost a lot of respect and faith in RIM over all of their blunders.

I have a feeling that there will be a model cut off for tethering and sync support. I am really not sure how they are going to get their existing devices to play nice with the playbook. Now, if we see a QNX handset out before or at the time of the playbook release, it would make more sense to me that they would/could get it to work.

As it is, i feel that they are struggling to get present functionality of their devices working never mind pairing them to a much more powerful and complex device running completely different hardware and software.

Yes it is the "Blackberry" playbook but its a very different beast than our current gen phones. Hopefully someone is cracking the whip in Waterloo and there are some yelling fights in the boardrooms to make it all work sooner than later.

[bighap]

I have a feeling that there will be a model cut off for tethering and sync support.

OS 5 is the minimum requirement. You are covered with your S2.

[bacon612]

I guess what I've been saying is that I've heard all this before....

http://forums.crackberry.com/f217/if...you-do-465229/



Who has officially stated that os5 will be compatible with the playbook?

I'm not calling you out I just haven't read it myself.

And, Ive been disappointed before.

[Erandhawa]

because once they show it it is probably going to be a complete turn off for anyone that doesnt have a blackberry and lose tons of interest from those people, thus lose $$$

in which way will it be a turn off for those that dont. I am sure rim isn't that dumb, if you don't have a blackberry you can't check email. I am sure there is a push email client on the playbook hence making it operate just like the competition. I do see where that particular feature won't be a plus for non bb users but atleast it keeps an option open to them if they choose to upgrade to a bb in the future they know everything will still run smoothly.

[bighap]

I guess what I've been saying is that I've heard all this before....

http://forums.crackberry.com/f217/if...you-do-465229/



Who has officially stated that os5 will be compatible with the playbook?

I'm not calling you out I just haven't read it myself.

And, Ive been disappointed before.

Scroll all the way to the bottom. Line right above the mailing list sign up.

BlackBerry - PlayBook Tablet PC - BlackBerry PlayBook Specs Pricing and More at BlackBerry.com

[taylortbb]

Given that current PlayBook doesn't even have rotation support yet, I doubt they've got the bluetooth sync working. Based on the simulator I think they've got tethering working, but that's just for data access (web browsing), that is NOT enough to sync e-mail/BBM/etc. That's where an app comes in to handle things on the BlackBerry side.

The APIs to write the app on the device side are already in the SDK. Apps have access to e-mail, contacts, etc. There's no reason I couldn't write an app which sends your email over Bluetooth to a Galaxy Tab, though I'd have to also write a match app for Android.

The PlayBook is rapidly changing and improving, but things are still very much in beta.

[UrbanGlowCam]

Some info regarding the soon to be released WebWorks SDK.

"The BlackBerry WebWorks beta for PlayBook will be out very, very, very early in the new year. This will allow you to share code between your PlayBook application and a BlackBerry Smartphone application using the WebWorks platform."

WebWorks SDK beta for BlackBerry PlayBook Coming VERY Early Next Year - BerryReview

I also hear a new simulator is coming around the same time.

[howarmat]

in which way will it be a turn off for those that dont. I am sure rim isn't that dumb, if you don't have a blackberry you can't check email. I am sure there is a push email client on the playbook hence making it operate just like the competition. I do see where that particular feature won't be a plus for non bb users but atleast it keeps an option open to them if they choose to upgrade to a bb in the future they know everything will still run smoothly.

i doubt the playbook has push enabled just for it since there is NO DATA PLAN to associate it with. without push, you have no BBM, no push email, no push notifications for facebook or any other app.

Alot of this is unknown. If RIM comes out and says, if you dont pair with a BB, you wont have any push features, you wont be able to use BBM at all, the email client or contacts wont work at all etc, that is going to not be a good selling point. There might be other options like a completely different email and contacts management system but again its unknown.

Once they official can explain the whole pairing idea i think that will really clear up and let the most people either decide if the playbook will be something they even want to consider