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This is my first post on Crackberry, but I�ve read almost everything on here in regards to the Playbook. Be nice and sorry for the long post.
I�ve been very fortunate to receive a 16GB Blackberry Playbook from a vendor. We are a relatively small BES shop, with approx.. 400 various Blackberry devices.
We are specifically looking for a device that we can use to support our IT infrastructure, more specifically granting our Windows Server administrators the ability to use remote desktop (RDP) access from anywhere. Unfortunately with the playbook, anywhere means where there is a Wi-Fi signal. (Not everybody carries a Blackberry phone)
As much as I wanted this device to work and succeed, I unfortunately cannot recommend the Playbook for this task to my company.
Why? What happened?
The setup experience is not Enterprise friendly. Out of the box, the device can only be setup on Wi-Fi. My company is just getting into the Wi-Fi world, and I know of many companies and college�s that don�t allow Wi-Fi in the work place. As common as Wi-Fi is for the home user, it hasn�t made the same inroads in the Enterprise. For a device that is being advertised as the �First Enterprise Grade Tablet�, this is a #fail for us. I can�t imagine setting up 100�s of these devices over Wi-Fi, each of them, downloading the same OS update. There needs to be a more Enterprise friendly approach to setting these up. At minimum, let me bypass the Wi-Fi setup and move on with the setup. There also might be a problem connecting to hidden SSID�s I had to unhide mine at home to setup the Playbook.
Build and Materials.
The build quality is top notch, and I like the 7� form factor from a hand holding perspective. However that changes when you use the device in landscape mode. When typing you have very little screen realestate to edit and read.
The Camera
While the camera isn�t a necessary for my test, it did prove useful in documenting certain situations. However, it lacks in the ability to change the focus points. For example when you�re trying to take a picture of an error on a screen or a small serial number. I�d rather have the ability to touch the screen where I want it to focus, and thus, change the exposure point as well. I did run into a bug, that video�s I shot didn�t appear in �all Video�s� it was only after a reboot that they appeared, and they showed up as a film strip icon.
Blackberry Bridge.
While I don�t have a Blackberry personally, I do admin enough of them to test this functionality. The bridge is too slow and too cumbersome to be effective.
No Native Email
Yes it�s a big deal. No Email App. No Thanks. This really is a sore spot for me. I�ve read many times on here the advantages of bridging, to me, there are none. Absolutely none, no matter how you spin it. I use Gmail as my personal email, and using Gmail on the Playbook, in landscape mode, is very challenging. For some reason I can�t add an attachment either in the webmail version on Gmail.
The Browser
The browser is actually really good, except for when it crashes. And crash it does. I know your mileage may vary, but often on flash laden websites, the entire browser would disappear. I�m not a huge fan of flash to begin with. Even using this crackberry website, proves challenging on this little screen in landscape mode. I find I�m constantly zooming in and out to make sure I don�t touch something I don�t want to touch. Like in these forums, when I want to press the > to go to the next page, I have to zoom in, touch, zoom out.
Apps
What apps? Do you need 500,000 apps, of course not. You do need at least one good fart app though ☺ Seriously. When companies continue to make security apps for other platforms, which we need, like Juniper Pulse. It really puts things into perspective. Companies are announcing apps for enterprise desktop access, just not for the Playbook, at least not yet.
Battery Life
Battery life has been all over the place. One of the first days with the device, after a few hours of use, our battery life was down about 10% per hour. I�m using OS Version 1.03.1868. However that seems to have stabilized and we are getting about a day or so on standby, which doesn�t seem great.
Nuances and other quirks�
I�m not a huge fan of the lack of a home button. Here�s why. When browsing in landscape mode, I was constantly hitting the touch sensitive bezel and bringing up the �home� screen. Lack of groups was also an issue for anal-retentive people like me. I like my devices to be organized. With the Playbook you�re forced into All, Favorites, Media, Games and Blackberry Bridge, way too messy for me. I want control of this. No accessibility options? No auto correct, yet Word to Go has spell check. Which brings up another quirk. Why can�t I have more than one document open at the same time? It�s a pain in the **** to have to open and close documents when you�re working on more than one at a time. Why can�t I search in the App World when I�m in a category? Seems like I can only search from the top level.
Conclusion.
If you made it this far, thanks. I hope this helps somebody and allows for some meaningful discussions. I can�t recommend the Playbook, because the eco-system, isn�t there, yet. While people on this website will say it�s a 1st generation device, and it is, it shows, it�s also a device trying to compete with other products that are more mature and have more robust ecosystems. It�s a great web browser, but that�s all it�s �great� at. It�s got a lot of rough edges that need polishing, however when they get polished other competitors will be even more polished, so it�s a game of trying to catch up.
I�ll relook at the Playbook when they announced a 3G version, have the ability to by-pass the forced Wi-Fi setup, and companies start to develop native QNX apps like Juniper Pulse, etc.
Thanks for your time...06-01-11 02:23 PMLike 4 -
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Good Review. I agree with a lot of your points. I am faithful that the unit will get better but I can see how it doesn't make business sense. Playbook is not the first professional tablet in it's current state. I love my playbook but I don't use it in the environment you face. A solid RDP app would be nice for all levels of use. Time will tell if RIM will actually turn this thing around. Hopefully soon
KangTsui likes this.06-01-11 02:39 PMLike 1 -
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I agree with threefive in Wow.
If you the forums battery life problem has been solved. After that most of your critic are pretty superficial when it comes to business applications. When SAP and citrix have announced they will bring full support to the playbook what more do you need.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com06-01-11 02:40 PMLike 0 -
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@Foreverup - Like most things with the Playbook, Citrix has "announced" support for the Playbook. It's available today for other platforms. Why wait for an announced product, when the exact same product is readily available today?
How has the battery life problem been resolved?
-Kang06-01-11 02:49 PMLike 0 -
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@Blacklac - Yes I know the 3G/4G models are coming. When? Nobody knows for certain. It's hard to invest in a Wi-Fi only model when 3G/4G models might be on the horizon. Hopefully by that time, native email and PIM apps will be available as well. I'll re-evaluate at that time.
-Kang06-01-11 02:52 PMLike 0 -
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so basically a rehash of what people have been complaining about since day one.
and you said you read everything playbook related already?06-01-11 02:56 PMLike 0 -
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Battery life if you have the latest update you need to accept the video chat agreement then fully charge and do a restart. My playbook has latest two days with limited use while I travel after I did this which I learned in the forum.
Second the playbook while SAP and citrix are not released yet if you want something now then purchase something now. If the form factor is to your liking wait.
It sounds to me from your post you are looking for an always connected device for business so I can't see why you purchases a wifi only device when your company doesn't support wifi. 3G/4G will be released with all native functions and probably the Citrix/SAP support so wait or buy something that has 3G/4G now.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com06-01-11 03:02 PMLike 0 -
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KangTsui, you make some good points. I don't agree with everything you wrote, but I think that you are mostly on the money. RIM rushed to market because they had no choice. Unfortunately, that rush to market has hurt them. The delay of the NDK is only adding to that hurt.
By the way, just remember this simple rule when reading the responses you will likely get:
If a review of the PlayBook is bad, then the reviewer is biased/stupid/paid by Apple. If a review of the PlayBook is good, then the reviewer is clearly intelligent and reasonable. Plus, some will get nasty and defensive as if you were talking about a child of theirs. It's all very twisted and strange.06-01-11 03:06 PMLike 4 -
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You have one person who actually made any kind of troll comment. Gonna find a person like that on any board regardless of the brand the forum favors. Anyone who lets that bother them is too thin skinned to post on any board. The rest of the responses have been courteous and raised valid points.
I also find it confusing that if you have followed the pb forum closely, why you would even consider the wifi only pb for enterprise use when your work place does not have wifi in place. It has been announced here and on other sites that 3G models with native PIM would be released this summer, so why bother evaluating the pb and posting here when there is tons of online material that clearly shows that the current model would not suit your needs.
If you want to provide useful information to the users of a forum, then at least start out with a device that has hardware that meets your basic needs. Then if you find problems with the software and functionality of the device and point those out, you will be viewed with a lot more credibility.
As it stands now, the pb was doomed to fail the needs of your company before you even opened the box and powered it on.06-01-11 06:47 PMLike 0 -
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I only surf in landscape - never have had that happen. Im pretty sure it has to be a "swipe" and not just a touch. SMH06-01-11 06:52 PMLike 0 -
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I know this is the life in any forum for any product. It's par for the course, so to speak. I don't care either way, just try to post my views from an Enterprise perspective, as I would imagine there are far more home users than Enterprise admins. It's pretty simple, the Playbook isn't going to work for everybody or every enterprise. In it's current form, it won't work for me. I suppose if I wrote that the Playbook was the best thing to happen to the Enterprise since electricity, than this post would be 10 pages.By the way, just remember this simple rule when reading the responses you will likely get:
If a review of the PlayBook is bad, then the reviewer is biased/stupid/paid by Apple. If a review of the PlayBook is good, then the reviewer is clearly intelligent and reasonable. Plus, some will get nasty and defensive as if you were talking about a child of theirs. It's all very twisted and strange.
-KangBlackStormRising and rppaul like this.06-02-11 08:39 AMLike 2 -
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We evaluate many products available today, not tomorrow. We don't purchase these devices for testing. They are given to use by our vendors for testing. We know the Playbook can only do Wi-Fi today. Since we don't have WiFi in the office, our support staff has WiFi at home and it's readily available at retail locations, etc. However, the Playbook in it's current form doesn't work for our support model. it's pretty simple. We do our due diligence with each piece of technology, and decide if and how it will fit for our needs. Example, we just finished testing a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and a Samsung Windows Mobile Phone. If you only made decisions based on here-say on websites, then you're not doing yourself or your company any favours.I also find it confusing that if you have followed the pb forum closely, why you would even consider the wifi only pb for enterprise use when your work place does not have wifi in place. It has been announced here and on other sites that 3G models with native PIM would be released this summer, so why bother evaluating the pb and posting here when there is tons of online material that clearly shows that the current model would not suit your needs.
If you want to provide useful information to the users of a forum, then at least start out with a device that has hardware that meets your basic needs. Then if you find problems with the software and functionality of the device and point those out, you will be viewed with a lot more credibility.
As it stands now, the pb was doomed to fail the needs of your company before you even opened the box and powered it on.
-Kang06-02-11 08:45 AMLike 0 -
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You're correct. It's when we swipe "up" in a website to scroll the page up, do we find that occasionally we hit the bezel and bring up the home screen, not touching. Thanks for the correction.
-Kang06-02-11 08:47 AMLike 0 -
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The problem is that your criticisms appear forced. You complain about no home button. Really? A simple flick of the finger takes you right to the home page. You wrote a review that reads more like you have already made up you mind about favouring some other device and are looking for justifications. If you had done your simple due diligence, you would have known full well that there is no native email (yet) and that if that feature was as important to you as you claim why would you even pick the PB up for evaluation in the first place? Then you complain about wifi for initial set up. Again, really?I know this is the life in any forum for any product. It's par for the course, so to speak. I don't care either way, just try to post my views from an Enterprise perspective, as I would imagine there are far more home users than Enterprise admins. It's pretty simple, the Playbook isn't going to work for everybody or every enterprise. In it's current form, it won't work for me. I suppose if I wrote that the Playbook was the best thing to happen to the Enterprise since electricity, than this post would be 10 pages.
-Kang06-02-11 08:59 AMLike 0 -
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1. Um did anyone read the part where he said he was GIVEN a PB to test.
2. I think that he is suggeting a home button INSTEAD of the "swipe" method so that the user can avoid bringing up the home screen by mistake.06-02-11 09:22 AMLike 0 -
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If the decision can be put off until late summer then hopefully the 3g/4g will be out with email and other goodies that will make it more useful and enterprise ready.@Blacklac - Yes I know the 3G/4G models are coming. When? Nobody knows for certain. It's hard to invest in a Wi-Fi only model when 3G/4G models might be on the horizon. Hopefully by that time, native email and PIM apps will be available as well. I'll re-evaluate at that time.
-Kang
Your right in that the bridge, right now, is too slow for real work world use.
The email it has via bridge needs to be more dependable and responsive.
Web speed and stability need to be improved upon.
If RIM keeps things rolling along then it might be ready, when it, if it is, it will
be a very useful tablet to have. RIM needs to curb the advertising and work
to get the PB right and ready. Then push the heck out of them.
Perhaps the rumored 10" model would be more to the liking as well.
TimKangTsui likes this.06-02-11 09:24 AMLike 1
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