[BigCTM]

I just purchased a new Playbook from the 299 sale on Ebay last week. I have owned the Ipad 2, Transformer and most recently the Touchpad. I am honestly blown away by the Playbook so far. The screen is AWESOME - very sharp. It is fast too. I downloaded the latest software update and had all the programs like NFS, Tetris and Facebook installed in less than 15 minutes. The browser is solid - much better than the one on the Touchpad.

I bought it for the build quality and size and I am pretty convinced that I made a good choice, especially considering the price. Don't even get me started on the build quality of the Transformer - it's not good.

The OS is intuitive to me since I have used webOS quite a bit. I do not own a blackberry phone so I cannot comment on the bridge functionality. Who knows - that may change. When are the QNX phones coming out?

In conclusion, this tablet is for sure the most underrated tablet on the market. Going to download dead space tonight...

[danimalchil]

welcome aboard my friend. only gets better from here.

[shootsscores]

The problem for the general public is that the early reviewers assumed that the PB was going to be an ipad knockoff. It isn't and because it isn't, the PB didn't fit their preconceived notions of what a tablet device is. As a result, many reviewers panned it. Hard to believe now but many of them got hung up on the power button (though some early ones had a recessed switch that made accessing it more difficult) when, in all actuality, the power button rarely ever needs to be used. Many also complained of the lack of a "home button" despite the fact that the PB UI renders such a contrivance obsolete.

QNX is a game changer and we are beginning to see from the updates that the PB OS has features and performance coming on line that have never been seen in the mobile computing space before. To me, the QNX OS is like the introduction of the jet engine to aircraft. The ipad is a fine propelor driven plane but the jet engine (complete with its own nascent teething problems) greatly increased aircraft performance and capabilities. QNX is the new turbojet.

[lawguyman]

The problem for the general public is that the early reviewers assumed that the PB was going to be an ipad knockoff. It isn't and because it isn't, the PB didn't fit their preconceived notions of what a tablet device is.

Yeah. Many early reviewers thought that the Playbook should be able to do things like the iPad like send and receive email. Preconceived notions. Stupid reviewers.

[BigCTM]

Well, when all your email and contacts are through one gmail account, not having a dedicated email app is no big deal. The one online works fine for me.

Yeah. Many early reviewers thought that the Playbook should be able to do things like the iPad like send and receive email. Preconceived notions. Stupid reviewers.

[eds817]

I've only owned the PlayBook but looked and played with all the others. I'm very happy I stuck with the PB. Here's a thread I did showing a little of what can be done with the PB.

My recent trip to NY

[shootsscores]

Yeah. Many early reviewers thought that the Playbook should be able to do things like the iPad like send and receive email. Preconceived notions. Stupid reviewers.

It does come with "native" email. If you own a BB handset. It was also announced on release that highly secure, RIM quality (which is inarguably THE best in the industry) , native email would be forthcoming. Yep. Stupid reviewers apparently can't read.

[yzf.shaun]

Yeah. Many early reviewers thought that the Playbook should be able to do things like the iPad like send and receive email. Preconceived notions. Stupid reviewers.

You must be using a different PlayBook to me. I seem to be able to send email from mine without issue from day one.


To the OP. Welcome on baord. I think you made the right choice. This device is getting better and better with each update.

[FMB8900]

It really is an underrated tablet. But it is the best tablet on the market, and its going to get better... much much better. QNX has monster potential, and add brilliant TAT UI design to that, you got an epic combo right there. Future OS updates are going to bring great features, we're going to see a lot more breathtaking games like Dead Space make its way to the platform, and QNX smartphones are going to be sick!

Blackberry Devcon is going to be in October, So we shouldnt have to wait much longer for a massive 2.0 Update.

BIGCTM: Glad you like your Playbook and if your new here, welcome to the CB forums

Definitely download DeadSpace its an amazing game for the PB! Also if you can, get a Micro-HDMI cable and hook it up to an HDtv, the graphics are sick!

[lawguyman]

It does come with "native" email. If you own a BB handset. It was also announced on release that highly secure, RIM quality (which is inarguably THE best in the industry) , native email would be forthcoming. Yep. Stupid reviewers apparently can't read.

You crack me up with all of your excuses.

There are plenty of things to like about the Playbook and hopefully more in the future. Your attempt to rewrite history and excuse the reviews was simply ridiculous. Playbook was released prematurely. No one (not even RIM) denies this. What kind of reviewer gives that kind of product a good review?

I don't want to get this thread further off topic and the OP is entitled to his positive first impressions.

[luna9698]

You crack me up with all of your excuses.

There are plenty of things to like about the Playbook and hopefully more in the future. Your attempt to rewrite history and excuse the reviews was simply ridiculous. Playbook was released prematurely. No one (not even RIM) denies this. What kind of reviewer gives that kind of product a good review?

I don't want to get this thread further off topic and the OP is entitled to his positive first impressions.

Well then if you didnt want this thread to get off topic, why did you respond in the first place?

To the OP it is a GREAT tablet! And it will only get better as the software matures over time! Enjoy your new Playbook!

[bb.pl]

I just purchased a new Playbook from the 299 sale on Ebay last week. I have owned the Ipad 2, Transformer and most recently the Touchpad. I am honestly blown away by the Playbook so far. The screen is AWESOME - very sharp. It is fast too. I downloaded the latest software update and had all the programs like NFS, Tetris and Facebook installed in less than 15 minutes. The browser is solid - much better than the one on the Touchpad.

I bought it for the build quality and size and I am pretty convinced that I made a good choice, especially considering the price. Don't even get me started on the build quality of the Transformer - it's not good.

The OS is intuitive to me since I have used webOS quite a bit. I do not own a blackberry phone so I cannot comment on the bridge functionality. Who knows - that may change. When are the QNX phones coming out?

In conclusion, this tablet is for sure the most underrated tablet on the market. Going to download dead space tonight...

Agreed,for $299 there is no better tablet than the pb.
For some of us who bought it at $599.....I better not say about it in this forum.

[jthep]

I think right now the PB is the best tablet out there. Of course I also have a BB, so I am spoiled by just how good the bridge feature has gotten.

The early reviewers were wrong in why the PB was deficient at launch, but correct in it was a work in progress. They just focused on a power button and email notifications, but hardly a mention of no Netflix, Hulu, and Bridge not working that well at launch. On top of that, AT&T pulled their nonsense on launch day which I will never forgive them for and will sign my next contract with Sprint.

The PB at launch like so many new tablets could be knocked for lack of apps, but its full flash support sort of circumvented that for the most part. The power button has never been an issue for me and hardly worth mentioning as either good or bad. Did anyone harp on the iPad power buttons? Laughably stupid nitpicking. The "native" email criticism was highly misleading making it sound as if the PB couldn't do email at all.

Now after bridge has improved so much and the OS is less buggy, this is the tablet to get. Its hardware is great, great speakers, screen resolution, multi-tasking, etc. No extra tethering or hotspot fees or risky "rooting" or "jailbreaking", bridge just works great now.

Give me Android apps just for some icing on the cake and how is it not the best tablet???

[rleo25]

This is the best tablet ever without any doubt, I have enjoyed it since the moment I unboxed it, the last update corrected some little nuissances it had, and as many of you say this is getting better !

[shootsscores]

You crack me up with all of your excuses.

There are plenty of things to like about the Playbook and hopefully more in the future. Your attempt to rewrite history and excuse the reviews was simply ridiculous. Playbook was released prematurely. No one (not even RIM) denies this. What kind of reviewer gives that kind of product a good review?

I don't want to get this thread further off topic and the OP is entitled to his positive first impressions.

I simply related what actually happened. I do find the "native" email capability my Bold enables to be very useful. The only thing the reviewers had right was the auto-correct. They were hilariously out to lunch when it came to the UI and the power of the OS. But what else can you expect from those comparing a nascent jet powered craft with a prop plane at the height of its development? The reviewers were over matched.

The OP was quite correct with his impressions and I also have to say that "dead space" is friggin' crazy. The music constantly makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. On most games, I'll turn off the sound track pretty quick but, man alive!, the music on that game is intense. I did a little research and the composer is performing it live with symphony orchestras. That would be cool to hear straight from the instruments with no "middle man" (digital rendering which, while good, still isn't the real thing).

[shootsscores]

No one seems to have mentioned it but I find the browser to be even smoother since the last update.

[mathprof08]

Yeah. Many early reviewers thought that the Playbook should be able to do things like the iPad like send and receive email. Preconceived notions. Stupid reviewers.

And tons of fart apps. Useful iPad stuff like fart apps.

[lawguyman]

No one seems to have mentioned it but I find the browser to be even smoother since the last update.

The browser on the Playbook is the best of any tablet. The Android Honeycomb browser is better in some ways but I think Playbook is better overall. Touchpad is nice also but Flash is inconsistent on it and some pages do not load properly. The iOS Safari browser is fast but not a great browser.

[lawguyman]

I simply related what actually happened. I do find the "native" email capability my Bold enables to be very useful. The only thing the reviewers had right was the auto-correct. They were hilariously out to lunch when it came to the UI and the power of the OS. But what else can you expect from those comparing a nascent jet powered craft with a prop plane at the height of its development? The reviewers were over matched.

The OP was quite correct with his impressions and I also have to say that "dead space" is friggin' crazy. The music constantly makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. On most games, I'll turn off the sound track pretty quick but, man alive!, the music on that game is intense. I did a little research and the composer is performing it live with symphony orchestras. That would be cool to hear straight from the instruments with no "middle man" (digital rendering which, while good, still isn't the real thing).

You must have been using a different OS build than everyone else had. Maybe you had a leak from the future, maybe an a wormhole opened up in the space time continuom and you got pushed the 2.0 OS. I had the release OS build, the same as the reviewers. That build stunk on ice. Even the browser was bad. You forget that it didn't even have the power off menu on screen so reviewers were right to complain about the power button.

Make no mistak, if you read the reviews, the reviewers were actually polite. I am just reportting what actually happened, not some spin of the way I would now like it to have been.

You are completely right that Dead Space is cool and is a good example of what Playbook can do if only Rim would let it.

[lawguyman]

And tons of fart apps. Useful iPad stuff like fart apps.

Playbook now has around 20 Body Mass Indicator apps. There are probably only about 20 useful apps on any ecosystem. Right now, Playbook has around two or three. So, we still have a long way to go over four months after launch.

[BigCTM]

I forgot to mention the speakers. By far the best I have ever heard on a tablet...Forget the Beats audio on the Touchpad! The speakers on the Playbook are superior. They honestly freaked me out when I first heard them at full blast. I could not believe that it was coming from the tablet.

[shootsscores]

You must have been using a different OS build than everyone else had. Maybe you had a leak from the future, maybe an a wormhole opened up in the space time continuom and you got pushed the 2.0 OS. I had the release OS build, the same as the reviewers. That build stunk on ice. Even the browser was bad. You forget that it didn't even have the power off menu on screen so reviewers were right to complain about the power button.

Make no mistak, if you read the reviews, the reviewers were actually polite. I am just reportting what actually happened, not some spin of the way I would now like it to have been.

You are completely right that Dead Space is cool and is a good example of what Playbook can do if only Rim would let it.

Sorry, sport, but aside from you attempts to not appear the consumate itroll, the reviewers had trouble getting past the fact that there was no obsolete home button. If you had a BB handset, you had native email. You also had full access the the full web. You also had the most advanced OS in the industry and the very best hardware.

Yep. I read the reviews and the reviewers wanted an iclone. They didn't get it so they do what reviewers usually do when something goes over their heads, they panned it. As for the insipid remark that the "off button" wasn't on the screen (how ironic is that), I had no trouble at all finding the standy in the drop down menu.

Give it up. The reviewers missed the diamond in the rough because they were looking for something else.

PB > the others

[bricenm]

Don't forget the wifi file transfer....I love this feature.

This is a great tablet and love that it is getting better.

[lawguyman]

Sorry, sport, but aside from you attempts to not appear the consumate itroll, the reviewers had trouble getting past the fact that there was no obsolete home button. If you had a BB handset, you had native email. You also had full access the the full web. You also had the most advanced OS in the industry and the very best hardware.

Yep. I read the reviews and the reviewers wanted an iclone. They didn't get it so they do what reviewers usually do when something goes over their heads, they panned it. As for the insipid remark that the "off button" wasn't on the screen (how ironic is that), I had no trouble at all finding the standy in the drop down menu.

Give it up. The reviewers missed the diamond in the rough because they were looking for something else.

PB > the others

This shows what you know because the standby button in the dropdown menu wasn't in the release software. It was added later.

The iPad was feature complete and is the gorilla in this field. If reviewers compared Playbook to iPad it was the right thing to do: they are competing products. What else would it be compared to?

You have a lot of conclusions but you don't have a lot of facts or good reasoning.

The Playbook does have a lot of potential. Yes, it is a diamond in the rough. What kind of review do you give a product that might be great in the future? Those are the kinds of reviews that Playbook got.

[john dunbar]

OP, you my friend have had your thread jacked. Enjoy your Playbook. I take mine everywhere, great device. Just wish it was a complete device like the iPad was, or was that a year later when the iPad 2 came out, is the iPad 3 out yet, so confused....