[d1ce]

I recently sold my iPad 2 in anticipation of the next generation iPad and the current playbook/fire tablets. I really enjoy the 7 inch form factor and feel it's far superior to the cumbersome size of the iPad. With that said, I've used my iPad 2 almost solely for web browsing/Youtube. I don't play games, use maps, or any other nonsense. From the research I've done, the Playbook seems to have an excellent browser and video watching capabilities. My concerns are the few posts/reviews I've read from people regarding stability and compatibility problems with the browser. What are your general opinions in regards to the browser on the Playbook and the overall use of the Playbook as essentially a portable web browser?

[pelletizer]

Awesome.I very rarely use my laptop any more.

[diegonei]

Oh, are you asking if the browser crashes?

It does. But for the most part, the PlayBook as a whole is quite reliable.

[Drashak]

There's alot of dust on my laptop, you won't have any stability issue if you clear the browser cache from time to time...

[Vorkosigan]

I just finished watching Big Bang Theory on ctv.ca...I rarely pull out my laptop anymore to browse.


The one thing to be aware of however is that if you don't have a bb to bridge to then you can only use the wifi. There is no data plan for the pb.

If there is another way to access the web i'm not aware of it but there are lots of ppl here way more knowledgeable about it than i am.

[andino]

Its almost as good as a desktop browser. Some things it struggles with like facebook which can even be buggy on a desktop. But for the most part as a whole, browsing via the pb browser is much more enjoyable than having to use mobile sites all the time.

[mandony]

>>>My concerns are the few posts/reviews I've read from people regarding stability and compatibility problems with the browser. What are your general opinions in regards to the browser on the Playbook and the overall use of the Playbook as essentially a portable web browser? >>

Good point. Yes, I do not carry a laptop on business trips because of the PB.

Apps? I need few, The web experience allows me to go directly to sites, like my bank, as if I had my PC desktop. Even Photoshop online is better then having an 'app'.

The current browser works great. Compared with the Apple products, the PB's flash experience is great for all websites.
Crash, for me never. Loading problems are ALWAYS the fault of the web server not the PB.

[rmah]

I know it doesn't exactly answer your question but there are also a couple of standout browser apps with active devs (who are also on this forum listening to feedback) that many have made their go-to browser. That's not so much a knock in the stock browser as they each offer a number of useful features and benefits and are well worth their asking price (things like adblock or the ability to select user agents). You can find their dedicated threads in the apps section of the playbook forums and look them up in appworld under SimpleBrowser (and SimpleBrowser+) and Secure Browser .

As for browser crashes I haven't had it happen to often, mostly when I try to open too many tabs too quickly.

[southlander]

The browser is the best thing about the PlayBook. If you Google it, I believe you will see it scores tops in HTML 5 rendering. I find it to be quite fast. I have ran across a site here and there that would crash the browser. But usually it is a very non conventional type of site.

Also the screen is unbelievably sharp.

[christenmartin]

Its great! I opt to the playbook rather than my laptop because of the browsing capabilities. I have had the browser crash rarely, but my laptop browser lock down the other day. sometimes I think we expect phones and tablets to perform above and beyond 100% of the time. I don't think twice about having to restart my browser on my laptop once every month or two but if my PB crashes there is a design flaw in the software.

[Hockey_Fan10]

It's good when it works. Sometimes it half way loads a page, also it crashes and PB reboots but that doesn't happen very often.

[dgjackson40]

" I don't play games, use maps, or any other nonsense."

Hmmm, nonsense..., i rather enjoy a few games and use maps occasionally! Rarely touch my laptop anymore.

[missing_K-W]

IMHO with the official 2.0 release....PB is going to leave Safari and Android browsing in the dust.....Some in the know on the CB forums already acknowledge this

PS...Typing with the PB on 2.0.0.7111 is a complete joy. Unrelated however I just had to get this out of my system

[pallav_gupta]

its the best, but dont take our word for it experience yourself at a store near you.

[fanatical]

Yup, agreed with all the browser is great. I've had mine a month now, and the browser has crashed a couple times, but it really isn't an issue. Both times it started back up with the tabs I had open, so really a non issue for me. My laptop still gets a good workout through the day(need it for work), but I rarely take it out of the bag when I'm at home.

[4one1]

Its really good. But there are a few glitches:

• your browser can close randomly
• sometimes when you are using the keyboard on a website, the keyboard will randomly
  close (i end up hitting links when that happens ... it can be frustrating)
• you can only have up to 4 youtube video tabs open ... if you open a fifth one then you
  don't get any sound from the videos :s

other than those glitches it is a very nice browser. I rarely use my laptop anymore.

of course they will fix those glitches ... i hope ...

[hunter_d]

Its a great web browsing powerhouse. It is also fun and most enjoyable switching apps using the bezel gestures.

[TheUnknownUser]

Its really good. But there are a few glitches:

• your browser can close randomly
• sometimes when you are using the keyboard on a website, the keyboard will randomly
  close (i end up hitting links when that happens ... it can be frustrating)
• you can only have up to 4 youtube video tabs open ... if you open a fifth one then you
  don't get any sound from the videos :s

other than those glitches it is a very nice browser. I rarely use my laptop anymore.

of course they will fix those glitches ... i hope ...
Click to view quoted image

i never knew about the 5 youtube links glitch i have to ask why have so many youtube videos up? lol im guessing loading them all up while you watch one and wait for the others to finish loading?

[4one1]

i never knew about the 5 youtube links glitch i have to ask why have so many youtube videos up? lol im guessing loading them all up while you watch one and wait for the others to finish loading?

no not even that. I used to go on to youtube to watch one or two videos but i always ended up staying on for like 1-2 hours watching videos that I would randomly find. So i figured that I would open up the tabs for the videos that I want to watch and then close the browser and quickly run away. But this doesn't work if I want to watch more than 5 videos on my playbook lol, i still end up wasting hours.

[canito338]

I recently sold my iPad 2 in anticipation of the next generation iPad and the current playbook/fire tablets. I really enjoy the 7 inch form factor and feel it's far superior to the cumbersome size of the iPad. With that said, I've used my iPad 2 almost solely for web browsing/Youtube. I don't play games, use maps, or any other nonsense. From the research I've done, the Playbook seems to have an excellent browser and video watching capabilities. My concerns are the few posts/reviews I've read from people regarding stability and compatibility problems with the browser. What are your general opinions in regards to the browser on the Playbook and the overall use of the Playbook as essentially a portable web browser?

if browsing and watching videos from youtube is your main goal, let me tell you playbook is the best device for that!!! the only bad thing is no skype,tango or netflix.. but you said you werent concern about stuff like that. dont even think twice on buying one for browsing and watch videos, size,video quality and rich crisp color on your videos,simply the best for that! you wont even touch your pc or laptop to browse ever again, Guarantee

[TTBGF]

if browsing and watching videos from youtube is your main goal, let me tell you playbook is the best device for that!!! the only bad thing is no skype,tango or netflix.. but you said you werent concern about stuff like that. dont even think twice on buying one for browsing and watch videos, size,video quality and rich crisp color on your videos,simply the best for that! you wont even touch your pc or laptop to browse ever again, Guarantee

I concur!!

[rambo1963]

Don't be fooled by these Fanboys. The Playbook's browser is terrible! The browser is slow and if your a fan of checker boarding on every site you go to than this is the tablet for you. Don't dare to start scrolling a page until the web page has fully loaded or else your Playbook will lock up. Some will also tell you to turn off Flash and Java Script to get a better browsing experiance. So much for a power house tablet. I know all of this because I have a Playbook, wich is collecting dust.

[canito338]

Don't be fooled by these Fanboys. The Playbook's browser is terrible! The browser is slow and if your a fan of checker boarding on every site you go to than this is the tablet for you. Don't dare to start scrolling a page until the web page has fully loaded or else your Playbook will lock up. Some will also tell you to turn off Flash and Java Script to get a better browsing experiance. So much for a power house tablet. I know all of this because I have a Playbook, wich is collecting dust.

im not a fanboy.. i owe android and ios currently and i can tell you pb browser is the best tablet browser at the time!!! i guess you are just a miserable hater... go to ios forum to talk garbage, dont try to confused the op with your hate

[Chaddface]

Don't dare to start scrolling a page until the web page has fully loaded or else your Playbook will lock up.

User since April. This has never happened to me.

[Hockey_Fan10]

Too much koolaid drinking on this site.