[Rajman79]

So I took out my Playbook with me for dinner with friends this past weekend. Now, this was a pretty big statement because no one, and I repeat no one takes out their tablets to go for dinner and drinks.

But the Playbook is so snug at 7", and its super light, and I can easily carry it in hand or jacket pocket with the BB9900, I decided I wanted to take it out.

So at dinner, the PB automatically becomes the topic of conversation, the Bridge Remote = Instant Hit. The fact is that most of my friends love their iPad, but the fact is my PB is more of a laptop than the iPad (I own an iPad 2 but it really is a living room device).

Pity the error on Kobo, I didn't show that app, played NFS and Modern Combat, and generally showed off Docs-to-Go. The main hit however was the browser, and the HDMI compatibility. What really got ppl turned on was the form factor. Now the lack of Kindle is really sucks, but hey, the PB made me the star (for a little while).

Until we went to the bar, and things would only get better. As an avid football fan (I believe Americans call it "soccer"), I was seeing the highlights of Italian Serie A matches on my PB. I get a whole bunch of people standing over my shoulder, next thing you know, my PB goes from hand to hand, and I had a lot of curious people chat me up, just to play with the PB.

It really is a head turning device, it gets a lot of bad press, but when people hold it, they are amazed with what it is, how it works, and how seamless the whole experience is; I know it because I felt it when I held it too.... I don't know if any one I showed it to will actually buy the product, but at least they know that BB is serious, and its products are nifty and really very cool. Now I hope soon enough we get more useful apps on the PB, I hope with the unification of the BB Platform, Kindle will become readily available on the QNX/OS2/BB10 platform. The fact is, here in Thailand, RIM still thinks they can keep the price of the PB the same as iPad2 Wifi. The pricing strategy is really dumb, I ordered mine from the States at USD 299.

I have mostly replaced my PB for the laptop when I visit clients, most of the notes/doc/spreadsheets I need to show/share I can handle from the PB, including any prepared slideshows; so that way its pretty set. I like how I can read or play games at coffee shops, but nothing can beat being the star at the bar. For being kind enough to let them hold my PB and fiddle with NFS and Modern Combat, I got 3 pints of beer and a shot.

On top of that, I heard this from an avid gamer: "this thing is easier to play than with the iPad... I'm gonna get me one for RPG and handheld games."

Just thought I'd share this story with Crackberry heads. Too many complaints here on the PB board, remember, you get what you pay for, if you want the iPad experience buy the iPad! I own one, I love it; but no one has ever bought me drinks for owning that device. I like my apple products, I have a macbook, iPad2, and an iPod touch. I also have a BB9900 and Playbook (only beause it was on sale). I hardly use the iPad 2 and iPod touch now, I listen to music from PB because I can carry it around, see no point for carry iPod touch with my BB.

I prefer BB phones to another type because of the amount I e-mail, and now, I e-mail using the phone's keyboard at the PB keyboard. Well, I could go on and on complimenting and critiquing the PB (lack of Kindle... grrrrrrr). But I just wanted to share the story of dinner and drinks.

[tumblingdice03]

Search the forums I believe you'll find you can sideload the kindle app. Great story thanks for sharing.

[Hawkeberry]

The fact is, here in Thailand, RIM still thinks they can keep the price of the PB the same as iPad2 Wifi. The pricing strategy is really dumb, I ordered mine from the States at USD 299.

How much do they (ipad2 and playbook) cost in Thailand?

[Rajman79]

at release, the Playbook was priced with Apple's iPad.

In the case of the 32GB WIFI model, they were both 18,900 Baht or US$630

As of today (literally at noon here Blackberry Thailand just reduced their Playbook prices across the board), the PB 32GB is 13,900 Baht or US$465

I think if they reduced it by 30 more dollars, they'd get good sales, but a price differentiation between the two should have existed from day 1!

[Hawkeberry]

465$ is expensive.. Bit expensive here but then all electronic items are expensive in India..

32GB Playbook started at $650 (compared to 32GB iPad's $682).. Now it is a much more reasonable $355 (when I bought one)

[Zorua]

Similar to the OP, my experience with the Playbook has been that people give it a lot of bad press but that it turns heads when people see what it can do. When I can go around my friend's house and play Sky Sports on his plasma TV via the HDMI port, or even move videos from the PC to the TV, it tends to get people interested.

The fact that it has brilliant HDMI support makes me wonder even more why Netflix and Lovefilm aren't being tapped up by RIM, as the Playbook would be a perfect device for those companies to use as a vassel for people who do not own set top boxes. It's cheap, it's compact and it's capable of streaming high-resolution video for several hours on the battery.

The size is ideal for use on the crowded London Underground network. It fits in a jacket pocket and doesn't weigh you down. By contrast, when I used to take my iPad out, I had to carry it in a laptop bag, which often left me wondering why I didn't just carry a laptop.

Most of my friends are still holding out on buying one for a single reason: App World just doesn't have what they want. They want Dropbox, not Bluebox. They want Kindle, not Kobo. They want Skype and Netflix. If RIM would get into communications and make these companies see the potential in the device, it would be the best tablet on the market.

[DaveTheA]

The size is ideal for use on the crowded London Underground network. It fits in a jacket pocket and doesn't weigh you down. By contrast, when I used to take my iPad out, I had to carry it in a laptop bag, which often left me wondering why I didn't just carry a laptop.

Most of my friends are still holding out on buying one for a single reason: App World just doesn't have what they want. They want Dropbox, not Bluebox. They want Kindle, not Kobo. They want Skype and Netflix. If RIM would get into communications and make these companies see the potential in the device, it would be the best tablet on the market.

Exactly right, and very well expressed...

[alnamvet68]

Excellent thread/post. Thanx Rajman.