[lorax1284]

Turns out he hated it.

[mjs416]

He was a bit disappointed that he must use a computer connected to USB to manage the files on the device (no file manager) but for the duration of his trip, he thinks that the 64 gig on his new PB will be enough entertainment.

I also speak for the tree's

Anyhow - I understand its not native but for $0.99 you can get an awesome file manager app that does a fantastic job of file manipulation. For the time being - it works great.

[jfs101]

There are many file manager apps for the Playbook, look in app world. I use a free one that works great. Can't remember the name but I think that it's the only one for free.

[bbqkid8]

There are many file manager apps for the Playbook, look in app world. I use a free one that works great. Can't remember the name but I think that it's the only one for free.

Perhaps it's Air Browser? That's the one I use.

[anon(2692400)]

There are many file manager apps for the Playbook, look in app world. I use a free one that works great. Can't remember the name but I think that it's the only one for free.

The free one is AIR Browser and works good

[southlander]

Yep. Air Browser. And it gets updated a lot.

[nomi1978]

My friends experience not so great. Played with my PlayBook and loved it, so he jumped on getting one for himself and the kids.

So he sets it up last night and gets it going. Gets some free apps for his kids and they play with it. He puts it down to charge and now the device wont power on. Stuck on the PlayBook screen.

Did some searches and found the problem was common and did the reset and still no change. His comments "wouldn't have happened with the PlayBook"

This is where Apple does shine customer service. He called Telus they said to deal with the Webstore who in turn said to deal with BB Support and they said its one day old to exchange it. So we shall see what happens.

[bb-bandit]

My friends experience not so great. Played with my PlayBook and loved it, so he jumped on getting one for himself and the kids.

So he sets it up last night and gets it going. Gets some free apps for his kids and they play with it. He puts it down to charge and now the device wont power on. Stuck on the PlayBook screen.

Did some searches and found the problem was common and did the reset and still no change. His comments "wouldn't have happened with the PlayBook"This is where Apple does shine customer service. He called Telus they said to deal with the Webstore who in turn said to deal with BB Support and they said its one day old to exchange it. So we shall see what happens.

I think you meant "wouldn't have happened with the ipad".

[TerribleTim68]

Yep. Air Browser. And it gets updated a lot.

Air Browser rocks! Solved my problem completely. For a free app, it does what I needed it to do when I'm away from my computer. 2.0 should bring a native method, but really, Air Browser works perfectly right now.

[lorax1284]

Thanks to those that recommended Air Browser (your posts have been thanked :-) ).

It. Is. SUPERB. I'll see if there's a donation-ware link, because it has raised the bar of what I expect from my tablets. I have Android and iPad and the file browsers on the Android are SO spotty and their UIs SO horrid compared to Air Browser (and of course, you can't access the iPad file system unless you commit what used to be a felony crime) so the lead that the PlayBook had in front of Android and iOS devices is now a win by a landslide.

It makes my already happy experience with the PlayBook 1.0 even BETTER. It has done more for me than I expect the non-Android App Player aspects of PlayBook 2.0 OS will do. That is, I don't pine for native email / calendar / bbm, cuz of Bridge, but having a full-featured file browser (where I can open files in the appropriate apps and delete files like screenshots I'd taken accidentally) is just much more in line with how I'm used to working with data (being old and all... I'm 45 and a half).

Is "a file browser" on the list of "must have apps for the PlayBook", and I certainly hope that RIM is building one into the QNX 2.0 OS.

[shootsscores]

My friends experience not so great. Played with my PlayBook and loved it, so he jumped on getting one for himself and the kids.

So he sets it up last night and gets it going. Gets some free apps for his kids and they play with it. He puts it down to charge and now the device wont power on. Stuck on the PlayBook screen.

Did some searches and found the problem was common and did the reset and still no change. His comments "wouldn't have happened with the PlayBook"

This is where Apple does shine customer service. He called Telus they said to deal with the Webstore who in turn said to deal with BB Support and they said its one day old to exchange it. So we shall see what happens.

Sounds like a simple restart (hold the power button down for 10ish seconds, wait a few seconds, and then press power button until restart begins) would have fixed it.

The OS is quite robust. Processes run self contained. A simple restart should put everything back in its place.

[CrackedBarry]

It sorta speaks volumes about the sad state of the Playbook and Playbook sales, that every time somebody sees or hears about somebody getting one, it's important enough to celebrate and post one of these semi-evangelical, true-life Playbook threads.

For some reason you don't see that on forums that deal with tablets that actually sell well: Acer Iconia or Asus Transformer (Or obviously; iPad) forums.

[saalnaz]

It sorta speaks volumes about the sad state of the Playbook and Playbook sales, that every time somebody sees or hears about somebody getting one, it's important enough to celebrate and post one of these semi-evangelical, true-life Playbook threads.

For some reason you don't see that on forums that deal with tablets that actually sell well: Acer Iconia or Asus Transformer (Or obviously; iPad) forums.

is the talk about new PB users making you jealous?

[TheScionicMan]

If on the same wifi network, you can also manage files wirelessly from a PC.

Go to: \\your PB IP Address\media

You can find your IP Address under Settings->About->Network

But from the device, AIR Browser rules.

[chrissyangel13]

This is where Apple does shine customer service. He called Telus they said to deal with the Webstore who in turn said to deal with BB Support and they said its one day old to exchange it. So we shall see what happens.

I work for a telco in retail and people either love or hate the apple customer service. If you go straight to an apple service centre yes you usually get it swapped on the spot but if you go to your telco they cant swap it for you in the 'store warrenty period' we have to send it to apple cos of apple's policy. So it can be good and bad.

Also every single device cant be 100% functional there are going to be faulty ones here and there. Its just unfortunate that your friend got one

[CrackedBarry]

is the talk about new PB users making you jealous?

As the sole owner of a competing tablet-producer: Yes, very! It's also an interesting reaction, that every time a Playbook owner gets a polite comment on his Playbook, he seems to think: "OMG! OMG! A comment from an IPAD OWNER of all people! Can't wait to get home, and get on Crackberry, to make a thread about it!"

I've had a Playbook, a Touchpad and now an Android tablet, and people asking "Is that an iPad?" got old pretty fast. Thank god that people are getting used to them now, so it happens less often...

[sleepngbear]

As the sole owner of a competing tablet-producer: Yes, very! It's also an interesting reaction, that every time a Playbook owner gets a polite comment on his Playbook, he seems to think: "OMG! OMG! A comment from an IPAD OWNER of all people! Can't wait to get home, and get on Crackberry, to make a thread about it!"

I've had a Playbook, a Touchpad and now an Android tablet, and people asking "Is that an iPad?" got old pretty fast. Thank god that people are getting used to them now, so it happens less often...

Considering the generally bad press around the PB and the incessant whining here about everything it isn't and doesn't have, I'd yes it is definitely noteworthy when it gets a favorable review, especially from non-BB users.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dkingsf]

A friend of mine is an IT consultant and owned BlackBerrys for years. He got very frustrated trying to get his BlackBerry to work with his small-business email server and made the switch to iPhone 4 when it was released. He loves his iPhone.

He has an iPad and netbook etc., and even though one might think those devices would be adequate for use when traveling (we'll get to that in a minute), he has seen my PlayBook and does respect the tech... he's aware of the "shortcomings" of the device when not paired with a BlackBerry device, but he's also aware of the imminent (late October) release of the 2.0 software.

When he got wind of some of the lower prices being offered on PlayBooks, and since he's about to head on an overseas trip for 3 weeks, he is jumping on the PlayBook.

Why? Well, mostly because I've let him use mine and he's had good experiences with it, surfing the web, the fluidity of the interface, etc. He likes the 7" form factor also, and knows the PlayBook is great for multimedia.

He was a bit disappointed that he must use a computer connected to USB to manage the files on the device (no file manager) but for the duration of his trip, he thinks that the 64 gig on his new PB will be enough entertainment.

So, that's another PlayBook sale... now, if only there was something like Bridge for the iPhone, I think he'd be able to rock his PlayBook for day-to-day use.

I expect I'll get emails while he's away asking questions etc., but I guess I'll sum this up as:

BlackBerry PlayBook: to know it is to love it.

Only 800,000 more stories like this and RIM will be out of stock and can move on. Windows 8 tablets will be taking them out of the game before this will get anywhere near "enterprise" usability.

[offthahorseceo]

My friends experience not so great. Played with my PlayBook and loved it, so he jumped on getting one for himself and the kids.

So he sets it up last night and gets it going. Gets some free apps for his kids and they play with it. He puts it down to charge and now the device wont power on. Stuck on the PlayBook screen.

Did some searches and found the problem was common and did the reset and still no change. His comments "wouldn't have happened with the [assumed correction]iPad"

This is where Apple does shine customer service. He called Telus they said to deal with the Webstore who in turn said to deal with BB Support and they said its one day old to exchange it. So we shall see what happens.

So an iPad has never stopped working randomly. ever. ok.

[jfs101]

Perhaps it's Air Browser? That's the one I use.

Yup, it's Air Browser... Didn't have my PB with me and forgot that I could check from app world on my BB what I have installed on the PB.

[joshua_sx1]

I'm not sure if I'm the only one experiencing this one, but the Air Browser is not showing all files saved in PlayBook... I have 40 movies saved in my PlayBook and all of them are saved in one folder named "movies"... and the native movie browser is showing them all... but the Air Browser is showing only 20 of them... I reinstalled the application, but still the same...

Anyone having the same experience?...

[murnende]

While it's not free, I've found that I prefer 'File Browser' for managing files on my PlayBook. In my opinion, it's more robust, though perhaps a little less intuitive.

[nomi1978]

I never said it wouldn't happen on an apple product. I was telling you about his words.

PS I got his PlayBook working today. Tried a reboot, did the volume up and down and power button and nothing. Hooked it up to Desktop Manager and it came up right away.

[chiefbroski]

Yeah, I find that if for some reason the Playbook stops working, when you plug it into Desktop Manager, it knows the problem, fixes the problem all automatically too. Happened to me once.

I'm sure its not super common, but once the OS is reloaded, its back in business.

[saalnaz]

Only 800,000 more stories like this and RIM will be out of stock and can move on. Windows 8 tablets will be taking them out of the game before this will get anywhere near "enterprise" usability.

when i see that windows 8 UI, i feel like puking
it looks so out of 70s and 80s...really bad taste IMO...

maybe im not so crazy about having office on my tablet like i used to think previously...as it is, the tablet can do most things i want related to work...just a bit tweaking here and there is more important than a full blown office apps...