[lorax1284]

...something like bridge is zero use to anyone other than a playbook owner and there simply aren't that many of those out there for them to be very high up the list, especially since lack of a new version of bridge at launch is not going to be a deal-breaker for almost anyone interested in bb10.

First off, Bridge really isn't that sophisticated: it's basically a ultra-secure Web server on the handheld, and ultra-secure browser on the client. Remember on, I think it was the PBOS 2 beta you had to use a URL in the Web browser (127.0.0.1) to access the "Messages" app? It should be DEAD SIMPLE to get this working on BB10 out of the box.

...and bet there is more than a few people who have both the iPad and iPhone who would LOVE to interact with data on their iPhone with the iPad... I'm surprised more people don't complain about having two distinct email clients, one on each device... read a message on one device then go to the other and it's still marked unread? It's an anachronism.

Bridge is an excellent user experience, marketed TERRIBLY BADLY. It was marketed as "the data is kept secure on the handheld" rather than simply "access your handheld data on a nice big screen, no syncing etc." And the PlayBook should have been marketed to BlackBerry Handheld owners as the ultimate BB Handheld companion, and a stepping stone to what was then called BBX, not as an all-purpose tablet: a BLACKBERRY tablet companion for BLACKBERRY handhelds. Most of the criticism would have disappeared, and the performance and usability would have shone out and reviews might have said "I hope this will be available for non-BlackBerry users soon."

I'd like to see a plugin for Firefox that would allow me to access my BB handheld via my Windows Desktop. I'd probably ditch my local email client (except for accessing ancient email archives) if I could just get direct access to what's on my BB through a secure connection a la Bridge.

[Skeevecr]

It is a deal breaker for me. I love my Bold and the bridging feature it supports. I for one will wait for BB 10 to come to the Playbook before upgrading to a BB10 phone. Bridging is a major reason why my Blackberries are special to me.

My point was that in terms of the number of bb10 handsets it won't be a major factor for that many people because even if it was a deal breaker for every single playbook owner (unlikely to be the case) there are unfortunately not that many pb owners.

[Skeevecr]

Bridge is an excellent user experience, marketed TERRIBLY BADLY. It was marketed as "the data is kept secure on the handheld" rather than simply "access your handheld data on a nice big screen, no syncing etc." And the PlayBook should have been marketed to BlackBerry Handheld owners as the ultimate BB Handheld companion, and a stepping stone to what was then called BBX, not as an all-purpose tablet: a BLACKBERRY tablet companion for BLACKBERRY handhelds. Most of the criticism would have disappeared, and the performance and usability would have shone out and reviews might have said "I hope this will be available for non-BlackBerry users soon."

I agree and have said similar things before, I guess they were hoping for better results as a tablet than a companion device, but certainly with the benefit of hindsight it would have surely sold itself to at least 5% of bb owners as a well-marketed companion device and had time to develop into a fully featured tablet in time.