1. lovinbold's Avatar
    Ok, it's clear i'm not the most tech savy person around but i love all the toys and just get all my info from the smart people around the forums.

    So i have pre-ordered the playbook and have been trying to gain as much knowledge about it so i'll have some idea how to use it when i get it. All this talk about bridge and tethering, are they 2 seperate functions? Do they each do something different? you can bridge the PB via bluetooth and get email, bbm and contacts but no browser? So no internet access? And if there is internet access its slow? What's the difference and if it can all be done why is everyone complaining? I think that's awesome. If they're different then i don't get it. Which of course is likely the case. I'm a bit slow.

    So for all you wonderful helpful people out there, how about helping out and explaining as much about tethering and anything else about the PB in plain non technical language.

    Thanks!
    03-30-11 07:56 PM
  2. rjshahan's Avatar
    tether is having internet connectivity on the PlayBook via the BlackBerry, this would give you full browser, and i would imagine act like a slow wi-fi.

    Bridge is having PIM access on the BlackBerry. it effectively reads the mail, contacts etc from the BlackBerry and displays them on the playbook screen. the BlackBerry has emails pushed to it, the bridge is just PlayBook's window into the PIM on the BlackBerry. I would imagine the Bridge would work even if there is no cell reception.

    If I'm not mistaken both occur over Bluetooth.
    03-30-11 08:33 PM
  3. anon(728548)'s Avatar
    Ok, it's clear i'm not the most tech savy person around but i love all the toys and just get all my info from the smart people around the forums.

    So i have pre-ordered the playbook and have been trying to gain as much knowledge about it so i'll have some idea how to use it when i get it. All this talk about bridge and tethering, are they 2 seperate functions? Do they each do something different? you can bridge the PB via bluetooth and get email, bbm and contacts but no browser? So no internet access? And if there is internet access its slow? What's the difference and if it can all be done why is everyone complaining? I think that's awesome. If they're different then i don't get it. Which of course is likely the case. I'm a bit slow.

    So for all you wonderful helpful people out there, how about helping out and explaining as much about tethering and anything else about the PB in plain non technical language.

    Thanks!
    BlackBerry Bridge:

    Email, BlackBerry Messenger, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memos are all "displayed" from your BlackBerry phone over a Bluetooth connection to your Playbook tablet. There is a "BlackBerry Bridge" application you install on your BlackBerry phone and you set it up to connect to your PlayBook tablet.

    Internet Tethering:

    Tether your BlackBerry or any other smartphone with bluetooth-internet capability to your PlayBook for the 3G internet on that BlackBerry/Smartphone. Note, you may be charged a fee by your cellphone company. The internet connection may be slow, but not really that slow that you'll be waiting for too long. It is over Bluetooth but not a part of the Bridge application.
    03-30-11 08:41 PM
  4. lovinbold's Avatar
    if they're both via bluetooth then i sitll don't get the difference. I dont' mean to sound stupid but i'm missing something. first what is PIM and if bridge is better and both are available from a bb phone to the playbook then what's the issue?
    03-30-11 08:42 PM
  5. snuci's Avatar
    Does this help?

    Link for detailed info: BlackBerry PlayBook tablet network architecture - Feature and Technical Overview - BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR - 1.0 Beta



    It's kinda hard to tell but the top line coming out of the Playbook is WiFi. The bottom line is through Blackberry Bridge.

    Note: This documentation is included with the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR - 1.0 Beta. It indicates that BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) is not available yet but I would imagine that it will be on release.

    The Bridge is not easy to explain in plain words but hopefully the link above helps. So what it means is that you should be able to get Internet through Wi-Fi or Blackberry Bridge. You can access the internet if you have WiFi (no tethering) or if you don't have WiFi, you can access the Internet through the bridge but you would be tethering with applicable fees attached.
    Last edited by snuci; 03-30-11 at 08:49 PM.
    03-30-11 08:45 PM
  6. anon(728548)'s Avatar
    if they're both via bluetooth then i sitll don't get the difference. I dont' mean to sound stupid but i'm missing something. first what is PIM and if bridge is better and both are available from a bb phone to the playbook then what's the issue?
    Okay. The Bridge application uses Bluetooth to give [Email, BlackBerry Messenger, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Memos] information on your BlackBerry smartphone to the PlayBook. BlackBerry Bridge is EXCLUSIVLEY used with only BlackBerries. This is all this application offers.

    Then, there is internet tethering via bluetooth. This is just a general use of the bluetooth on the PlayBook to get the internet of any smartphone with the capability to send its 3G data connection out through its bluetooth.
    03-30-11 08:46 PM
  7. Kerms's Avatar
    They both go over BT but think of it like this. The bridge only talks to the phone or if you've ever used remote desktop or VNC think of the bridge like that. It allows your PB to view your BB

    Tether talks to the internet, it ties your playbook to the internet

    Bluetooth is just the way it sends data(the pipe) not the function.

    Hope that helps
    03-30-11 08:48 PM
  8. xxplosive82's Avatar
    Tether = Using your BlackBerry smartphone's data plan to access the internet on another device. This can be done via USB cable or Bluetooth.

    Bridge = Pairing your BlackBerry smartphone with the PlayBook to display the phone's data on the PlayBook. This data includes, but is not limited to 1) e-mail 2) calendar 3) contacts and 4) BBM. Nothing is synced with the PB, it's just displayed. Bridge is Bluetooth and when the pair is broken, the data disappears from the PlayBook. Bridge is not used for internet access.
    03-30-11 08:48 PM
  9. anon(728548)'s Avatar
    Tether = Using your BlackBerry smartphone's data plan to access the internet on another device. This can be done via USB cable or Bluetooth.

    Bridge = Pairing your BlackBerry smartphone with the PlayBook to display the phone's data on the PlayBook. This data includes, but is not limited to 1) e-mail 2) calendar 3) contacts and 4) BBM. Nothing is synced with the PB, it's just displayed. Bridge is Bluetooth and when the pair is broken, the data disappears from the PlayBook. Bridge is not used for internet access.

    Being that this question pertains to the PlayBook, you cannot use a USB cable.
    03-30-11 08:49 PM
  10. rjshahan's Avatar
    PIM is email, BBM, contacts, calendar, tasks, memos.

    As for why there is a difference, I believe certain carriers have additional charges to use the data plan on one device to consume content on another device. This is usually done over mobile hot spots so there is some confusion if these charges will apply over bluetooth. RIM's stance has been this will be determined by the carrier and the carriers have been moot on the point. This is why tether is so controversial.

    bridge is technically not downloading data for the consumption on the PlayBook, it is just reading data from the BlackBerry. now the act of reading data does download some data but that is a grey area. I don't believe the carriers can tell if data was downloaded for the BlackBerry or for the PlayBook via bridge, but since this would be mostly low bandwidth data (small contact files, or emails). I would assume they would over look this as you technically do have a BlackBerry data plan.
    03-30-11 08:50 PM
  11. howarmat's Avatar
    the tethering is limited to 2.1 mbps i think some people are saying 3 mbps but on VZW getting those speeds is tough as it is, ATT will be slightly higher maybe 4 mbps. Either way dont expect much, its not like 56k but if you have been using 15-20 mbps connection like most have its going to seem like 56k again
    03-30-11 08:52 PM
  12. xxplosive82's Avatar
    Being that this question pertains to the PlayBook, you cannot use a USB cable.
    Dang you're right... PB is micro-USB and the data cable is USB lol.
    03-30-11 09:06 PM
  13. anon(728548)'s Avatar
    Dang you're right... PB is micro-USB and the data cable is USB lol.
    Yeah haha, he seems pretty confused already i didn't want him to go crazy haha. There's no such thing as a male-male microUSB plug too, i've checked to see if it would be possible :P
    03-30-11 09:09 PM
  14. lovinbold's Avatar
    You guys rock! I think i get it now. thanks so much for the info. My general idea is if i'm away from a wifi network or hotspot and want to use my playbook for the internet i can using my torch as a modem. so all of this is great and Rogers says they don't charge extra for tethering if you have 1gb data plan, so my next question is what's so great about having a 3g or 4g playbook if you can access the internet and other stuff using a smartphone? A tablet on a carrier network would certainly require another plan and it doens't seem to offer much else. besides who doesn't have their phone with them at all times anyways? I do and can't imagine that just because i have a tablet i'm going to leave my phone at home. it's not that versatile.

    on a side note all this talk about email and bbm on the tablet, it's a **** of a lot easier to type on a blackberry phone then on a virtual keyboard. Might be nice to view certain things on the bigger screen but a bbm conversation will be easier on a bbm. just my opinion for what it counts. thanks again.
    03-30-11 09:21 PM
  15. anon(728548)'s Avatar
    You guys rock! I think i get it now. thanks so much for the info. My general idea is if i'm away from a wifi network or hotspot and want to use my playbook for the internet i can using my torch as a modem. so all of this is great and Rogers says they don't charge extra for tethering if you have 1gb data plan, so my next question is what's so great about having a 3g or 4g playbook if you can access the internet and other stuff using a smartphone? A tablet on a carrier network would certainly require another plan and it doens't seem to offer much else. besides who doesn't have their phone with them at all times anyways? I do and can't imagine that just because i have a tablet i'm going to leave my phone at home. it's not that versatile.

    on a side note all this talk about email and bbm on the tablet, it's a **** of a lot easier to type on a blackberry phone then on a virtual keyboard. Might be nice to view certain things on the bigger screen but a bbm conversation will be easier on a bbm. just my opinion for what it counts. thanks again.
    Well what if you didn't have a 3G smartphone to tether? Or if your smartphone was 3G and you wanted 4G? They want to be able to cover all the bases customers need.

    You may want to re-think the keyboard thing when you have 7" of screen real estate to type on. It's going to be much easier than you think.
    03-30-11 09:40 PM
  16. anon973381's Avatar
    Does this help?

    Link for detailed info: BlackBerry PlayBook tablet network architecture - Feature and Technical Overview - BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR - 1.0 Beta



    It's kinda hard to tell but the top line coming out of the Playbook is WiFi. The bottom line is through Blackberry Bridge.

    Note: This documentation is included with the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR - 1.0 Beta. It indicates that BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) is not available yet but I would imagine that it will be on release.

    The Bridge is not easy to explain in plain words but hopefully the link above helps. So what it means is that you should be able to get Internet through Wi-Fi or Blackberry Bridge. You can access the internet if you have WiFi (no tethering) or if you don't have WiFi, you can access the Internet through the bridge but you would be tethering with applicable fees attached.
    This is a good diagram and to be honest I think we need clarification from RIM on this topic sooner than later for planning aspects (think businesses here). I do hope this information still holds true to their final plans as a BES admin myself.

    A couple things to note. Today BIS and BES include actual data transfer via applications to internal (BES) and external (BIS/BES) resources. RIM has not detailed how they intend to handle traffic separation since internal access will surely be coming be it native to the PlayBook in the future or via the bridge we do not know (think SharePoint or MDS here).

    I have a concern with much of our thinking to date around the whole bridge being only for PIM data as well since we would not have online BBM/email access (for example) while tethering?!?!?! We all know what "IP Modem" access on a BlackBerry does to our BlackBerry services now don't we? Not only would a DUN "IP Modem" connection over BT and a bridge connection over BT at the same time between the same devices be most likely not possible, the bridge would be almost useless since the BlackBerry's own data connection would be cut and kill the BlackBerry Infrastructure session. The PlayBook will not impersonate a BlackBerry and start receiving push data through the IP Modem (since it would then have to send it to the BlackBerry to be stored and back through the BT pipe a third time to be consumed/streamed to the PlayBook) connection so we are likely looking at this the wrong way for a connection with a BlackBerry at least if then intend on giving us internet/bridge via a single BlackBerry at the same time. Not that RIM has specifically indicated this functionality would exist but it would make sense to be in place.

    I do believe the non-BlackBerry tethering over the DUN BT profile will be very simple as explained by RIM. However, the whole bridge aspect with active BIS/BES data while having an simultaneous internet connection via the same BlackBerry is something that I believe we truly know very little about and are simply swinging in the dark. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some type of proxy functionality through the bridge much like we would expect functionality like HTML messages over the bridge to render external images over the bridge connection.

    Time will tell. We have seen very little to date around this and it could go many directions. One thing I do know is that I have full confidence in RIM to bring a solid solution to market.

    Who knows... Maybe the PlayBook will lose bridge functionality one day when it kicks it's training wheels and becomes it's own identity, BES "activatable" PIN and all... I personally like the idea of having my data existing on a single device (smartphone only in this case) but accessible through the PlayBook just as we will be getting on the 19th.

    This is RIM, they can make a seamless experience happen when they own the technology end to end however they implement it.
    03-30-11 11:09 PM
  17. PrimalYeti's Avatar
    Hmm, only question I have then if browsing is over Tethering and PIM is over Bridge... Can both be done at the same time?

    Can I tether and bridge my PB to my Torch and BBM with someone while browsing the web?
    03-30-11 11:32 PM
  18. RicanMedic78's Avatar
    Exactly! So it sounds like the pb will only be able to connect to the internet via wifi??? This bridge connection does nothing for connecting to the net? I'm confused about that aspect. Having a tablet with that limitation seems unreal!
    Last edited by RicanMedic78; 03-31-11 at 03:12 AM.
    03-31-11 03:06 AM
  19. boggsterman's Avatar
    Just a point of common sense here, and by the way, i know NOTHING about the playbook or it's capabilities so I am most likely wrong. I think someone has mentioned it already, but what exactly would be the point of being able to access BBM on the playbook via the bridge if you don't have access to internet in some form at the same time? Who goes onto bbm just to read through old conversations?!!! Also, e-mail could be useful if there is no simultaneous internet connection, but it would be much better if you were able to type out a reply and send it instantly via the bridge (which of course would require internet connectivity)
    I think we are all getting somewhat confused here, and i guess it will only be properly clarified once people get their hands on it and test it all out, but it seems to me that some form of internet (BIS/BES through bridge) would have to be allowed for the whole bridge concept to be worth anybodies time or effort. Whether you are able to browse the internet without additional charges is a different matter.
    03-31-11 04:02 AM
  20. PrimalYeti's Avatar
    Well, the way I understood it with Bridge is that the email/calendar/bbm message lives on the phone but is essentially mirrored on to the PB. So if you reply to an email, your reply is sent to your phone, which is the send out. So really, the doesn't have a technical internet connection.

    Thats my understanding of it.
    03-31-11 04:19 AM
  21. snuci's Avatar
    A couple things to note. Today BIS and BES include actual data transfer via applications to internal (BES) and external (BIS/BES) resources. RIM has not detailed how they intend to handle traffic separation since internal access will surely be coming be it native to the PlayBook in the future or via the bridge we do not know (think SharePoint or MDS here).

    I have a concern with much of our thinking to date around the whole bridge being only for PIM data as well since we would not have online BBM/email access (for example) while tethering?!?!?! We all know what "IP Modem" access on a BlackBerry does to our BlackBerry services now don't we? Not only would a DUN "IP Modem" connection over BT and a bridge connection over BT at the same time between the same devices be most likely not possible, the bridge would be almost useless since the BlackBerry's own data connection would be cut and kill the BlackBerry Infrastructure session. The PlayBook will not impersonate a BlackBerry and start receiving push data through the IP Modem (since it would then have to send it to the BlackBerry to be stored and back through the BT pipe a third time to be consumed/streamed to the PlayBook) connection so we are likely looking at this the wrong way for a connection with a BlackBerry at least if then intend on giving us internet/bridge via a single BlackBerry at the same time. Not that RIM has specifically indicated this functionality would exist but it would make sense to be in place.

    I do believe the non-BlackBerry tethering over the DUN BT profile will be very simple as explained by RIM. However, the whole bridge aspect with active BIS/BES data while having an simultaneous internet connection via the same BlackBerry is something that I believe we truly know very little about and are simply swinging in the dark. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some type of proxy functionality through the bridge much like we would expect functionality like HTML messages over the bridge to render external images over the bridge connection.

    Time will tell. We have seen very little to date around this and it could go many directions. One thing I do know is that I have full confidence in RIM to bring a solid solution to market.

    Who knows... Maybe the PlayBook will lose bridge functionality one day when it kicks it's training wheels and becomes it's own identity, BES "activatable" PIN and all... I personally like the idea of having my data existing on a single device (smartphone only in this case) but accessible through the PlayBook just as we will be getting on the 19th.

    This is RIM, they can make a seamless experience happen when they own the technology end to end however they implement it.
    As I did originally, I think you are over complicating this in your mind.

    The WiFi Playbook is a "dumb" device in terms of Blackberry services. All of the BIS/BES magic including email, calendar, BBM, browsing the web etc happens on the phone. So in the diagram, "Blackberry Services" is all on the Blackberry phone you have now. The Wifi Playbook will do none of that.

    What the WiFi Playbook does is extend your phone (or piggyback on it) through a Bluetooth connection to your phone. Various Bluetooth profiles will simultaneously send data to your Playbook including DUN for tethering. The Blackberry Bridge app you install on your phone is the server to your Playbook which is the client. The specially created calendar/email/BBM clients on your Playbook don't do any BIS/BES/Internet communication other than synching bi-directionally with your Blackberry phone over bluetooth through the bridge app. Once the bridge is broken, all data is wiped.

    I'm amazed that everyone is saying that "there's no email, calendar, BBM, etc because they don't have those written yet" but the hard part is actually writing the bridge clients for the Playbook to be able to do what it does (synching instead of having actual data). These must have been written from the ground up. They clearly didn't port their existing apps to get this to work because they couldn't. They had to strip out all of the BIS/BES stuff because the WiFi Playbook doesn't do that. Now they need to design an IMAP/POP client that is engaging and will satisfy everyone that does NOT use BIS/BEs services as the transport. Similarly, they need to have a calendar client that can read other Internet calendar protocols now. More on this below.

    There's no hope stand-alone BBM will come to the WiFi Playbook without an engineering change to how it works. I t needs BIS/BES and I don't think the WiFi Playbook will have it's own PIN because it piggybacks onto your phone so running stand-alone BBM will be impossible. Do you really want a different account from your phone to your Playbook anyway? There is a BBM API now so maybe this will change.

    Where things change is the 3G/4G Playbook. I think it will be its own device with optional Blackboard Bridge capabilities if the user wants to use it but it should also be able to run BIS/BES or Blackberry Services on its own with its own pin and identity. This, I imagine, is why the WiFi Playbook came out earlier. It was easier to get out there first. That said, some of the apps they have to build for use with the WiFi version and the 3G/4G version like calendar/email/BBM, etc will be coming soon. If they build one major email client (for example), they will have to make it work for Blackberry Bridge, IMAP/POP3 and BIS/BES. Do you now see why these apps aren't coming out at the WiFi launch?.

    Anyway, I like the Blackberry bridge because I don't want a second data contract nor do I want yet another device that I have to duplicate my email/calendar, etc on. I have a 3G iPad and I cancelled my data services on it about three months after getting it. I think this is an excellent option for those who have BIS/BES email or use Gmail/Hotmail and don't mind tethering if they really need to.
    Last edited by snuci; 03-31-11 at 07:54 AM.
    03-31-11 07:52 AM
  22. anon973381's Avatar
    Just a point of common sense here, and by the way, i know NOTHING about the playbook or it's capabilities so I am most likely wrong. I think someone has mentioned it already, but what exactly would be the point of being able to access BBM on the playbook via the bridge if you don't have access to internet in some form at the same time? Who goes onto bbm just to read through old conversations?!!! Also, e-mail could be useful if there is no simultaneous internet connection, but it would be much better if you were able to type out a reply and send it instantly via the bridge (which of course would require internet connectivity)
    I think we are all getting somewhat confused here, and i guess it will only be properly clarified once people get their hands on it and test it all out, but it seems to me that some form of internet (BIS/BES through bridge) would have to be allowed for the whole bridge concept to be worth anybodies time or effort. Whether you are able to browse the internet without additional charges is a different matter.
    Agreed, just as I was saying in my post above. I am also sure that RIM will ensure functionality like HTML email will operate as expected without a wifi connection. External images are not part of the message itself but grabbed from external sources in this case. Might they go through the bridge over the BIS/BES connections? How about links to internal resources where BES is needed? We are under the impression that the PlayBook (in it's current form today) creates no connection to NOC so access to BES/internal resources may well go through the bridge. Think VNC tools, etc. to internal resources. Time will tell, but I am not going to get all whipped up over the very light information given thus far as I believe much has been left out. Most users here seem to be taking a consumer approach to this. The initial diagram posted from the early Adobe AIR/Playbook beta SDK actually lines up with a more functional approach to bridging/tethering.

    Oh, and on a side note, Best Buy just "pre-authed" (or maybe even charged this time around) my account for the second time. They put a pre-auth on it the day I ordered that cleared as expected however this morning to my surprise the charge just showever up again. I believe this may be the real deal folks. If BBY is shipping the pre-orders or RIM is drop-shipping them directly I am not sure but this could be the final charge before giving RIM the pre-orders if RIM is shipping the units directly for pre-orders.

    03/30/11 BEST BUY RICHFIELD MN $768.60
    03-31-11 08:10 AM
  23. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Yeah this is clear as mud...

    I understand the tethering, it will be just like tethering your laptop now to your BB (if you have a tethering option with your carrier).

    The whole Bridge connection... from what I've seen from RIM and Kevin, it almost sounds like your opening a remote desktop connection on your PlayBook to your Blackberry. The Data and Programs all run on the Blackberry and are displayed on your PlayBook. So no separate data plan is required. But it sounds like the Bridge function will limit you to the applications that are installed on your BlackBerry, and will move at the speed of your current BlackBerry.
    03-31-11 08:13 AM
  24. RicanMedic78's Avatar
    F there's no internet option, then this thing is EXTREMELY limited in purpose and functionality. Why on earth would anyone want such a pricy and limited tablet??? And why on earth would RIM spend so much time on something that does next to nothing! Look! Here's a magnifying glass! There... U have a playbook! Lol

    This has got to be wrong... Plz tell me its wrong!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-31-11 08:21 AM
  25. snuci's Avatar
    F there's no internet option, then this thing is EXTREMELY limited in purpose and functionality. Why on earth would anyone want such a pricy and limited tablet??? And why on earth would RIM spend so much time on something that does next to nothing! Look! Here's a magnifying glass! There... U have a playbook! Lol

    This has got to be wrong... Plz tell me its wrong!
    It's wrong.

    You have two options to get to the Internet.
    1. WiFi
    2. If no WiFi, tether to your Blackberry through the Bridge. It is limited to your data speed or the speed of Bluetooth minus any other data transfer happening between the Playbook and phone.
    03-31-11 08:34 AM
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