[mcjohn]

Is the PlayBook worth the wait?

Interesting article in the Globe and Mail about the PlayBook.

Couple things I found interesting:
- "It can also pair with any smartphone able to act as a mobile hotspot; this point has not been heavily advertised." <- I thought it could only pair with a BlackBerry

- "A software upgrade some time after the launch will add native email, calendar and address book apps for users who do not also own a BlackBerry." <- I hope this software release isn't too long after launch

-

[howarmat]

Couple things I found interesting:
- "It can also pair with any smartphone able to act as a mobile hotspot; this point has not been heavily advertised." <- I thought it could only pair with a BlackBerry
-

this means any phone that can create wifi hotspot can be used to give the PB netwrok access. No surprise there since you are basically connecting to a wifi connection

- "A software upgrade some time after the launch will add native email, calendar and address book apps for users who do not also own a BlackBerry." <- I hope this software release isn't too long after launch

we were told long ago that we would see the native PIM clients "as the software evolves" so there is still no new info on how long they mean for that

[Sirhill]

Suppose to be in the gold code for the PIM clients. At least that's what we "the place I work" was told by a RIM Exec. Don't know if she will be right but she did have it on hers when she should it off to us two nights ago.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[fearthetiger9]

Considering that it runs an industrial calibur OS who's calling card is management of resources, compared to consumer friendly OSs like android and iOS, I have to believe it will be worth the wait. From what we have seen, it appears to be the most powerful and most functional tablet (soon to be) available. The multitasking looks better, the web browsing experience looks like exactly what mobile users have been craving, and the size is a major selling point over the xoom and ipads.
Also, I don't get the impression that PB will be lacking on some basic features that could be easy to install, for the purpose of installing those features on a new model less than a year later ala apple.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[drjay868]

As excited as I am about the PB and as much as I want one, no one will know if it was worth the wait until its released and we can get our hands on one... or someone like CB, BGR, Engadget, etc can do a full review of a unit. From what I've heard, which is all the same stuff you've heard, I think it will be worth the wait. But we'll just have to wait and see.

[barrist]

Suppose to be in the gold code for the PIM clients. At least that's what we "the place I work" was told by a RIM Exec. Don't know if she will be right but she did have it on hers when she should it off to us two nights ago.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

very interesting!

[barrist]

for me it's worth it.. i've been playing around with a nook color the past few days and it's the perfect form factor for me.

[1812dave]

If I don't get a PB, I'm afraid I may have to go "tablet-less" for a while, as I'm not all that excited about the other units currently available. So...it better "be worth it".

The pluses for me are:

1. QNX + TAT = nice UI
2. 7" size - that's what I want
3. apparent speed in demos looks great
4. hardware specs look good

Concerns:

1. availability of apps (both immediately and over the next few months) that I want
2. overall stability - I don't want another Storm experience (I've had so many issues with my S2 rebooting itself recently, even after an OS refresh, I'm losing patience with RIM's OS) QNX had better be an order of magnitude better than BB OS.
3. battery life

[DAMION99]

I honestly think it will be worth the wait because Rim actually are taking their time to make sure this is a good product before releasing it and think about this even with two ipads coming out, the Playbook still look like its going to be a beast of a machine...also alot of financial firms are going to be integrating tablets to their systems and honestly....who do you trust with your companies' confidential information...Apple or Blackberry? I know if i have choice im picking Blackberry....

[drethos]

I honestly think it will be worth the wait because Rim actually are taking their time to make sure this is a good product before releasing it and think about this even with two ipads coming out, the Playbook still look like its going to be a beast of a machine...also alot of financial firms are going to be integrating tablets to their systems and honestly....who do you trust with your companies' confidential information...Apple or Blackberry? I know if i have choice im picking Blackberry....

But But the javascript exploit, ITS UNSAFE RAWRRRR, RANT, BURN, PILLAGE.
hehe apple based exploit at that. But that shouldn't be an issue on a QNX os. All we can hope for is the resent silence, they will unveil a really good product one that will atleast make apple fear of loosing the market more.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

If the 7" is the right size for you then yes the PlayBook is worth the wait. It's one of if not the fastest tab that's coming out in the next 6 months. QNX really flies on the PB. Next is the Platform maturing & growing at a rate RIM consumers have never been accustomed to. The potential of QNX is huge and will prove itself to be one of the top firmwares on the market for the forseeable future.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[rbenjami]

If the 7" is the right size for you then yes the PlayBook is worth the wait. It's one of if not the fastest tab that's coming out in the next 6 months. QNX really flies on the PB. Next is the Platform maturing & growing at a rate RIM consumers have never been accustomed to. The potential of QNX is huge and will prove itself to be one of the top firmwares on the market for the forseeable future.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

What! Crcuial_Xtreme says the PB is not coming out for another six months? (j/k)

[drethos]

If the 7" is the right size for you then yes the PlayBook is worth the wait. It's one of if not the fastest tab that's coming out in the next 6 months. QNX really flies on the PB. Next is the Platform maturing & growing at a rate RIM consumers have never been accustomed to. The potential of QNX is huge and will prove itself to be one of the top firmwares on the market for the forseeable future.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

You know i really hate you CX your making it harder and harder..... to wait. I may have to freeze my self and get thawed out in time for the release. But i gotta make sure to not make the same mistake as last time. But seriously it better give us what were being led to expect. If it doesn't so help me! I think ill go mad.

[_StephenBB81]

For me the Tablet is worth the wait,
1: I don't REALLY need a tablet, It would be fun, but I don't NEED it.
2: 8" is too big, I have a media tablet that is 8" and it is just too big to be portable, the Galaxy Tab was a pretty good size IMO, so the Playbook should be gold, I kind of wish it was a hair smaller, but I'm in the minority here.

The specs on it look like it will be great, I know I'm going to enjoy owning a new toy for at least 6 months, hopefully it gives me the long run of enjoyment like my Torch has been doing, I still have yet to be bored with it

[missing_K-W]

If the 7" is the right size for you then yes the PlayBook is worth the wait. It's one of if not the fastest tab that's coming out in the next 6 months. QNX really flies on the PB. Next is the Platform maturing & growing at a rate RIM consumers have never been accustomed to. The potential of QNX is huge and will prove itself to be one of the top firmwares on the market for the forseeable future.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

For such a knowledgable and insightful guy, you appear to be very modest and humbe. A very endearing quality indeed.

Do you happen to have any insight as to when official/advanced sdk's and api's will be released. I only ask because I see a greay area(which I feel some shock and aww tech is being held secret up till now) and a huge potential as such companies as eUnity and SAP have been making very complex and advanced applications going back 5+ months now....as well it appears EA has had acsess to native sdk and api's for sometime now...the apps's these companies have been making appear to be on par to nothing in the market place....very excited and feel we are on the verge of entering a world of mobile computing unimaginable to this point.as well, I have a hunch QT will be officialy supported shortly, as their is an abundance of developers in that community that will bring some interesting prospects!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sleepngbear]

If I don't get a PB, I'm afraid I may have to go "tablet-less" for a while, as I'm not all that excited about the other units currently available. So...it better "be worth it".

The pluses for me are:

1. QNX + TAT = nice UI
2. 7" size - that's what I want
3. apparent speed in demos looks great
4. hardware specs look good

Concerns:

1. availability of apps (both immediately and over the next few months) that I want
2. overall stability - I don't want another Storm experience (I've had so many issues with my S2 rebooting itself recently, even after an OS refresh, I'm losing patience with RIM's OS) QNX had better be an order of magnitude better than BB OS.
3. battery life

Your pluses are exactly what's gonna make this thing worth it for me as well.

As for your concerns:
1 - I'm not worried about the availability of apps. First off, I'm not a huge app guy -- I'll take a gander at what's available and looks interesting, and of course I'll be keeping my eye open for a good game or two, but I'm not buying it for the apps. And even if I were, I think we're going to see a much healthier and more prolific developer community for the PB than with anything BB users have seen. We might not see hundreds of thousands on release day, but the potential is definitely there for a huge selection and variety for all kinds of tastes and needs.

2 - I think it's safe to say that RIM does not want a repeat of the Storm, and I'm sure that their insistence on putting out a solid product first time out is at the heart of what's taking them so long to get it out.

3 - See #2. Battery life is all part of the experience that RIM is striving to perfect, and again, they're going to make sure they get it right the first time.

What I think is most important, though, is that RIM finally 'gets it' as far as the whole concept of an 'ecosystem'. One major feature that they've baked into their implementation of QNX in mobile devices is the ease of development for the platform. Here's an excerpt from the article linked below that pretty much sums it up:

With the PlayBook, RIM has lowered the barriers to developer entry by offering many more coding tools, dropping (first temporarily, now permanently) the entrance fee it charged and the requirement of a notarized identity, and incorporating a unified system to deliver payments collected via advertising, credit card and carrier billing.

The development environment RIM has built for QNX is similar enough to Android that coders can easily rewrite their applications for the PlayBook.

This is a huge departure from the way RIM has traditionally approached application development for its mobile devices. It strongly suggests to me that they finally understand how important this support mechanism is to any hope of keeping their devices -- all devices -- widely desirable by consumers.

The rest of the article is a good read as well. Some of the quotes from Mike L are obvious tap-dancing around the fact RIM got caught with their collective pants down, but I think there's some pretty good insight into how their business has evolved and is continuing to do so. But it isn't all peaches and cream, as it also pretty thoroughly covers missteps as well as the risks and challenges they're facing in the coming months and years. I love the very last quote in the article: "Just because the rest of the world wants to go one way doesn't mean it's the right way and we will continue to chart our own course."

Hear, hear, Mike.

A PlayBook for fighting Apple and Google

[BlackStormRising]

For me the Tablet is worth the wait,
1: I don't REALLY need a tablet, It would be fun, but I don't NEED it.
2: 8" is too big, I have a media tablet that is 8" and it is just too big to be portable, the Galaxy Tab was a pretty good size IMO, so the Playbook should be gold, I kind of wish it was a hair smaller, but I'm in the minority here.

The specs on it look like it will be great, I know I'm going to enjoy owning a new toy for at least 6 months, hopefully it gives me the long run of enjoyment like my Torch has been doing, I still have yet to be bored with it

+1 I want, don't need.
+2 Torch is getting better with age, and I'm not sure why.

IMO Apple was too quick to kill their cash cow (iPad1). This device could have continued to dominate in the retail market against the new offerings. Now iPad1 is gathering dust on the store shelves and the supply of iPad2 has dried up yet demand is very strong. While I fully intend to give the i-2 a serious look, the display issues and the sub-par cameras along with the size of the device are not creating a favorable impression. I like the overall look of the new one though, but will have to take a pass on the first production run.

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

I'm getting a 7" PlayBook and not any other tablet. If it even performs to a quarter of the power it does on the videos I'll be really happy with it.

[BlackStormRising]

This stuff has probably been posted elsewhere today, but this is as good a spot as any...

BlackBerry PlayBook Release Date Gets Closer

BlackBerry PlayBook: Serious iPad 2 competitor? | ZDNet

[drethos]

You know for a few brief seconds i was getting my wallet out to get an ipad2. Then i remember it's another 4-5 weeks (its on the website) till the next batch ships. By the time i get the ipad it will already be 2-3 weeks away from being horribly outdated and the more me friendly playbook would be out. With my luck and that said the playbook would wind up being a totally amazing device and ill be out $500 i could have wasted on something that would work with me better. BTW zdnet has to many apple trolls.

[BlackStormRising]

You know for a few brief seconds i was getting my wallet out to get an ipad2. Then i remember it's another 4-5 weeks (its on the website) till the next batch ships. By the time i get the ipad it will already be 2-3 weeks away from being horribly outdated and the more me friendly playbook would be out. With my luck and that said the playbook would wind up being a totally amazing device and ill be out $500 i could have wasted on something that would work with me better. BTW zdnet has to many apple trolls.

In Canadian football parlance, I think the Playbook may have caught an Argo bounce here.

wikipedia: In Canadian football's early years, the Argonauts were the dominant team. They put together a number of Grey Cup dynasties in the 1930s and 1940s. At some time during this period, the phrase "Argo Bounce" came into being.

[drethos]

In Canadian football parlance, I think the Playbook may have caught an Argo bounce here.

wikipedia: In Canadian football's early years, the Argonauts were the dominant team. They put together a number of Grey Cup dynasties in the 1930s and 1940s. At some time during this period, the phrase "Argo Bounce" came into being.

Hmmmm even after looking it up i still don't understand it. Please help I've been reading the wiki page over and over, still not sure what your getting at . but anyways what you made bold on my post is another good reason for it to be worth it. The initial release won't be massive, but the device should hold a good amount of steam in the coming months.

[BlackStormRising]

Hmmmm even after looking it up i still don't understand it. Please help I've been reading the wiki page over and over, still not sure what your getting at . but anyways what you made bold on my post is another good reason for it to be worth it. The initial release won't be massive, but the device should hold a good amount of steam in the coming months.

Footballs are notorious for taking funny bounces, the Canadian football field is much larger than the American field and the ball hits the ground more frequently (I believe). Because the Argos were such a dominant team, people believed the ball was rigged to take a favorable bounce for them.

[drethos]

Footballs are notorious for taking funny bounces, the Canadian football field is much larger than the American field and the ball hits the ground more frequently (I believe). Because the Argos were such a dominant team, people believed the ball was rigged to take a favorable bounce for them.

Ahhh i get it ok :P. I'm not into sports but i still try to understand as much as i can. Thank you for clarifying it for me and i totally agree. Just like them baiting the stores with employee shoppers, people who work for apple (slaves, androids, clones, or alien hybrids i have many theories on it) and populate the stores to make even in a bad economy apple stores being the place to be. But with that said i will get proof eventually, as soon as someone creates a camera that can photograph them.

[BlackStormRising]

Apple opened a big store in a large mall north of where I live, and it looked very impressive so I pulled out my Torch and snapped a photo of it, and when I zoom in, I can see several of their employees looking suspiciously at me for doing that. It's the only store on the planet where I feel like I'm an intruder - sheesh, I'm just a consumer like anyone else! I tend to hide my BlackBerry for some reason when I browse in that store.