1. Dominic Hagan's Avatar
    Before the usual suspects come up screaming and ranting about how betrayed we are and playbook is old dead technology (guys give it a rest for a change - please, we know and we don't actually care) a friend of mine wants a tablet. he thought he was getting a kindle for xmas which didn't turn up but he had had a play with my playbook, was quite keen and keeps dropping hints about getting kitted up.

    he's older than me so early 50s not massively tech savvy so happy like me with slightly older kit that works quite well at the tasks required and in the merchant navy so plenty of cramped travelling. he always takes his laptop and has an android phone so looking around and for the price I can't find better than the playbook if I base his use on combining the three like I do and using the strengths of each.

    64gb playbook, otterbox or ballistics case and rapid charger with change from a �100 which buys a couple of paid apps - there's not many things that can beat it as the heavy cases are what makes it worthwhile for my heavy handed useage and also makes them look less nickable and more dated than they are.

    otherwise I'm steering toward the advent tegra note 7 on price and performance as it has some good reviews and maybe win 8 tabs like the dell venue pro or toshiba encore 8 as again that's what I would look at using, one for increased playability with full android and the others for productivity with proper win8.

    answers on a postcard please
    05-08-14 02:27 PM
  2. Gooseberry Falls's Avatar
    I think you have already answered your question. You know your friend. If he is content with music playing, video playing, and flash internet browsing, the PB is fine. My only concern would be that the hardware is 2-3 years old and used ones may be prone to failing (battery mainly) in a year or so. So the lifespan may be limited. If he is heavily into the android ecosystem, which could be if he has a phone, I get an android. Alot of people like the Hisense Sero Pro 7, too. Nexus 7 if you want to be sure of getting updated android. If he likes Windows, get the Win 8 Pro tablet (I wouldn't get the RT but it may suffice for your friend).
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-08-14 02:39 PM
  3. anon(1035135)'s Avatar
    Before the usual suspects come up screaming and ranting about how betrayed we are and playbook is old dead technology (guys give it a rest for a change - please, we know and we don't actually care) a friend of mine wants a tablet. he thought he was getting a kindle for xmas which didn't turn up but he had had a play with my playbook, was quite keen and keeps dropping hints about getting kitted up.

    he's older than me so early 50s not massively tech savvy so happy like me with slightly older kit that works quite well at the tasks required and in the merchant navy so plenty of cramped travelling. he always takes his laptop and has an android phone so looking around and for the price I can't find better than the playbook if I base his use on combining the three like I do and using the strengths of each.

    64gb playbook, otterbox or ballistics case and rapid charger with change from a �100 which buys a couple of paid apps - there's not many things that can beat it as the heavy cases are what makes it worthwhile for my heavy handed useage and also makes them look less nickable and more dated than they are.

    otherwise I'm steering toward the advent tegra note 7 on price and performance as it has some good reviews and maybe win 8 tabs like the dell venue pro or toshiba encore 8 as again that's what I would look at using, one for increased playability with full android and the others for productivity with proper win8.

    answers on a postcard please
    Are stores still selling the Playbook? Quite surprising if so. I wouldn't recommend it. Even with the last update I felt as if the Playbook still was not without some bugs. Now that they're no longer supporting it there likely won't be new apps. I'd go for something else. And if that still didn't satisfy him, have him ask some folks here as they might even just give theirs away.. haha
    05-08-14 02:45 PM
  4. kbz1960's Avatar
    Only if its cheap and he doesn't care about browsing or flash working when it's way out of date and not updated.. Otherwise there are a lot better tablets out there.
    05-08-14 02:49 PM
  5. Deckard79's Avatar
    A three year old tablet? No.

    Unless you really, really want a tablet with fantastic speakers and headphone audio and little else matters, that is.

    Posted via CB10
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-08-14 02:52 PM
  6. madman0141's Avatar
    I complain about what RIM did to the PlayBook not the PlayBook itself. The PlayBook is fine and it will do all the basics your friend will need. Yes it is 3 whole years old but it will do the job and it still runs better than any ipad out there.
    05-08-14 05:09 PM
  7. Jtaylor1986's Avatar
    I wouldn't personally at this point unless its super cheap. Hardware is 3 years old and the software is not getting any more updates
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-08-14 05:19 PM
  8. Beakman's Avatar
    I think you have already answered your question. You know your friend. If he is content with music playing, video playing, and flash internet browsing, the PB is fine. My only concern would be that the hardware is 2-3 years old and used ones may be prone to failing (battery mainly) in a year or so. So the lifespan may be limited. If he is heavily into the android ecosystem, which could be if he has a phone, I get an android. Alot of people like the Hisense Sero Pro 7, too. Nexus 7 if you want to be sure of getting updated android. If he likes Windows, get the Win 8 Pro tablet (I wouldn't get the RT but it may suffice for your friend).
    I can agree with hardware issues with age on the PB. I bought a spare over two years ago and took it out of the sealed box this past march - touchscreen is very unresponsive, much like some older kit that I had put away and broke out some year or so later. Not worth the gamble for an extensive traveller, which is something ik do also.
    05-08-14 05:26 PM
  9. Gooseberry Falls's Avatar
    [QUOTE=Jtaylor1986;10331645]I wouldn't personally at this point unless its super cheap. Hardware is 3 years old and the software is not getting any more updates[/QUOTE]

    This is actually true of a lot of android tabs as well. Most manufacturers, except for Google Nexus devices, might give you one OS update if you are lucky. You can root and take it upon yourself to update but only for the most popular models. As it is, OS 2.1 is acceptable as it is but of course I wouldn't turn down 10.3! Just like I'd rather run JellyBean 4.1 rather than KitKat for android. It's just for android I do run security software but I don't worry with BBRY so much. And I much prefer OS 2.1 to any version of android!
    Last edited by Gooseberry Falls; 05-08-14 at 05:48 PM.
    05-08-14 05:38 PM
  10. Gooseberry Falls's Avatar
    Only if its cheap and he doesn't care about browsing or flash working when it's way out of date and not updated.. Otherwise there are a lot better tablets out there.
    True, for extended flash support Win 8.1 Pro is the way to go. But flash is supposed to be going away isn't it? LOL.
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-08-14 05:42 PM
  11. DigitalMadness's Avatar
    True, for extended flash support Win 8.1 Pro is the way to go. But flash is supposed to be going away isn't it? LOL.
    I thought flash got buried with Steve. Or was that by Steve.
    05-08-14 08:55 PM
  12. qwerty4ever's Avatar
    Only if its cheap and he doesn't care about browsing or flash working when it's way out of date and not updated.. Otherwise there are a lot better tablets out there.
    The BlackBerry PlayBook remains a viable tablet depending upon your requirements. For instance while some course participants complained about poor audio quality when watching lecture videos on their Apple iPads and Google Android tablets I was enjoying crisp, clear audio and video on my BlackBerry PlayBook using the buit-in web browser.

    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Q5
    cdnynot likes this.
    05-08-14 09:07 PM
  13. howarmat's Avatar
    might consider a amazon tablet. The only thing the PB really has going for it now is audio/movie playbook with the great speakers and some gaming. The browsing experience is horrible IMO compared to anything else out there.
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-08-14 09:15 PM
  14. jcsf123's Avatar
    Only if it is free. Anyway there are lots of inexpensive new tablets to choose from. Why bother with 3year old buggy hardware. If it was worth anything BlackBerry would have done something with it.

    TL;DR. Free=yes, more than a few bucks=no.



    Posted via CB10
    05-08-14 09:24 PM
  15. anon(1852343)'s Avatar
    Playbook? Yes! I would get one at a good price! Awesome sound! Bridging still good! Hook up to a blackberry music gateway to play music in your stereo, use hdmi out to play a movie onto a big screen! I use mine on a nightly basis!

    Q10 with Telus on 10.2.1.2941
    05-08-14 09:28 PM
  16. pacoman03's Avatar
    I have a Kindle Fire HD, second generation, which is comparable to the playbook price wise. While there are some things that the Kindle can do that my Playbook can't, and others that the Kindle can do better than my Playbook, the converse is also true. So, I'd say, for some, if not many people, the Playbook would be a better choice, dependng on their needs/wants..
    05-08-14 09:52 PM
  17. mitchy_mitch's Avatar
    Nope.... it sucks. Unless it's under 50$

    Posted via CB10
    05-08-14 09:54 PM
  18. ahelluvabruva's Avatar
    I wouldn't wish the PlayBook on my worst enemy! It was a great tablet... until you turned it on.

    Posted via CB10
    05-08-14 10:23 PM
  19. Dominic Hagan's Avatar
    pretty much what I expected to hear, as it would mainly be a media device and pretty much a throwaway price, it still works better than most entry level android tabs even with the newer android. I've had a play with other stuff and still prefer the total package I get with the playbook. its strengths still outweigh it's weaknesses imo. and buying something known can save a lot of grief later. I must have read a couple of hundred reviews before I settled on an 'obsolete' tablet to get me used to the idea. if you always try to be cutting edge then you usually fail like friends who used to fly to the US computer shows to get the latest motherboard at 5 times the price of waiting a few months for it to reach the UK. that said I used to run win 7 on a 486 laptop until I could upgrade to another durable enough to survive a motorbike crash.

    neither of us really want laptop replacements, hate apple and are old enough to remember dialing up bulletin boards so laggy browsers don't mean all that much to a generation used to waiting, once it catches the stream though it works well enough.

    not had mine so long but I've taken to using mine continuously now as companion screens when I'm busy or suitable noise to help me sleep or emergency browser when out and about or in the kitchen. they also smarten up my obsolete TVs quite nicely. using two at the same time is quite handy as well and it saves having two laptops on which was what I usually did.

    thousands of them on ebay along with even more cheap android tabs which just goes to show how fickle people are and how a little sideloading can transform things. I put battery guru on all mine and none of them had had more than 100 charges. one only had 9 and I got it for a 1/4 of what they paid for it so for the price of one 'good' new comparable tablet I got 4, two with blackberry keyboards.

    I think I'll send him one of mine, let him have a play about and start using my spare 32gb as the 'house' tablet.
    05-08-14 11:17 PM
  20. anon(1852343)'s Avatar
    While you are out and about, how about flying one of those keyboards my way




    pretty much what I expected to hear, as it would mainly be a media device and pretty much a throwaway price, it still works better than most entry level android tabs even with the newer android. I've had a play with other stuff and still prefer the total package I get with the playbook. its strengths still outweigh it's weaknesses imo. and buying something known can save a lot of grief later. I must have read a couple of hundred reviews before I settled on an 'obsolete' tablet to get me used to the idea. if you always try to be cutting edge then you usually fail like friends who used to fly to the US computer shows to get the latest motherboard at 5 times the price of waiting a few months for it to reach the UK. that said I used to run win 7 on a 486 laptop until I could upgrade to another durable enough to survive a motorbike crash.

    neither of us really want laptop replacements, hate apple and are old enough to remember dialing up bulletin boards so laggy browsers don't mean all that much to a generation used to waiting, once it catches the stream though it works well enough.

    not had mine so long but I've taken to using mine continuously now as companion screens when I'm busy or suitable noise to help me sleep or emergency browser when out and about or in the kitchen. they also smarten up my obsolete TVs quite nicely. using two at the same time is quite handy as well and it saves having two laptops on which was what I usually did.

    thousands of them on ebay along with even more cheap android tabs which just goes to show how fickle people are and how a little sideloading can transform things. I put battery guru on all mine and none of them had had more than 100 charges. one only had 9 and I got it for a 1/4 of what they paid for it so for the price of one 'good' new comparable tablet I got 4, two with blackberry keyboards.

    I think I'll send him one of mine, let him have a play about and start using my spare 32gb as the 'house' tablet.
    05-09-14 12:53 AM
  21. JJCC30Hwd's Avatar
    YES,,,,OF COURSE!!!
    I bought 6 more PlayBooks for my Brothers and Sisters. They Love them.
    I still use mine, 32gb since New 1year ago. I got my 1st PB when was out first time. Love since. I have my BlackBerry Smartphone Torch 9860 that works great with my PB.
    I have Lenovo Yoga 8 Android that its nice too.
    Still RECOMMEND PLAYBOOK to whoever wants it. O:-)

    Posted via CrackBerry App
    05-09-14 01:22 AM
  22. joshua_sx1's Avatar
    If I hate the person, why not?

    Seriously speaking, my PlayBook is still useful for playing games... there are still a lot of premium games that still runs good in PlayBook...

    Posted via CB10
    05-09-14 04:39 AM
  23. kbz1960's Avatar
    [QUOTE=Gooseberry Falls;10331682]
    I wouldn't personally at this point unless its super cheap. Hardware is 3 years old and the software is not getting any more updates[/QUOTE]

    This is actually true of a lot of android tabs as well. Most manufacturers, except for Google Nexus devices, might give you one OS update if you are lucky. You can root and take it upon yourself to update but only for the most popular models. As it is, OS 2.1 is acceptable as it is but of course I wouldn't turn down 10.3! Just like I'd rather run JellyBean 4.1 rather than KitKat for android. It's just for android I do run security software but I don't worry with BBRY so much. And I much prefer OS 2.1 to any version of android!
    While true those tablet can be updated if you know where. There is tons of community support for older android devices. There is and never will be for the pb.
    05-09-14 06:32 AM
  24. kbz1960's Avatar
    True, for extended flash support Win 8.1 Pro is the way to go. But flash is supposed to be going away isn't it? LOL.
    LOL I have been reading that for years now. When does it happen?
    Johberry likes this.
    05-09-14 06:33 AM
  25. BoloMKXXVIII's Avatar
    Only if it is significantly cheaper than a Kindle Fire. While the Fire has its flaws it is still a supported platform. Read the forum and see how many people are having battery problems with their playbooks. The failure rate will only get worse. At some point the Playbook will have to be relegated to "alarm clock radio" status while always sitting in its charger.
    kbz1960 likes this.
    05-09-14 06:59 AM
43 12

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