[joshua_sx1]

I guess RIM should be serious now about PB2...

[Hawkeberry]

I love my PlayBook!!! I'm happy with it & YES, I did "sideload" several apps on it & have no problems with it. I want a FREE version of Angry Birds because I already paid for it once on iOS... is that too much to ask?

Not sure I agree. Nothing to do with moral-immoral question but how will the developers see it?

"Ah, that guy paid for our app already. Awesome that iOS guys have playbooks too" or "So... People sideload our apps. are we even going to make money in this platform?". Reckon it is the latter.

[VeGiTo]

iPad (10") and iPad Mini (7")

PlayBook (7") and PlayBook XL (10")

[zzbsb]

No matter what's gonna happen, in this white hot tablet competition, it will be tough for RIM to compete with Apple/Microsoft/Android.

I hope RIM can do well in the competition as I fully support Canadian companies. But they need a big change in their company. The fact that they keep losing market share proves that.

[TheUnknownUser]

RIM will still be around and making new devices and selling them. I don't see the playbook going anywhere. I'm so sick and tired of this product will end RIM and or their products I've heard it for 2 plus years now and they still exist lol that speaks for itself if Apple comes out with a 7" tablet good for them I don't see anything changing. If anything I think Android tablet makers would be more affected

[Foreverup]

Report: Apple

If this is true, please tell me what reasons do people have to buy the Playbook? At the same price range, it will be a slaughter. Apple won't say, "have patience", "wait, awesome things are coming, "wait for the big apps", "look you can remotely control the mini with your iphone". The PB needs apps and it needs it now to build a larger customer base. Without the apps, what incentive does the PB have?

What's my incentive to go out an buy an ipad mini? I don't own any other apple products and I have never signed up for itunes.

Only reason I see to purchase any said product comes down to which ecosystem you commit to.

[ralfyguy]

RIM will still be around and making new devices and selling them. I don't see the playbook going anywhere. I'm so sick and tired of this product will end RIM and or their products I've heard it for 2 plus years now and they still exist lol that speaks for itself if Apple comes out with a 7" tablet good for them I don't see anything changing. If anything I think Android tablet makers would be more affected

I second that and if just speaking for myself, I will never own anything apple out of principles and the "we still have our thumb on it" attitude.

[RicThot]

The new tablet will feature a 7.85-inch display to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, and pricing is expected to fall in the $249 to $299 range according to DigiTimes’s sources.

Hold on a second... to compete against the Kindle Fire... the B&N Nook.... seriously? Has anyone ever used one of those products? They feel cheap, they are underpowered and don't even come close to the potential that the PB offer.

The PB gives you superior hardware in a mini package, way ahead of the Fire and the Nook... just go try those devices and you'll be glad you own a PB!

So if the mini-ipad is really aiming to compete against those 2 products AND will really be in the 249-299 price range, expect it to be a)underpowered compared to the PB and b)using much cheaper component than the PB.

Don't forget that RIM is losing money with every PB sold, it has been reported numerous time that the components are of extremly high quality, especially the screen and those components are pricy. Now, do you really think Apple will release a product to scratch RIM off the tablet list while losing money for it? no, so it should use pretty much the same cheap component as the Fire and the Nook which ARE NOT TABLETS by the way, they are e-readers pretending to be tablets...

Load Windows 7 Ultimate on a P4 with 256mb RAM and a 128mb on-board GPU and try to watch a high-def movie or capture 1080p videos and you'll get the feeling of how a Fire or a Nook performs.

[Deathcommand]

"The new tablet will feature a 7.85-inch display to compete with Amazon�s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble�s Nook Tablet, and pricing is expected to fall in the $249 to $299 range according to DigiTimes�s sources."

Where the heck is the PlayBook in this?
This is ridiculous.

[zzbsb]

RIM will still be around and making new devices and selling them. I don't see the playbook going anywhere. I'm so sick and tired of this product will end RIM and or their products I've heard it for 2 plus years now and they still exist lol that speaks for itself if Apple comes out with a 7" tablet good for them I don't see anything changing. If anything I think Android tablet makers would be more affected

Yes you've heard 2 plus years. But look at what happened in the past 2 years? What was RIM's stock price 2 years ago? What was their market share 2 years ago? How much more can they afford to lose?

[FSeverino]

this may even HELP Playbook sales.

If the smaller iPad is $299 for wifi and 16GB of storage then why would someone buy that (assuming they would just be using it for 'apps' and reading) when they could but the PB for the same price and have 4x the storage?

We have, apparently, a price range from $249 or $299, but we dont KNOW anything about it yet. Will it have dual cameras? What will the specs be? ... Usually these devices come in smaller storage capacities. For $200 you get the 8GB Kindle, or the 16GB PB... to me that is a NO BRAINER. So if iPad mini is in the same boat it may turn people on to 'the other option' of the PB.

You also have to consider the fact that people will buy this regardless of if it is or not. If it has an apple with a bite out of it on the back then it will sell... so this could go either way.

[zzbsb]

"The new tablet will feature a 7.85-inch display to compete with Amazon�s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble�s Nook Tablet, and pricing is expected to fall in the $249 to $299 range according to DigiTimes�s sources."

Where the heck is the PlayBook in this?
This is ridiculous.

I have to say any tablets that are in the same price range with Playbook will more or less impact Playbook's sale. Even if they only sold 1 unit, that means one less customer for Playbook.

[TheUnknownUser]

Yes you've heard 2 plus years. But look at what happened in the past 2 years? What was RIM's stock price 2 years ago? What was their market share 2 years ago? How much more can they afford to lose?

Their stock has dropped yes but every quarter they keep making money and at the end of the day that's what really matters. There are loads of bigger companies that operate and have for ages with far less value in their stocks and actually lose money lol

[DOCTOREVIL8]

I would not consider buying a Playbook that was 10 inches. I would just get an iPad. However, at 7 inches, an iPad is appealing, if the price is right.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Playbook and use it everyday. But Apple's ecosystem has me locked in for movies, music and apps. If they release a 7 inch ipod/iphone/ipad, whatever they call it, it will most definitely rip sales away from RIM and all other 7" tablets. RIM needs to market this away from the other guys. If people feel the Playbook is "just another tablet" then it's doomed. Personally, I think it is much more then that. And RIM needs to make consumers aware of that too.

[playbook97]

This debate will go on and on ad nausea and NOTHING will be resolved. The simple truth is that the company that gives the consumer what HE wants, at a price that is reasonable, wins. Simple.

Whatever people may say otherwise, it cannot be denied that Apple has delivered an exceptional customer experience in terms of product quality, support and utility. This goes for ipods, ipads, laptops,whatever. The products work out of the box.

I own a Playbook and I think it is a great piece of hardware BUT, there are a whole lot of things that just don't work. I struggled for months with the old BB bridge until they finally got it right. I have never been able to backup my PB until DM7 and that software is bugged to death so now I cannot sync my 9700 with Outlook. Sometimes my PDF files open, sometimes they don't. Print to go sometimes prints a blank on the PB.

One day, my PB decided to lockup and refuse to shutdown then refuse to reboot for about 2 hours. During that time, I opened a ticket with RIM tech service and waited for their confirmation email which never came, much less the paper box and shipping label they were supposed to send me.

Does this mean I hate RIM? Not at all. As a Canadian, I sincerely hope RIM turns around and hits the top once again but let's be honest, right now they suck...bigtime.

If RIM did what they promised, produced code that worked and exploited the full potential of this great little tablet, we would not be having these "comparison" discussions.

Apparently the new ipad has no start button. Does that sound familiar?

Sincerely hoping RIM has some goodies in the pipeline.

[[email protected]]

Lol! Some of you guys crack me up. You believe that EVEN IF AAPL were to release a smaller tablet(I doubt they ever will) that it would make the PB more competitive?

15mm(this doesn't even take into consideration how many iPad 1s are still being purchased in the secondary market) iPads sold last Q should demonstrate to even the strongest denier, or thickest skull, that folks don't purchase or not purchase iPads because of price.

A 7' would only mean more iPads SOLD in a different space.

Trying to calculate how a cheaper iPad would help PB sales is borderline pathetic. Particulary coming from some many "Business Minded" "Professional" "Tools not Toys" consumers who lacked the conviction and "brand loyalty" to purchase the PB at full price when it launched.

So yes, pull out the Apple voodoo dolls and hope for a 7' iPad that you PRAY will help PB sales.

Ridiculous.

[dbmalloy]

One of the main issues Apple is going to have "if" they bring out a 7" tablet is all the time they spent over the last couple of years stating to anyone who would listen...a 7" tablet was simply too small to be usable... This was Steve Jobs mantra... Apple will have a lot of convincing to their customers that all of a suddent 7" is great compared to the 10" tablet......

As far as where the Playbook fits into all of this sits with RIM.... I do not know if changed ad companies or what but the new set of commercials are encouraging... They need to promote more from a position of strenght... If they bring a "wow" product in BB10 then they stand a fighting chance....

One big cloud over all of this will be pricing of future playbooks... I started a thread a couple of days ago asking.... Would you buy a Playbook at the regular price.... The overwhelming answer was "NO"... I personally think RIM made a huge mistake on reducing the price to the level they did... Granted they cleared a lot out which is great for present time.... but how does this affect future Playbooks.....Now the Playbook is competing with the Kindle Fire and the Nook in consumers minds... Not great company to be in if you are trying to relaunch an LTE product..... Outside of some better specs and LTE what in the consumers mind with warrants a higher price.... Once your product is classified a a "budget device" it is really hard to change that perception....

Should be interesting to see how Apple contends with the mentality a 7" tablet should be prices around $199.00 for an entry level tablet.....

[LoganSix]

On a side note, I don't see Apple lasting more than 10 years, which is about how long they lasted before without Jobs. I don't see why anyone would buy a product from a dying company with no hope of recourse.

[ralfyguy]

On a side note, I don't see Apple lasting more than 10 years, which is about how long they lasted before without Jobs. I don't see why anyone would buy a product from a dying company with no hope of recourse.

I agree. At some point the hype is gonna settle. Competition will only get stronger and one of these days people will realize that there is more out there than what the guru preaches.

[Jonathan-Archer]

Apple could release a 7" tablet that is only able to produce fart noises and doesn't have wifi or any other form of communication and people would still come out in droves, stand in line for days and pay $500 just to have it.

[pkcable]