[sagec]

"Forget the Amazon Kindle Fire, the BB PlayBook is now the best low cost tablet"

Forget the Amazon Kindle Fire, the BB PlayBook is now the best low cost tablet | ZDNet

Go to article and tweet/like/comment, etc. Let's keep building momentum behind this excellent device!

[grindcorefan]

Yes this playbook is awesome!! Good job rim keep it up!!

[leticeberry]

Agreed. Playbook is the best.

[alnamvet68]

Yes, low cost, as opposed to "cheaper", compared to other equally priced offerings, indeed the best and only true tablet PC.

[world traveler and former ceo]

Best Value period!!

[walnuts1024]

Repeat post but article below:

Forget the Amazon Kindle Fire, the BB PlayBook is now the best low cost tablet
By Matthew Miller | February 23, 2012, 5:45am PST

Summary: The PlayBook 2.0 update is out and takes a good 7 inch tablet and makes it excellent. I am a huge fan of the 7 inch form factor and am pleased to see the PlayBook finally where it should have been last year.

Thanks in large part to the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Android tablet market is finally heating up and starting to impact Apple iPad market share. With the new OS 2.0 update available for the BB PlayBook, I recommend people seriously consider one for $199 instead of the $199 Amazon Kindle Fire if they are looking for more of a tablet than an ebook reader.

The Kindle Fire is excellent if you want the ultimate Amazon experience, but if you want a richer tablet experience then check out the updated PlayBook. You can get the Amazon experience on the PlayBook, but you can’t get the PlayBook experience on the Kindle Fire. These devices share a common look and feel, which is one reason I loved the Kindle Fire since I find the PlayBook design and form factor to be extremely desirable. In addition to the slick UI of the QNX-based PlayBook OS, you can now run Android apps on your PlayBook so you get the best of both worlds with a much more powerful piece of hardware.

Advantages of the PlayBook over the Kindle Fire include:

Dual high quality cameras and a microphone
Bluetooth wireless radio
Integrated GPS
HDMI out (outputs EVERYTHING, unlike the iPad)
Dual stereo speakers
1GB of RAM and more internal storage (16, 32 or 64 GB compared to 8GB)
Seamless connectivity with BB smartphone
Fast, powerful web browser made even better in the 2.0 update
Much nicer user interface
At $200 for both the Kindle Fire and the 16GB PlayBook, it really is a no-brainer to pick up the PlayBook instead now that OS 2.0 is out that addresses most of the original shortcomings. I bought a 16GB model to test out this week at Best Buy, but am enjoying it so much I just ordered a 64GB model online and will be returning the 16GB one in a few days. The next thing you know I will be getting another BlackBerry smartphone

The Android apps available in BlackBerry App World are slowly rolling out and so far I have loaded up Dolphin Browser, YouVersion Bible (works perfectly on the PlayBook), and Angry Birds Seasons. My friends at CrackBerry also have some great discussion forums that show you how to get the Kindle, Dropbox, Google Maps, and much more sideloaded onto your PlayBook. They have another post that lists .bar files for Android apps you can install on your BlackBerry PlayBook.

Another cool promotion for the OS 2.0 update is the free versions of Modern Combat 2 and Asphalt 6 Adrenaline that RIM has available in BB App World right now. I encourage you to go and download these before the offer is gone.

[byul]

the best what you can get for that price, can't beat that.

[Chaddface]

I thought it was the best before the update. The only thing I gained was predictive text/auto correct. The bridge remote will be useful for media.

[Podgorica]

Amen.

Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk

[mud314]

Except the GPS still does not work...or at least the way it's supposed to. Like being accurate.

I did have to do installs of the OS to work without jitters, now it's fast and responsive, maybe too responsive, but not going to cry over that. Just wish the GPS would work instead of jumping me around from area to area while sitting in one spot. Oddly enough the compass portion works great! I don't get that part but whatever.

[cntrydncr223]

Very nice review. Thanks for posting!

[sagec]

@walnuts1024
Notice that I posted this first?

[byul]

oh yes i did!

[pkcable]

Nice article! Good find.

[Thunderbuck]

Fantastic review. Nice find. Thanks, OP!

[JasW]

Repeat post but article below:

{snip}

And again you unnecessarily deny traffic to one person who is writing something highly positive about the PB.

Bad form, sir. Very bad form.

[BoloMKXXVIII]

I don't get the comparison between the Kindle Fire and the Playbook. Sure, they both have 7" screens. The Playbook is a general purpose/business tablet and the Fire is a media consumption device designed to drive traffic to the Kindle market. The Kindle Fire really competes with the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. They do some of the regular tablet functions but are sold to support their sales ecosystems. Asus is supposed to be selling a dual core 7" tablet soon that will sell for about $250 and sounds like it could be competition for the Playbook but the rest are either too expensive or have lousy hardware or software (or both). Now is the time for a full media blitz.

[brucep1]

I don't get the comparison between the Kindle Fire and the Playbook. Sure, they both have 7" screens. The Playbook is a general purpose/business tablet and the Fire is a media consumption device designed to drive traffic to the Kindle market. The Kindle Fire really competes with the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. They do some of the regular tablet functions but are sold to support their sales ecosystems. Asus is supposed to be selling a dual core 7" tablet soon that will sell for about $250 and sounds like it could be competition for the Playbook but the rest are either too expensive or have lousy hardware or software (or both). Now is the time for a full media blitz.

People compare them because they look the exact same and have the same price.

[alnamvet68]

People compare them because they look the exact same and have the same price.

That's strange, I have my neighbor's new fire in my possession...she asked if I would mind setting it up and give her a tutorial when she gets back, and I have it side by side with my PlayBook, and I'll be damned if I can't see where "they look exactly the same?"

[AggreX]

Look alike maybe from ten feet away except when some video chatting is going on. OS2 gave the PB many ez to miss improvements such as the updated camera features which have changed it from a delayed sharp picture to a quick point and shoot.

[TinRobot]

The PB is a far better deal. If I am not mistaken the Fire depends on being online for much of it's system caching and performance suffers greatly without a wifi. Fire is a color e-reader. The Playbook is the tablet to have, IMHO.

[nightspark]

Yes, now All RIM has to do is advertise it as such.

[modine]

The PB is a far better deal. If I am not mistaken the Fire depends on being online for much of it's system caching and performance suffers greatly without a wifi. Fire is a color e-reader. The Playbook is the tablet to have, IMHO.

While I understand there is a tablet out there for everyone, IMHO I believe the playbook is the best option for me. I absolutely adore its form, its finesse in design and execution, and its versatility. If only my company would endorse employee-owned devices, then I could use the VPN and practically (aside from not having Skype for meetings) eliminate the need for my corporate laptop.

I pity the iPhad owners. The OS of the iPhad is a slave, where QNX is not... that is the huge difference. I love not having to log into iTunes to firm everything up on my tablet. It's independent of the laptop - a fact that iPhad users cannot even fathom.

As for "The Best Low Cost Tablet", this speaks to those who don't yet own a tablet. OS 2.0 makes this Playbook an option for the masses. Hype is what Apple is selling. Independence, portability, versatility, freedom, and security is what RIM is selling.

It's too bad society is media-drivelled driven, and so they will buy what everyone else buys... FOR NOW, but once word gets out, they will seek independence as we all have through the ages. RIM is no longer proprietary, (a reason I don't buy Sony or Apple products) it is a real player - lucky for them they decided to step into that ring with OS 2.0.

Cheers.

[omniusovermind]

Asus is supposed to be selling a dual core 7" tablet soon that will sell for about $250

quad core actually. doubt I'll buy it though, it's more of a sidegrade because the Android OS isn't very smooth regardless of CPU, and I like the Swipe gesture UI here better. Tegra chips don't really impress me anyway. Intel recently announced they're getting in on the mobile CPU action and displayed a single core CPU that beat all the dual core chips on the market by something stupid like 20-30% in the benchmarks. Then they said they've already started working on multiple core versions of that chip

[FSeverino]

You can get the Amazon experience on the PlayBook, but you can�t get the PlayBook experience on the Kindle Fire.

Wow! This guy is either a genius or has been reading my posts

Finally dome decently written work
Litterally the opposite end of the spectrum compared to cnet (can and z in the alphabet)