Couple questions about the PlayBook

Hi Guys,

So I am somewhat new to BB. Got my first BB 1 year ago (9730), considering to buy the PB now. I know it's discontinued. Two questions bother me:

1) Is there Skype for PB? I saw on AppWorld there is no official skype, but is there any port of some sort? Or third party app ? On my phone I used IMO, however it does not work anymore for skype

2) I plan to buy online. In case of technical problem - device does not work or who knows, where in Toronto I can get it so they see it and repair it? I guess BlackBerry (RIM) don't give warranty anymore...

Thanks!

There's no Skype. Comwave works great for voice only and is free for calling in North America.
Cheers

If you buy new online, from a legit dealer, BlackBerry should honor the one year warranty.

Comwave ephone isn't free. It's yearly subscription based, albeit only $20/year.

I don't know about Canada, but for us U.S.-based folks, SparePhone app ($3) in combo with Google Voice is free calls in/to U.S. and Canada. I used it over wifi while in Thailand and Japan to call local numbers in the U.S. this year. It worked great and better when using a headset (removed the echoing).

Originally Posted by cbvinh

Comwave ephone isn't free. It's yearly subscription based, albeit only $20/year.
.

As jsdhornby noted, for voice calls to US or Canada, or voice calls from anywhere, Comwave is free.

Originally Posted by pacoman03

As jsdhornby noted, for voice calls to US or Canada, or voice calls from anywhere, Comwave is free.

Oh, my mistake. It was $20/year when I first researched it a year ago. The new Blackberry World app store does indeed say it's free.

Originally Posted by cbvinh

Comwave ephone isn't free. It's yearly subscription based, albeit only $20/year.

I don't know about Canada, but for us U.S.-based folks, SparePhone app ($3) in combo with Google Voice is free calls in/to U.S. and Canada. I used it over wifi while in Thailand and Japan to call local numbers in the U.S. this year. It worked great and better when using a headset (removed the echoing).

This "Sparephone" sounds interesting. It seems to have some really good reviews. I have not looked at comwave in quite a while.

This has spurred me to finally create my own Wishlist List (or think about more list) which Appworld has never supported. Over the years there have been discussions of apps that seem interesting but I want to think about them a bit more. Then, of course, time may heal wounds but also loses track of these apps. Done! A Wishlist.txt file on my desktop: Sparephone now tops the list!

Good thread.

Comwave app also works for video. I think I had to add minutes (about $5) and the other person has to have an ephone app as well but they don't need it to be in the playbook. On a pc, i thought chrome worked ok and so did firefox, its been a while so the details are sketchy.

There is also a faceflow.com application but I would use comwave over faceflow since comwave is backed by a large Canadian telco.

A headset with the playbook is advised to cut out echoing.

I still think playbook is a good deal but since it is discontinued, I would be wary of paying a lot of money for it. It may be that the shelf life for certain internet activities, ie certain websites, starts to fail as those websites incorporate newer features that the browser would not support.

You are buying a what is basically a small computer for 100+ and if you buy one new or less than yr old warranty will be honored. You really can't go wrong on several levels. First its so cheap for what you get even if you used it for a year and went kaput after that you probably already got your $ worth. Take it on trips (like I will be this week) and plug into TV In hotel watch movies you downloaded for kids or you. The Docs to go really helped me out -with HDMI - for presentations. Correct me if I am wrong but Can't do that stuff (no hdmi ) with ipad. There is really no app that I'm dying for that I can't as easily get through browser though I don't need skype so I can't comment on that. I'm not a gamer but have played some games on it though I can't comment on what is missing as far as game apps in BB WORLD. I know of 10 close family and friends all had Playbooks for at least one year and they are all still working. One did have a keyboard problem though RIM did eventually replace with new.
That all being said If you are only interested in predominately games and skype maybe spend more and get a different tablet.

Seems everyone answered the questions quite well so I will say welcome to the CrackBerry forum! Many here will help or guide you to the help you need. There are some folks here that make me life so I hope you get your answers and enjoy the forums.

Thanks a lot guys!

So the Skype reason is that most of my friends use this. I don't like it, but I have to use it. I am not interested in the voice chat or video chat so much, I just want something which could text other Skype users. That's why on my phone I used IMO, but it does not work anymore.

As for the tablet, I researched what it can do. I have a friend in our company with one, so I took a look. As I am a BB user myself, I know about the software. I am not really interested in games, however do noticed currently the original Tetris game for PB is free, which solves half of my problem - the other is to find a free Space Invaders and free Bejeweled-clone. However not sure really about gaming. Integration with my phone is what I look for and I know with OS7 devices and older it works great. My friend told me with OS10 devices it does not integrate quite the same way, as you can't type BBM or SMS messages on the tablet and make the phone send them. But anyway. Also editing documents on the tablet should be better with the big screen. I am aiming the 7" size as it fits me better. And my main purpose - Internet (chat, browsing, emails), documents, MOVIES!!! and some mp3 files are my main purpose.

Not having Skype texting is a problem. Have to dig into that. However I do aggree for the price this is wonderful machine. I only don't like it's heavy (iPad mini is lighter), but can live with that.

As for games, I am mostly into retro-gaming and FPS and while retro-gaming is fine one way or another, no tablet can deal with FPS, as no tablet currently supports game pad/mouse. Same for jump-n-run games - tried with screen touching and honestly it s*x.

So I am pretty much considering the PB. As I said, Android was a disapointment for me. Only rival is iPad mini, which can do so much more and I am considering if I really need this much more. I am talking that we have Garage Band and for only $5 I can get the Apple's original movie editing program, which I was told is great. And music and video editing on the go is something attractive to me. They also have so much music applications.

On the other side, the HDMI and the BB Bridge is what really attracts me into PB.

One thing I don't understand - so with the HDMI cable I connect the tablet to the TV. And what do I get the TV to display for me - is it the whole PB desktop? Because it means whatever is on the PB screen it gets on the TV, which means not only I can watch movies on the TV, but also I can use the TV to watch Youtube, browse, and whatever....? Please explain here. Because this would be a huge advantage. Because what I imagine is that I can that way use the TV to watch the tablet's screen, while the tablet sits just somewhere away of me, near the TV, let's say I sit comfortably on the couch and I control everything with my phone as a remote control via Bridge, so if I watch Youtube I type what I search on the phone, it displays on the TV...sounds too cool. Do I understand the whole thing correctly? (as for the sound, connecting the tablet with my mixer and my speakers is what I intend to do)

But right now I am not able to buy any of these, so I still have like 2 months to decide.

In two months most places will have the new Nexus 7. Get it . We unfortunates who went with the berry but who regret it should discourage others from falling into the same pit of dispair.

Just watch out for an ePhone bug that some users like me have experienced where the app sends out international text messages to a 345 area code number located somewhere in Cayman's Island - a place I've never heard of. My phone bill came out with 36 international text messages to that number. I just turned off permissions to emails, text messages and shared files under Application Permissions and that seemed to stop the issue.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by RaverWild

One thing I don't understand - so with the HDMI cable I connect the tablet to the TV. And what do I get the TV to display for me - is it the whole PB desktop? Because it means whatever is on the PB screen it gets on the TV, which means not only I can watch movies on the TV, but also I can use the TV to watch Youtube, browse, and whatever....? Please explain here. Because this would be a huge advantage. Because what I imagine is that I can that way use the TV to watch the tablet's screen, while the tablet sits just somewhere away of me, near the TV, let's say I sit comfortably on the couch and I control everything with my phone as a remote control via Bridge, so if I watch Youtube I type what I search on the phone, it displays on the TV...sounds too cool. Do I understand the whole thing correctly?

In a nutshell what you see on the PB screen appears on the TV screen when connected with a HDMI cable.

Originally Posted by Asdic Ping

In a nutshell what you see on the PB screen appears on the TV screen when connected with a HDMI cable.

...but if you try to "use" playbook while connected to hdmi you will wreck the socket in a week. Same applies to usb.

Originally Posted by jarviser

...but if you try to "use" playbook while connected to hdmi you will wreck the socket in a week. Same applies to usb.

I think the OP wishes to use his phone as a remote control via bridge thus not physically touching the PB whilst connected via hdmi.

Originally Posted by Asdic Ping

I think the OP wishes to use his phone as a remote control via bridge thus not physically touching the PB whilst connected via hdmi.

...BUT if you try to "use" playbook while connected to hdmi you will wreck the socket in a week. Same applies to usb.

Originally Posted by jarviser

...BUT if you try to "use" playbook while connected to hdmi you will wreck the socket in a week. Same applies to usb.

Not if it is just sitting there but if you are moving it around a lot like playing a game I see your point.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using CB Forums mobile app

Because what I imagine is that I can that way use the TV to watch the tablet's screen, while the tablet sits just somewhere away of me, near the TV, let's say I sit comfortably on the couch and I control everything with my phone as a remote control via Bridge, so if I watch Youtube I type what I search on the phone, it displays on the TV...sounds too cool. Do I understand the whole thing correctly

my friend has bb phone and tablet and he uses it like that all the time

If you can afford it, I say get both a Playbook and whatever other tablet that suits you. I was able to get the Playbook Charging Dock for $10.00, so now it sits on my desk serving several purposes:

1. Email Manager
2. Lynda.com Instructional Video Viewer
3. Intenet Radio
4. 1080 Video Camera

The value i get out of my Playbook on a daily basis has not only covered the purchase costs, its got me hunting for another one. The video camera on the Playbook is amazing!

Thank you guys, but this does not answer my main question - If I need a repair after the warranty period, is there a place in Toronto I can bring the PB? Or in Canada in general? RIM HQ?

Originally Posted by RaverWild

Thank you guys, but this does not answer my main question - If I need a repair after the warranty period, is there a place in Toronto I can bring the PB? Or in Canada in general? RIM HQ?

If you purchase a NEW one, online or elsewhere, the pb does have a one year warranty. I don't know for sure, but for a price, I suspect that bb will continue to provide repair services for a while (their ambiguous "continued support"). There are parts available on the web for them and a cell phone repair shop or laptop repair shop could probaby fix them with parts you acquire.

But let's see if anyone else has ideas.

Originally Posted by jarviser

...but if you try to "use" playbook while connected to hdmi you will wreck the socket in a week. Same applies to usb.

I'm using mine right now with the usb charger plugged in. I do that daily and haven't wrecked it yet.