[merc123]

I'm on the fence right now since I just learned about the Playbook. My main reason for wanting to get a tablet was for my job so I can carry a lot of technical documents with me while I move around the building (IT job). One thing that I really liked was the ability to hand write notes on the iPad but looking through threads on here I don't see any apps that work for handwritten notes. Some other things that impressed me with the iPad that I don't know if the PB has was the ability to do remote desktop to the server and some other administrator tools.

I was playing with the PB in OfficeDepot tonight and looked around AppWorld. Would some of the "paint" programs work for handwriting notes with a stylus or would it be less practical? Any other system administrator tools available for the PB? I love the 7" tablet vs. the larger iPad as I can "palm" the PB and double thumb typing was a piece of cake. Also playing with the gyroscope feature it didn't seem as responsive as the iPad when you flipped it over. Sometimes it got stuck on landscape mode when you flipped it to portrait.

What are some opinions around here about my conerns?

[vx1]

well i am in it and i was not thinking about the same things you are but they make sense to me i can tell u that the device has alot of power and options i am not sure about remote desktop but i will have a look and see if its possible

the portability is nice and flash access,decent browser pb has alot of pluses actually hd out and tethering etc btw i wrote this on a playbook lol

[thymaster]

I believe I did read somewhere on this forum that you can do remote desktop with instruction but that's not my area of expertise. Have you tried searching?

[JR A]

The way I see it, unless you want a much larger selection of games/apps, then there is no advantage of having an iPad over the PB except in screen size and iOS if that's what you're used to.

The main reason I needed a tablet was to have PORTABLE access to my business intraweb, which means I need constant internet connection on the go at all times. Bridge solves this issue quite nicely, especially since I'm Bridged to a Bold 9930 OS7. I love that I can get internet through Bridge and not have to pay for a mobile hotpot or tethering plan. And that's the way it should be.

[blackjack93117]

I'm on the fence right now since I just learned about the Playbook. My main reason for wanting to get a tablet was for my job so I can carry a lot of technical documents with me while I move around the building (IT job). One thing that I really liked was the ability to hand write notes on the iPad but looking through threads on here I don't see any apps that work for handwritten notes. Some other things that impressed me with the iPad that I don't know if the PB has was the ability to do remote desktop to the server and some other administrator tools.

I was playing with the PB in OfficeDepot tonight and looked around AppWorld. Would some of the "paint" programs work for handwriting notes with a stylus or would it be less practical? Any other system administrator tools available for the PB? I love the 7" tablet vs. the larger iPad as I can "palm" the PB and double thumb typing was a piece of cake. Also playing with the gyroscope feature it didn't seem as responsive as the iPad when you flipped it over. Sometimes it got stuck on landscape mode when you flipped it to portrait.

What are some opinions around here about my conerns?

Do you mean like a VNC app? There is a nice free one called IMT VNC - Nice for remote viewing - A little difficult to remote control the desktop with, though because stuff gets really tiny for big fingers on a 7 inch tab, a stylus helps, but still difficult though possible however if you are walking around a lot you will hate a large tab - playbook is discrete and VERY portable -

I absolutely love it for remote access of documents - especially if they are in BOX.net there is a nice app for that - there are the office to go apps for editing- still primitve but usable.

I think you will find playbook maturing especially with the 2.0 release scheduled for February - search through app word on the blackberry site - if there is one you're curious about you could probably get info in the apps and games section of crackberry.

There are handwriting apps, but certainly ipad excels.
But if you can get a playbook on sale you sure will save over the ipad, almost worth buying it just to give it a run - if it wont help you then go for the pad.

-

[cherolis]

Wife has an Ipad2 and an Ipad. I have a Playbook. There is one thing that you should be mindful of... Ipads, both of them, continually drop wifi signal. Like all Apple short comings this gets swept under the rug. To solve this, you actually have to crank the brightness on the display up to 100%. I know this sounds insane but its a power saver deal and they routed the power to the wifi antenna through the display. That fixes the wifi... but the battery drains quickly. Always remember... apple's are inferior products with superior marketing and packaging.

I learned about this when my wife was ignoring her Ipad2 and surfing on her I4. I googled and found the problem and solution on apple's own forums. look for yourself.

[nyc_rock]

I'm on the fence right now since I just learned about the Playbook. My main reason for wanting to get a tablet was for my job so I can carry a lot of technical documents with me while I move around the building (IT job). One thing that I really liked was the ability to hand write notes on the iPad but looking through threads on here I don't see any apps that work for handwritten notes. Some other things that impressed me with the iPad that I don't know if the PB has was the ability to do remote desktop to the server and some other administrator tools.

I was playing with the PB in OfficeDepot tonight and looked around AppWorld. Would some of the "paint" programs work for handwriting notes with a stylus or would it be less practical? Any other system administrator tools available for the PB? I love the 7" tablet vs. the larger iPad as I can "palm" the PB and double thumb typing was a piece of cake. Also playing with the gyroscope feature it didn't seem as responsive as the iPad when you flipped it over. Sometimes it got stuck on landscape mode when you flipped it to portrait.

What are some opinions around here about my conerns?

You might want to look into the Samsung Galaxy Note. Could be a great product for what you are looking for.

[xandermac]

LOL! I love it!

To the OP, I would avoid any blackberry product at the moment. Let RIM deliver on their promises before you invest in a PlayBook. Thats not to say go buy an iPad either but of the two the iPad is the superior "finished" product.

Always remember... apple's are inferior products with superior marketing and packaging.

[Fat Bastage]

As a iMac user after using a PC for 20 years, I can't tell you how naive people sound when they drag out the "apple is just superior marketing for inferior products" claim.

nevertheless, I think the playbook is a great device for portability, web browsing. I am fearful that the playbook will not be supported down the road. I sense something fishy with this fire sale. HP announced they were abandoning the tablet then had the fire sale. I wouldn't put it past the co-CEOS to abandon the device after the fire sale. (or at least put it on hold for a while). They haven't exactly been truthful in their roadmap.

[jamesbondOO7]

. Always remember... apple's are inferior products with superior marketing and packaging.

This is SO true! There as much negative gap between the expectations and the reality with the iPad as there is a positive one with the PlayBook.
FYI, I have owned an iPad since its launch and an iPad2 as well.

[ImGeorgeous]

I say, at the current prices, they are about even and your choice will depend on:
1) if you have a BlackBerry phone for Bridge
2) if you need Flash for web browsing
3) want to connect to HDMI
4) want a more portable device
5) want $300

Otherwise, I think it's worth the extra money right now to get the iPad because its just a more complete device overall.

We'll see in Feb. what RIM is able to bring out with OS 2.0 and maybe even a Playbook 2.0, but to buy a RIM product on "potential" has burned many people in the past. So buy what best fits your needs now and things will only get better from there.

[zzbsb]

To OP, the built in vpn works well with Cisco ASA. Also you can use android app remote desktop on the Playbook which is what I'm using on mine. It works fast and well, much better than the vnc apps.

[blackjack93117]

As a iMac user after using a PC for 20 years, I can't tell you how naive people sound when they drag out the "apple is just superior marketing for inferior products" claim.

nevertheless, I think the playbook is a great device for portability, web browsing. I am fearful that the playbook will not be supported down the road. I sense something fishy with this fire sale. HP announced they were abandoning the tablet then had the fire sale. I wouldn't put it past the co-CEOS to abandon the device after the fire sale. (or at least put it on hold for a while). They haven't exactly been truthful in their roadmap.

No worries!
Breaking news:

RIM reaffirmed their commitment to the PlayBook yesterday during their innovations forum in Toronto.

devices running OS2 were on display with various features we've been waiting for.

There is little doubt in my mind that PlayBooks will repopulate the shelves of retailers many more times, Futureshop is taking Backorders which means they do Plan to fill them

They had on Display,
native email, native calendar with some nice views
They had the PlayBook being able to use a BlackBerry handset as a input tool!!! (BIGGEST FEATURE for me hello awesome keyboard)
They had spellcheck Word Substitution included

[tommynap01]

i have both. i have had the ipad 2 since day one and for me i have never had a problem with it at all. unfortunately with the playbook i have .. i always find myself rebooting it cause of a problem. if i was u i would go with an ipad

[shootsscores]

i have both. i have had the ipad 2 since day one and for me i have never had a problem with it at all. unfortunately with the playbook i have .. i always find myself rebooting it cause of a problem. if i was u i would go with an ipad

Hmmm... I restart maybe once every two weeks and that is with constant, heavy use. Poor laptop is sitting on my desk with my initials drawn in the dust on it.

[adamkesher]

I have owned both devices. If what others said about the updates coming interests you, you should WAIT to see if there is any truth to this and then decide. I don't see the price coming back up with Android e-readers running circles around the Playbook.

Even at $199 I still don't consider it a good deal, considering what the Touchpad, Fire, Nook Tablet and a slew of other Android tablets can offer.

You might check out Apple's black Friday deals. A discounted iPad 1 could be the deal of the season.

[shootsscores]

Sorry, Diane, the roid devices are dross compared to the PB. Laggy, buggy and lacking in features.

[adamkesher]

Sorry, Diane, the roid devices are dross compared to the PB. Laggy, buggy and lacking in features.

Could you be a bit more specific than "buggy"? It just seems to be a sweeping, all purpose word people use when they really don't have anything to say. Much like "pretentious" with films.

[jamesjmunro]

Well this is just turning into a fight of BB vs Apple which it doesn't need to be. He asked about a few specific requirements.

Handwritten Notes: I've tried this on a few systems and I can say that anything with a capacitive touchscreen sucks for this. Apple or Blackberry or Android. It is okay with small notes to yourself, but don't expect notepaper and pen accuracy with a touchscreen that requires something the size of a little finger to be detected. This will not be a good deciding factor and anyone who says different must also be a fan of writing long notes on Post-its with a jumbo marker.

Documents: I am a senior IT consultant and an MBA student so I carry all kinds of documents. I haven't tried an iPad for this so I can't compare, but I can say the experience on the playbook is perfectly fine. My profs release lecture notes in word, pdf or powerpoint formats. All have worked just fine in class. I've heard complaints about the Adbode reader but it has worked just fine for technical manuals and pdf magazines I have thrown at it. I could use more functionality in Docs2Go, but I don't write papers or documentation on it, that would be insane. It is a tool for mobile work. I also tend to audio record, video record and snap pictures in lectures and meetings to supplement basic docs.

Office Connectivity: Again I have not tried this on the iPad so I can just comment that I have had no real issues with it on the Playbook. The native VPN client has worked fine on office and home VPNs and I use INT VNC and aVNC; each has it's own strengths. As far as complaints about no native email client (or needing a blackberry phone to use email), my office and home ISP have nice OWA portals, and gmail works great.

All tablets can also use things like a web report tool for Nagios in the browser to keep track of systems (if they can VPN to the network). It is less about the tablet and more about the tools you put in place on the network side. As a side note a lot of corps are locking down software installed on systems and iTunes is not making the approved list. My PB doesn't need that. Although you might have extended privileges being an IT guy.

I could care less about things like Angry Birds, I wanted something strictly to help me make more money by making school and work a bit easier and be comfortable to carry around ALL the time. I have a laptop if I need something bigger (since I'd likely also need to do real work then).

[shootsscores]

"Lacking in features" would be the last thing I would use to describe Android. With it being open source, and the ability to load custom roms, relaxed restriction in submitting apps to the market, you can customize Android to do just about anything. Also there are widgets, which neither iOS or QNX allow.

However, because of that, (after all the tweaking and customization, and loading a million widgets that use up all resources) people often find it less stable. Hence, the regular crashing and restarting.

Lacking in features would be the cheapo reader type tablets that aren't really in the same league as the fully featured PB. Roid devices have crude UIs compared to the PB and even the old fashioned UI found on the ifad.

[anon3969612]

I use both at the office, although I own the PB, I configure and support the iPads for a few of our guys.

Portability: Playbook. Even our die-hard Apple guy here likes the 7" form factor over the iPad 10" for office use.

Native support for remote desktop and SSH/telnet apps... iPad over PB OS 1.0.7... dead even with PB beta OS 2.0.0.3487. PB has VNC options, they work, I like the RDP apps better. I'm using Enterprise RDP and Connectbot; Android apps which are fairly reliable. You can also tether the PB for complete non-WIFI access to remote access apps. SSH and telnet apps won't connect through the Bridge function, the PB must be tethered or on WIFI. Ipad does this with the 3G version or on a WIFI unit, never tried tethering one.

WIFI issues: iPads have occasionally shown some connectivity issues to the office WIFI, I had to reset the router security settings for one to re-connect. Playbook occasionally has to be told to connect to WIFI. Neither issue I'd consider major.

We're not running VPN, can't report on connectivity for either device. Both are capable.

Never tried any kind of handwriting note app on either one... but nothing beats the old Palm graffiti writing system for quick notes. App developers take note (pun intended)

If you don't use a BB phone, there are limitations to the Playbook. If you don't have a generous company phone plan, there are limitations to the iPad.

For mobile IT, I prefer the Playbook, although neither tab replaces a laptop for full network monitoring & maintenance.

[jamesjmunro]

- Remote Desktop client. VPN requires you to run host VPN programs on your pc. RDP work natively with both Windows and Mac pc's.

If you don't know the difference between VPN and VNC you probably shouldn't be trying to answer an IT guy's question about remote access.

I understand that there is a PB RDP program and the forum shows good reviews, but I haven't used it. I prefer VNC because I don't like having the screen re-arranged every time I connect with a device with a smaller resolution. To each their own, but you should actually have tried something to provide opinion on it.

Sure I can add to your list a few thing that the PB does NOT have, based on my personal experience using PB a few months ago

Wow, I wrote about my experience using the playbook in the scenario he is asking about and this is your take? You must have a boring life if you are hanging out on a PB forum all day when you don't even like the device.

[blackjack93117]

i have both. i have had the ipad 2 since day one and for me i have never had a problem with it at all. unfortunately with the playbook i have .. i always find myself rebooting it cause of a problem. if i was u i would go with an ipad

That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time. You're apparently rebooting because you think it is a fix all. What exactly are the problems that require rebooting?

I've had mine 6 months - rebooted only a few times and only then because I had to after I let the battery run dead...

[blackjack93117]

Stop spreading wrong information! You either have defective units, or you don't update your iOS to the latest version. Let me back it up with facts:

- Go to popular forums for Mac products; for examples, Macrumors. Browse the first few pages, to get a feel whether there are any CURRENT widespread problems.
- I did a search for "wifi" under iPad forums and sub-forums. This is the most relevant I came up with. iPad keeps dropping WiFi connection - MacRumors Forums
- As you see, there are a few people reporting the problem, and most of these were more than a year old, with a few isolated recent reported issues. This is hardly a wide spread problem, which is no difference than what I see in this forum. http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...l-bars-672037/

My family went through 4 iPads in the past 2 years. None of them had ANY wifi issues.

I realize this is a PB forum, and people like worshiping RIM like a religion here. I am in no business of interfering this. However, some actually come here to look for honest information. I don't want to be the judge here on which product is inferior or superior. OP, before you made your decision, go to a more neutral forum and post the same question. Talk to people that have and use PBs, and then people that have iPads. See what apps are available to do what you need to. A major limitation of PB is app availability. Because you want to use it for work (as opposed to for fun), make sure they have what you really need before you buy it.

Yikes someone pushed the wrong button and the angel of i-death arrived!

At least an ifan knows what it feels like now when misinformation is spread in here a bout the PB by i-people.

I would expect playbook mis-info to be spread around in a mac forum, but generally we don't go patrolling over there to defend it. too much of that to be done right here!

I DO understand your annoyance... trust me.

[blackjack93117]

- Apps that open password-protected .doc files

Do you do a lot of that?