A few questions from a new PB owner

Hello all..

i am happy to announce to all that i am the new owner of a 16GB BB PB.
it was a tough decision between the iPad2/Xoom and the PB.

to be honest i am a geek at heart and i wanted a device that was fast, easy to carry around and can put up with all my craziness.

One thing that did scare me when i first popped open the unit is it said it was critically low on battery and needed to be plugged in. so even though it was plugged in and the "charging" indicator was on it took about an hour or so to get upto 17% and then it went up just fine.

anywho not to make this long i have a few questions i'd like to ask ...

1) i really need to have the an arabic keyboard --where can i find a keyboard?
i know the browser can render arabic fonts correctly however the browser title bar doesnt. the letters on the title bar are seperated but the page looks fine.

2) the battery on this unit is 5300 mAh ... (from gsmarena.com). do you guys find this to be a bit small ? how does it last for you? -- considering this is a WiFi only model.

3) then there's the famous question of apps. i am willing to wait a bit and see how things work out for the appworld however in the meantime wasn't there an announcement about the android player? is that released? because on google almost every link just shows a demo of it by RIM and that's it.

4) now i know theres no email app so how can i setup gmail on the PB and get notifications when i get a new email? easily...

5)last question (for now) -- the screen is scratch resistant correct? i find it to get a bit smudgy way too

thanks all.

You're going to love the PB. Battery life isn't an issue for me and i have this running most of the day... Podcasts are generally running while I "work." Twitter, Facebook and FLASH powered browsing all day. Granted, I don't have many videos running or the like, but I charge at night and battery never dies on me.

As for apps, my take on this is that Apple NEEDS apps to cover up the Flash deficiency. Why have an ESPN or CNN app when I can just go to the site? I'm a console and PC gamer so games aren't a big deal to me. And most of the apps are silly anyways. Quality over quantity. No one needs 30 different fart apps.

There's my two cents... Minus a few bugs here and there, I LOVE the PB. Waiting on the .pdf size limitation fix or at least a Kindle reader and I'll be good. The Android App thing will just be a bonus for me.

Oh, and the keyboard issue... Not sure if this will help, but if you hold a key for a second you get several other options. I'm sure there is a way to get a permanent fix, though. Someone else here can help!

About the keyboard, you can't type in Arabic yet. The globe next to the space bar offers keyboards in many languages. I am sure on the next update you will see Arabic. They added 5 different keyboards in the second last update.

1) i really need to have the an arabic keyboard --where can i find a keyboard?
i know the browser can render arabic fonts correctly however the browser title bar doesnt. the letters on the title bar are seperated but the page looks fine.

Can't help there.

2) the battery on this unit is 5300 mAh ... (from gsmarena.com). do you guys find this to be a bit small ? how does it last for you? -- considering this is a WiFi only model.

If battery life is a priority, then the Playbook isn't the best. I would say it lasts about a day and then you have to recharge it but I'm constantly checking the battery meter to see if it's drained. With my iPad, I really don't have to worry much at all and it'll last me several days.

3) then there's the famous question of apps. i am willing to wait a bit and see how things work out for the appworld however in the meantime wasn't there an announcement about the android player? is that released? because on google almost every link just shows a demo of it by RIM and that's it.

Android player not released yet. If apps are a big must for you, don't get a Playbook, get the iPad.

4) now i know theres no email app so how can i setup gmail on the PB and get notifications when i get a new email? easily...

You can't yet, not unless you have a Blackberry.

5)last question (for now) -- the screen is scratch resistant correct? i find it to get a bit smudgy way too

It's not made from Gorilla Glass, so it can be scratched.

Sounds to me like it wouldn't suit your needs and you should consider a different tablet, more likely an iPad.

Originally Posted by exzibit3

Sounds to me like it wouldn't suit your needs and you should consider a different tablet, more likely an iPad.

thats a bit harsh dont you think? sure i asked a few direct questions but i made my decision for the PB and i like the way it is right now.
by the way i did have an ipad1 when it first came out. sold it in 1 week.
i also had a choice to go with a xoom but i settled for the pb mainly for its sleekness, fast response and other things.

in reference to the keyboard... the blackberry phones here in the middle east are more popular than anything and they all support arabic out of the box so thats why it was a surprise to me why its lacking the keyboard. if its time then no big deal.

Originally Posted by cylent

thats a bit harsh dont you think? sure i asked a few direct questions but i made my decision for the PB and i like the way it is right now.
by the way i did have an ipad1 when it first came out. sold it in 1 week.
i also had a choice to go with a xoom but i settled for the pb mainly for its sleekness, fast response and other things.

in reference to the keyboard... the blackberry phones here in the middle east are more popular than anything and they all support arabic out of the box so thats why it was a surprise to me why its lacking the keyboard. if its time then no big deal.

I think many if not most people on this forum believe that with time, the PB will get better, and most of these issues will be corrected/resolved...there is a growing frustration by many, however, that RIM seems to be taking a very long time getting some of these items addressed...

Originally Posted by kirson

I think many if not most people on this forum believe that with time, the PB will get better, and most of these issues will be corrected/resolved...there is a growing frustration by many, however, that RIM seems to be taking a very long time getting some of these items addressed...

i dont know much about the time factor since i am new into the RIM universe with my PB but ya i did read the forums and i do see much frustration. its unfortunate also because RIM has a device thats a real winner here yet they're taking their glorious time.
whats sad though is they may release a PB2 and fix all their PB1 issues with leaving all of us in the dark.
at the same time i want to applaud RIM for not making another android tab... there simply is too many on the market right now all running android and all under googles mercy.

Just got my Z10..couple of questions, and I have done some searching for this before I asked.

1) Is there anyway I can turn OFF the keyboard sounds?
2) How do I remove a app, that I have downloaded?
3) Is there anyway to add a shortcut to the home screen?

Thanks

On keyboard go to settings and open language and input from there go to keyboard and adjust your volume feedback.
On deleting, just hold your finger down on the icon of the app till it starts to pulse, then touch the delete icon in the right corner.

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