[raymondguzman]

I picked up my Playbook today and started thinking about how much longer I would be using it on a regular basis. This lead me down the path of thinking about what I can do to future proof my Playbook for at least another year (two years optimistically). I also wanted to open this up to the Crackberry community to learn if there is anything that current users are doing to maximize their use and to prepare for continued use for a least the foreseeable future.

The first thing that I did today was to purchase any accessories that I haven't bought before and would see myself using in the future. It was easy enough to find a case and a cable or two at an extremely insignificant cost. The second thing I did was to back up any essential android APKs that I use on my Playbook regularly. This included Linkedin, Evernote, Dropbox, and Officesuite Pro. Thankfully most of these apps are still supported by the Playbook android runtime or what I believes is Android 2.3 Gingerbread (Don't quote me). The third thing I did was to go through Blackberry World which is something that ended up not being necessary. I did a sweep for any apps that I wanted to make sure I had loaded on the device in the instance that Blackberry does away with the App World on the Playbook (It would come as no surprise at this point). Unfortunately, anything worth downloading I already had. It really is depressing to take a walkthrough the Playbook App World. It's like the graveyard where apps go to die... but, to continue... the new thing I did was to make sure that all of my accounts on the Playbook were configured correctly. The final step I took was to delete any unnecessary files from the device to make sure that it's performing as well as it can.

That is really all that I could think of. Thankfully, it's easy enough to get files onto and off the Playbook so as a multimedia player, I still plan to get a significant amount of use out of the device. It's also still great as an on-the-fly content creation device. For my purposes, the quality of the video recording still really great for short form video clips.

All in all, I can still see myself using the Playbook for at least another year. The point at which I will probably taper off use of the device will be when the device really starts to lag in comparison to my other devices. For right now though, it's not that big of a concern for what I use it for so here's to another year of Playbook use.

What are your ideas? Has anyone else taken similar steps? Do you see yourself using the Playbook for much longer? Let me know your ideas. I know there are still a lot of users out there so hopefully there are some practical solutions out there for those of us who want to keep using our Playbooks.

[tovento]

While I do use my PB on a regular basis, it's been rendered to checking email, reading ebooks and watching videos. Rarely much else other than some odd web surfing (though it's fairly slow). It's a small-ish form factor device which will continue to get use for these needs, other than my daughter occasionally grabbing it and playing a game on it. I can totally see myself picking up a Microsoft Surface in the next year, but the form factor is just a little large for commuting to read books, etc. That being said, I use apps like Origami, PlayEpub and Kalemsoft on a regular basis. Have Showbox which I use occasionally, and those are my main apps (though I have many more installed).

I sure hope I get another year of use out of this device, and seeing how it's holding up, I do see that being a strong possibility. Only thing I can suggest picking up if you haven't done so is a spare PB charger. Just a good quality charger which can be used with a number of devices, and currently can be picked up for around $5 a piece. Can be used as a spare in case the original stops working, or can be used for travel. I use one at home and one at work which charge either my PB or my Z10.

[blueberrymerry]

My PB has been relegated to an e-book reader and movie player (Kalemsoft) after I got a Windows tablet. I don't browse the web on the PB because the stock browser is plain torture and any third party browser isn't much better. I've given up using the built-in DocsToGo because it's missing a ton of features while Android office suites are flaky at best, no thanks to that ancient Android runtime.

Anyway you should get a few fast chargers for the PB, the ones with the three-pin magnetic port, so you won't wear out the micro-USB port. I scored one for just a few dollars on eBay. The micro-USB charger is also good for charging other phones.

[Old_Mil]

Given the many privacy issues that exist with the Android OS and iOS the PlayBook is my last tablet. I also expect using it for a year or two and have done what you have done with the exception of android apk backups since I don't use them.

I have a laptop with a 12 inch screen that runs linux and after the PlayBook dies I will be using that.

I also have my z10 and will continue to use it with native apps as long as that is an option.

Posted via CB10

[hreiner1]

used daily checking email and browsing the net while sitting on the John
Good for music with a small external speaker
used as a calculator, for BBM texting, checking stock prices, Pandora Music
used to take some pictures on the go, even some videos
sometimes buy a movie or use a YouTube documentary and hook it up to the TV monitor
it my secondary tablet, my first is a Lenovo Tablet 2 with WIN 8,1
again. I use it daily

[PlayBook UK]

My PB has been relegated to an e-book reader and movie player (Kalemsoft) after I got a Windows tablet. I don't browse the web on the PB because the stock browser is plain torture and any third party browser isn't much better. I've given up using the built-in DocsToGo because it's missing a ton of features while Android office suites are flaky at best, no thanks to that ancient Android runtime.

Anyway you should get a few fast chargers for the PB, the ones with the three-pin magnetic port, so you won't wear out the micro-USB port. I scored one for just a few dollars on eBay. The micro-USB charger is also good for charging other phones.

Kingsoft Office sideloaded from Good E Reader works great... as good as on an Android Tablet. Hope this will help your office issues on the PlayBook.

PlayBook UK BBM Channel C001CB4A1

[Banco]

It's an interesting one. It's a three year old tablet now, and obviously obselescent at the very least. I've noticed my battery life isn't quite what it was - nothing disastrous,but no longer a decent seven or eight hours - maybe five or six at most. So it's probably starting the decline now. I do have a spare one that isn't used so I suppose I could switch to that if need be, since that seems to still hold a perfect charge (matter of time for any of course).

Reality is that I still use it, but not as much as I did, as the Z30 is big enough to replace it for a fair few tasks, so like others above, videos, reading and a little light browsing using Origami (which is better than the native browser) and that's around it. But. It's enough that I don't have any pressing desire to replace it. I'm under no illusions that there are much better alternatives, but it's not really the point - it does enough for my requirements. If it lasts another year, then great, I shall decide then what to do. No idea what's coming, I might have a "want" moment at any time!

[blueberrymerry]

No, any Android office suite e.g. QuickOffice or KingSoft on the PB is flaky. When the Android runtime restarts itself - memory gets low, something buggy happens - it takes a long time to get the office suite running.

The worst thing for me is that there's no predictive keyboard in QuickOffice or Kingsoft so they're useless for typing long documents using just the touchscreen. DocsToGo has autocorrect and the predictive keyboard but not much else. In other words, not much of a tool, more a toy.

[adampageuk]

I've got two playbooks, a 16gb bought at launch that had an accident with a foot not too long after being bought, and a 64gb one that I got free as part of a z10 launch promotion.

In terms of accessories, I've got the original orange tipped power supplies and I picked up an extra one of them when I first got a PlayBook. I've got the magnetic tipped travel adapter, and the charging stand, and i've got a leather case with Bluetooth keyboard in.

Both are still seeing daily use. The first one, which has a couple of hairline scratches and a single deeper scratch emanating from the point where it was stood on, is setup as a clock using antair nightstand, and is also setup with tons of games for the kids. The 64gb one is used for browsing thanks to origami, music via deeper, video via kale soft, files via playcloud, and twitter via BlackBerry. It's got a few games on it, but most of the space is used for music and video.

Account wise, I have the 64gb one setup with hotmail, and Facebook via the app. I found having Facebook and Twitter in the messages app really slowed it down, and I used to have it getting my exchange emails and calendar but it basically made the PlayBook unresponsive and unusable.

I'm not too concerned about the playbooks future yet, the 16gbs battery isn't great, but the 64gb one is still in perfect nick, being only 18months old. In the same time frame of me having the playbooks, my wife has gone thru 3 android tablets: 1 was 8inch with a resistive screen and was SLOW, one was 10 inch, slow and terrible battery life, and the latest is the Tesco Hudl, almost PlayBook like in appearance and pretty decent, but battery life on it still isn't great.

I'd have liked to see one last update to bring the keyboard up to par with the bb10 one, I keep trying to swipe on it... beyond that, I find the PlayBook has just enough good enough apps and a great clear screen and amazing stereo speakers to make me keep using it

Posted via CB10

[Wayne_Enterprises]

I picked up my Playbook today and started thinking about how much longer I would be using it on a regular basis. This lead me down the path of thinking about what I can do to future proof my Playbook for at least another year (two years optimistically). I also wanted to open this up to the Crackberry community to learn if there is anything that current users are doing to maximize their use and to prepare for continued use for a least the foreseeable future.

The first thing that I did today was to purchase any accessories that I haven't bought before and would see myself using in the future. It was easy enough to find a case and a cable or two at an extremely insignificant cost. The second thing I did was to back up any essential android APKs that I use on my Playbook regularly. This included Linkedin, Evernote, Dropbox, and Officesuite Pro. Thankfully most of these apps are still supported by the Playbook android runtime or what I believes is Android 2.3 Gingerbread (Don't quote me). The third thing I did was to go through Blackberry World which is something that ended up not being necessary. I did a sweep for any apps that I wanted to make sure I had loaded on the device in the instance that Blackberry does away with the App World on the Playbook (It would come as no surprise at this point). Unfortunately, anything worth downloading I already had. It really is depressing to take a walkthrough the Playbook App World. It's like the graveyard where apps go to die... but, to continue... the new thing I did was to make sure that all of my accounts on the Playbook were configured correctly. The final step I took was to delete any unnecessary files from the device to make sure that it's performing as well as it can.

That is really all that I could think of. Thankfully, it's easy enough to get files onto and off the Playbook so as a multimedia player, I still plan to get a significant amount of use out of the device. It's also still great as an on-the-fly content creation device. For my purposes, the quality of the video recording still really great for short form video clips.

All in all, I can still see myself using the Playbook for at least another year. The point at which I will probably taper off use of the device will be when the device really starts to lag in comparison to my other devices. For right now though, it's not that big of a concern for what I use it for so here's to another year of Playbook use.

What are your ideas? Has anyone else taken similar steps? Do you see yourself using the Playbook for much longer? Let me know your ideas. I know there are still a lot of users out there so hopefully there are some practical solutions out there for those of us who want to keep using our Playbooks.

As you can see from my post yesterday, my PB is dead and I don't plan on a resurrection. I imagine others may be in a similar boat.

RIM really didn't design the tablet for casual long term use like the Kindle or ipad 1st gen

Posted via CB10 on 10.2.1.3139

[Banco]

No, any Android office suite e.g. QuickOffice or KingSoft on the PB is flaky. When the Android runtime restarts itself - memory gets low, something buggy happens - it takes a long time to get the office suite running.

The worst thing for me is that there's no predictive keyboard in QuickOffice or Kingsoft so they're useless for typing long documents using just the touchscreen. DocsToGo has autocorrect and the predictive keyboard but not much else. In other words, not much of a tool, more a toy.

I don't think I'd ever try to 'create' an office/work document on any tablet when I can do it on a laptop instead. None of them are brilliant at it. Some are adequate enough, sure, many are now better than a PlayBook at it and you're right about the Android runtime too. But I just wouldn't even want to try something that complex, tablets aren't that good at it.

Posted via CB10

[Tony Lydford]

I succumbed a few weeks ago to a Surface Tablet. Quicker Internet browsing and the ability to plug an external hard disk drive or memory stick into it. My playbook reduced to an ebook reader and occasional Internet browsing. Takes forever it seems to start up, but the screen resolution and clarity seem to me way better than ipad and Surface. I'd loved to have seen a 10inch playbook. Alas, BlackBerry are very unlikely to venture into the tablet market again- they're to busy trying to regain lost share in the mobile phone market. I'll be sticking with my Z10 though, and holding out for the Z30 to be released here in New Zealand

[raymondguzman]

I have a Microsoft Surface too and honestly with decreased price of the first generation surface, it's the best transition for PlayBook users. The iPad is simply too locked down in comparison to the PlayBook and most Android tablets just lack a certain build quality. Sure, the Surface's app store isn't great, but any app store compared to the BlackBerry store is a hundred times more comprehensive.

Posted via CB10

[blueberrymerry]

If you're interested in a similar size to the PB, I would suggest Intel Atom-based tablets running Windows 8.1 like the Dell Venue Pro, Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet, Toshiba Encore etc. An ARM-based Surface or Surface 2 runs Windows RT and can only run stuff from the Microsoft App Store, along with some recompiled desktop apps. A Surface Pro is a proper laptop in a tablet but they cost a fortune. The smaller Atom tablets are x86-based and can run any Windows desktop or App Store programs and best of all, they're cheap

[dmlis]

I owned 3 of them (not counting several more bought as gifts or by request). Changed from 16GB to used 64GB and then to new 32GB - which I still use as my main tablet.
Email (5 accounts), music player (Neutron), occasional movies on the road - on my lap or on hotel TV through HDMI cable, maps (Magellan Compass), Word, Excel. Ebooks reading: Kindle and PDF.
Overall, browser experience is my only major disappointment with Playbook. And I wish the screen is 0.5-1.0" larger, - but just because my vision is getting worse.
Battery life declines, certainly, - by about 20% in 1.5 years according to my tests. Not sure if I buy another one when battery drops too low... But who knows, I still like this device.

[FF22]

Mine 64 Playbook still goes on all of my out-of-town trips. I have never gotten over the loss of Bridge for email. I never really liked setting up email on the pb. I liked that when disconnected from the 9930, email, calendar, memos evaporated. But I use browser or Origami even if a bit slow. (I never figured out what happened to the Origami developer) and watch video on it when away from home. I also in some ways still prefer the Crackberry app on the pb - larger screen and fonts and Private Messages show.

The 32 Playbook sits idle and powered off. Waiting to be a replacement should the 64 fail. I turned it on after about 2 months the other day and the charge was holding well. But topped it off and powered it off.

[sorinv]

Given the many privacy issues that exist with the Android OS and iOS the PlayBook is my last tablet. I also expect using it for a year or two and have done what you have done with the exception of android apk backups since I don't use them.

I have a laptop with a 12 inch screen that runs linux and after the PlayBook dies I will be using that.

I also have my z10 and will continue to use it with native apps as long as that is an option.

Posted via CB10

Same here.

Posted via CB10

[dee.]

Whenever I do charge mine up I use it for videos and ebooks, but it's my son that uses it the most to play whatever games I have downloaded for him. He's 2 so it keeps him pretty entertained.

Posted via CB10

[iGlad]

i use mine 2-3 times per year to watch videos on the plane when going on holidays……that's it as its basically a piece of junk really. luckily i didn't pay full price for it, would never buy anything from blackberry here again.

[Brian Levy]

I cleaned mine off and got rid of almost all the Android apps and it is far better. I use Origami as my browser. The native mail client works well. I have 4 accounts on it and also use the Contacts and Calendar syncing with Google. Only limitation I found is dates entered in the Google Contacts does not show through. I prefer not duplicating them in the Google Calendar program.

DocstoGo is fine. I have drafted some documents with 30 pages and then later transfer the file to either Calligraphy or Abiword/Gnumeric to finish and print. For me the tablet is where the ideas and concepts get recorded. Neither a tablet of smartphone is going to replace the laptop or desktop any time soon as a full computer to the full range they can. Not selling the tablet short, any tablet, but the form factor has a different mission.

I can easily see using the PB until it literally dies. It so far has outlasted my son's tablet running Android 2.0. He liked at the PB but decided to spend nearly a grand on an iPad Mini with max memory and accessories. HD now is heading to the UK for a week and nervous about taking it. I offered the PB and he came close to taking it.

[kfroese]

I'm still using my 64Gb model (the 16Gb is in a drawer somewhere) and still like it. Good size, decent email program. That said, my most commonly used apps are the mail, call display from my Q10 via bridge, Overdrive Media console (read ebooks from my local library), Comic Rocket (for reading online web comics), and a couple of games (Cut the Rope and Reaper). Occasionally use Globe News app and Evernote (for recipes). I'm pondering getting Origami Browser as there is one site I'm starting to frequent that won't run in the native browser - some with Origami want to try it for me? The site is lastminutegoals.org - I can see the site but can't get any of the videos to show and my Q screen is a bit small for watching soccer/football highlights. Alternatively, I'm going to purchase the HDMI cord.

[pacoman03]

some with Origami want to try it for me? The site is lastminutegoals.org - I can see the site but can't get any of the videos to show .

No go for Origami, but it does work in Maxthon Browser (free android app in app world).

[kfroese]

No go for Origami, but it does work in Maxthon Browser (free android app in app world).

Awesome! Thanks for checking. Will be installing Maxthon as soon as I convert to bar.

Q10SQN100-1/10.3.0.1052 Radio/.1130 OS/.1154 Apps

[pacoman03]

Awesome! Thanks for checking. Will be installing Maxthon as soon as I convert to bar.

There's no need to convert. As I said, it's in app world. Just install from there.

[kfroese]

There's no need to convert. As I said, it's in app world. Just install from there.

Sorry. I glazed over after seeing "android" and assumed I'd be pulling from Play and having to convert. And you are right, it does work!

Q10SQN100-1/10.3.0.1052 Radio/.1130 OS/.1154 Apps