Had a wobble this week.....

Well, all this free advertising of the Apple mini ipad got me thinking this week as to whether I should take the plunge and swap over. Was I just missing out on something so much more superior? It seemed that not only did it have loads more apps, but it seemed to browse faster and be a good experience for users.

Well, I am sure that is true for many. But then I got to having a look at what I had and what I wanted to do with it.

I have a Blackberry 8790 and a Playbook. I got the Playbook in January when it dropped to �169 in the UK (and at the time I had a Blackberry Curve phone. I must admit to being a little underwhelmed. The Bridge was intermittent and I had to reinstall the Bridge icons a few times. The browser seemed pretty slow. Trying to get pages over the bridge were pretty awful.

So, I started the itchy feet syndrome. But then I started to look at a few things.

I changed my phone to an 8790 - I was very tempted with a Samsung but I do love a keyboard phone and so took a commitment to another two years.

The upgrade to 2.1 on Playbook has seemed to bring a lot more stability to the Bridge for me.

I have switched off Flash and Javascript on the Playbook - which have made loading soooo much faster (and where I need it I can at least turn it on easily and at least it makes it a fairer comparison with Apple!)

I then looked at what I actually use my Playbook for as to whether it is fit for purpose (for me that is)

o I use it for browsing - works well
o I use it for accessing remote files on sugarsync, box and dropbox (great with Files & Folders)
o I use it for presentations (brilliant being able to use my blackberry as my remote device and I have a mini HDMI to VGA cable)
o I use it for taking videos (I made a video with it Kenya in Feb - building a mud hut - great to have a 5mp HD camera - better than most others)
o I use it for writing documents and notes (it's fine for me)
o I am even using the calendar more and texting from it
o I use it a bit for reading (I have sideloaded Kindle - but I still prefer reading a physical book - although I recently by mistake bought a �30 reference book instead of the physical one and so I HAVE to use the Kindle for that one!)
And I like the size (sort of A5 size is great) and the multi-tasking and the gestures.

So, is there anything that is important to me that I would find elsewhere? Well, maybe skype - but even then I'm not certain. And I CERTAINLY wouldn't pay over �100 extra for.

So, where am I at?

I don't want I an ipad mini - the specs seem to small a change to spend all that money (interesting that Techradar are reporting record Kindle sales this week after the launch of the ipad mini) . The Kindle Fire and Google Nexus don't give me anything that I need (and aren't great on the camera side of things).

I'm happy. It does what I need it to do and I can't realistically see me changing for the next couple of years (providing it isn't all switched off). I like the combo with the blackberry.

If I had nothing would I be happy to go for the combo I have now? Yes, I would. Indeed I would likely go for the 64gb model of the playbook. They are serious pieces of hardware and software. My wobble is over and now I'm just getting on and using them for what I bought them for.

Sorry for the meandering post!

I'm glad you mentioned Flash and Javascript. It explains the speed of browsing on an iPad/iPhone being fast. When people complain that browsing on the PB is slow compared to their iOS device, the proper answer is to tell them to disable at least Flash to make it a fair comparison because iOS devices don't use Flash. Of late, Apple has said they are removing Javascript functionality from iOS devices as well.

Originally Posted by Marty_LK

I'm glad you mentioned Flash and Javascript. It explains the speed of browsing on an iPad/iPhone being fast. When people complain that browsing on the PB is slow compared to their iOS device, the proper answer is to tell them to disable at least Flash to make it a fair comparison because iOS devices don't use Flash. Of late, Apple has said they are removing Javascript functionality from iOS devices as well.

I think the proper answer is to say that the PlayBook is one of the few tablet computers that have a fully capable browser, instead of a crippled version. The maker of such crippled version, with the help of its marketing machinery has been spreading the message that Flash is dead since 2009, but oh no, sir, it is not.

Originally Posted by Marty_LK

Of late, Apple has said they are removing Javascript functionality from iOS devices as well.

Really? Where did you read that? It would render 95% of the internet totally useless...

Originally Posted by Marty_LK

Of late, Apple has said they are removing Javascript functionality from iOS devices as well.

First, you are absolutely wrong. I could go on with references etc, but this is so far wrong that it is literally not worth the minuscule effort to document that fact.

I am, however, very interested in the thought process that led you to post this. Where did this idea come from? I read so many ideas on this site that are completely, unarguably wrong but stated with calm certitude.

Where in the heck did this particular bit of wisdom come from?
a. -mixing up J words?
b. -some kind of weird, positive feedback loop where any anti-apple comment gets liked/thanked no matter how ridiculous?
c. -?????

Sputneek likes this. Support for b.

Originally Posted by moloko velocet

First, you are absolutely wrong. I could go on with references etc, but this is so far wrong that it is literally not worth the minuscule effort to document that fact.

I am, however, very interested in the thought process that led you to post this. Where did this idea come from? I read so many ideas on this site that are completely, unarguably wrong but stated with calm certitude.

Where in the heck did this particular bit of wisdom come from?
a. -mixing up J words?
b. -some kind of weird, positive feedback loop where any anti-apple comment gets liked/thanked no matter how ridiculous?
c. -?????

Sputneek likes this. Support for b.

LMFAO

Originally Posted by Innovatology

Really? Where did you read that? It would render 95% of the internet totally useless...

confirmed, i also saw this in some of news papers, mentioned by APPLE

Originally Posted by thecsman

I think the proper answer is to say that the PlayBook is one of the few tablet computers that have a fully capable browser, instead of a crippled version. The maker of such crippled version, with the help of its marketing machinery has been spreading the message that Flash is dead since 2009, but oh no, sir, it is not.

I just tried that with disabling flash and javascript. It was faster, but not that much, but a bunch of stuff was missing. Why on earth would you want a device crippled like that what is the point? Is Apple trying to find oit what it takes to pi$$ the die hard sheep off? That is so dumb! I could nevef deal with that. They would make me feel like an .
At first announcing proudly that flash is not supported, then planning on doing the same with javascript.
There is stuff on the net that won't work without javascript. That browser would be as useful as a hemorrhoid.

Sorry about the way this is going! I was not meaning to start a war about other tablets and OS's.

My point was that the Blackberry combo do what I actually need them to do - and have some things (such as the bridge function and the remote control from blackberry phone function) that appear unique and some things that are great (such as the phone keyboard & the 2 x cameras one a 5mp) and others that everyone I am sure does (such as documents and access to remote files etc).

If I had an apple system would I be happy? I'm sure I would. I'm sure that I would adapt and find things that I loved about it. But I don't have an apple system (or an android one). Blackberry are a bargain combo that does everything I need - you can get a blackberry 9790 in the UK for �20 per month and a 64gb Playbook for �129. I don't need more.

app,w ditch javascript? whats next... css support?
sorry that the stupidest thing ive read here in the last days ;) as allready said many webpages rely on it.
that why i wont switch it of on my playbook

also saying all other browser are crippled besides the pb one is also funny. have you ever tried those browsers? chrome, firefox or safari are all much faster on similar hardware. flash is the only thing the playbook browser does better...

Originally Posted by atlac

confirmed, i also saw this in some of news papers, mentioned by APPLE

Atlac enters a vote for a:

a. -mixing up J words?

The java programming language is not JavaScript.

Not even close.

10/19/2012 Apple Makes OS X Safer By Removing Java
Apple Makes OS X Safer By Removing Java - Forbes
"Apple has taken another step towards making OS X safer on the web. An update released on Wednesday sees the
*************Java*************
plugin removed from all Mac-compatible browsers installed on the system."

Note the slight spelling difference.
JAVA IS NOT JAVASCRIPT

Apple - HTML5
"Every new Apple mobile device and every new Mac � along with the latest version of Apple�s Safari web browser � supports web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and ***JavaScript***. These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient. They allow web designers and developers to create advanced graphics, typography, animations, and transitions. Standards aren�t add-ons to the web. They are the web. And you can start using them today."