[AWB70]

It's not missing "some fad apps", it's missing all useful apps.

May the playbook die a slow death lol.

Posted via CB10

Here's where the tail wags the dog. PlayBook is not missing essential apps because devs don't want to make apps for the platform. They don't make apps because the platform was cut down before it hit it's prime and made developing apps not lucrative enough for their time.
This isn't limited to the PlayBook though, this is also the case for all BlackBerry products as far back as I can remember and up to date. They're their own worst enemies because they expect products to sell themselves. If BlackBerry hadn't brought in sideloading they would have faded into obscurity by now.
They have been bringing devs on board for as far back as I can remember without success. The same goes for BB 10. That's the reason when you get a leaflet through your door with the offerings of latest devices from providers or you look on the Internet for a deal you will never find a BlackBerry device in that line up. You have to search specifically to find one.
It's not that long ago a petition was set up to force a native version of snapchat into BlackBerry world!
We're all in this together trying to save BB from themselves. The only thing they have on their side is their loyal customer base and it's that which we're appealing to. It seems they don't want to listen though and while we all offset the lack of native apps against user experience other manufacturers are stealing the experience a bit at a time and the security which was BlackBerry usp Thor through out in his infinite wisdom unless you're on BES is being filled by the Black phone.
We can either sit back and let them cut their own throats or we can ram home what we're not happy about.


Posted via CB10

[AWB70]

Got side tracked as to why I started that post lol. The devs weren't sure what apps to make. They held off PlayBook Apps because it didn't sell well to start with, then they could port android apps, then they said it would be a bb10 device, then they scrapped it. If I was a Dev trying to make a living from my skills I would probably avoid BlackBerry as well.

Having said that, a thought crossed my mind the other evening. If I was an app Dev who was looking for a quick buck I would start making apps for PlayBook. I guess you could say you have a captive audience. I would probably pay for some apps right now that normally I would expect to be free on other platforms.

A working Facebook for a start.

Posted via CB10

[PlayBook UK]

It might be a good idea (as in: a gesture of good will) to edit the mail address out of your previous posts...

Ok removed from my posts, I cannot remove from Schwede posts.

Now that's resolved, I ask again, who knows the correct BlackBerry contact channel for a Business or Personal PlayBook owner to discuss the the future Maintenance and Security updates of the BlackBerry PlayBook ?

PlayBook UK BBM Channel C001CB4A1

[Griffyj]

I have decided to put my Playbook on the shelf and maybe sell it. It just does not have all the features I need anymore and with no sign of Blackberry doing anymore updates, I am going to try something else.

[Hirazi Blue]

I ask again, who knows the correct BlackBerry contact channel for a Business or Personal PlayBook owner to discuss the the future Maintenance and Security updates of the BlackBerry PlayBook ?

In the twitterverse you could try Alex Saunders (@asaunders), if he still works for Blackberry. Maybe if you ask him nicely, he can tell you if and where such a channel exists.

PS - You did the right thing!

[PlayBook UK]

I have decided to put my Playbook on the shelf and maybe sell it. It just does not have all the features I need anymore and with no sign of Blackberry doing anymore updates, I am going to try something else.

There are plenty of BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 smartphone owners waiting to see what happens with the petition. As said before alot of customers (not all I know) like to use Phones and Tablets of the same brand. I know I do.

PlayBook UK BBM Channel C001CB4A1

[AWB70]

In the twitterverse you could try Alex Saunders (@asaunders), if he still works for Blackberry. Maybe if you ask him nicely, he can tell you if and where such a channel exists.

PS - You did the right thing!

To be fair to Alec I have had a couple of chats with him. He's not really that much to do with PlayBook more to do with getting devs making native apps. He was just the messenger that got shot because he announced on twitter that bb10 wasn't coming which should have been BlackBerry responsibility not his. By his own admission it wasn't a decision he was happy about but had to stand by it.

Don't suppose there's anything wrong with asking him about a channel but if we have to search for BB employees past or present to get information something is seriously wrong. At the end of the day it is a current product in every day use someone official should be available for comment.



Posted via CB10

[Hirazi Blue]

I didn't mean to suggest mister Saunders has any influence whatsoever on the issue at hand, merely that his somewhat public persona makes him a good (the only?) person to turn to in the quest for a proper channel. Personally I am somewhat skeptical if he'd be willing to cooperate, judging from my own dealings with him, but I still think it's worth a shot...

[AWB70]

Yeah, worth a try nothibg wrong with asking. Still criminal though that Blackberry's support email has failed to reply and neither has a direct email to the support team. I think they encourage action like this by refusing to answer. Perhaps there wouldn't be a petition at all if Blackberry were a bit better at communicating.
looking back over the whole Playbook saga from day dot, I don't think that any of the information I have found regarding the device has ever came from an official source.

[Hirazi Blue]

I think they encourage action like this by refusing to answer. Perhaps there wouldn't be a petition at all if Blackberry were a bit better at communicating.

Painfully true!

[Hirazi Blue]

As an afterthought: I assume @savetheplaybook did already contact @BlackBerryHelp for help in getting to the proper channel?

[kbz1960]

So how's the campaign going? Any word from BBRY yet?

[PlayBook UK]

So how's the campaign going? Any word from BBRY yet?

822 have signed the petition so far:

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petition...rry-playbook-2

We have been unable to get BlackBerry to acknowledge the petition so far. The correct contact channels are difficult to establish.

We are hoping to update the campaign website with a news feed on progress:

savetheplaybook.com

Keep with us, we are still trying.

Thank You

PlayBook UK BBM Channel C001CB4A1

[texn884]

When will all you stop your crazy ness with the playbook???

I have 3 of them and each runs great and when they die they die!

Do the ipad and other tablet owners have petitions to save their old tablets and laptops and phones and reel to reel machines?

Give it up and MOVE ON and get a fricking LIFE

[Hirazi Blue]

Thank you for dropping by with this important statement. Feels good, getting it off your chest, doesn't it?

[AWB70]

When will all you stop your crazy ness with the playbook???

I have 3 of them and each runs great and when they die they die!

Do the ipad and other tablet owners have petitions to save their old tablets and laptops and phones and reel to reel machines?

Give it up and MOVE ON and get a fricking LIFE

I agree oddly enough. I was on mine last night and concluded that you know what, this thing runs pretty sweet actually. The downside was that of noticing the most common native apps are now stopping working, Evernote, Dropbox, box. I guess the app developers can't see any point in fixing them if blackberry aren't bothering either. Maybe BlackBerry should have just done nothing and popped out a small update now and again just to keep the dream alive. Or maybe they are, who knows!
The big difference between the PlayBook and other tablets you mentioned is that for those 3 years owning their tablets they were supported. In the case of the PlayBook nearly a year of that was spent waiting for bb10 to come out, then another 8 months waiting to see if BlackBerry was going pop, then when they finally got their **** together they dropped it.
Not exactly support is it? You'll be lucky if they have spent months on it and all the loyal supporters who waited and didn't jump ship got their pants pulled down.
Theoretically they probably still owe us another couple of years of updates to make up for it.
Another point I do agree with is it maybe is time to move on. Reading Chens statement that 98% of android apps run on bb10 doesn't bode well for getting devs native. What he's saying imo is that he's passed the building of apps over to android. He obviously doesn't realise that these apps have limited functions like buying in game things etc.
That gives me the impression that the company is going even further away from consumers and the next rumoured phones don't appeal that much to me.
He's sort of saying if you want an android type device and now security is reserved for our BES customers you're actually probably better off going android. Specs are higher, same security, no hassle over apps and the company will provide support.


Posted via CB10

[axllebeer]

As an afterthought: I assume @savetheplaybook did already contact @BlackBerryHelp for help in getting to the proper channel?

Good plan. Done.




Posted from my CB via the power of "Q"

[Paul Callahan]

I still think the Playbook was ahead it's time when it came out. It's still a great tablet for the current price. Last but not least, I love the option to Bridge my Q10 just as I could with my legacy device and not be charged extra $ for tethering or having to make a mobile hotspot for it.

Q10 on T-Mobile

[PlayBook UK]

Good plan. Done.




Posted from my CB via the power of "Q"

Retweet if you agree from: @PlayBookUnitedK or @SavethePlayBook

PlayBook UK BBM Channel C001CB4A1

[miko2097]

To be fair, BlackBerry are bleeding cash and until that changes, I don't think the petition has a leg to stand on, no matter how many signatures. Maybe in future they can reassess the decision.

Posted via CB10

[maclancer]

Why not create a petition to ask blackberry to unlock the boot loader on the playbook? So developers from the XDA community can make Android work on the playbook.

[Hirazi Blue]

Why not create a petition to ask blackberry to unlock the boot loader on the playbook?

I have decided not to repeat myself on this issue anymore, so there...

[AWB70]

I have decided not to repeat myself on this issue anymore, so there...

Surely it's out of their hands now though? This is the bit that I don't get. It's like separating from your partner on the understanding that she doesn't go with anyone else!
IF people want to keep BlackBerry OS in their PlayBook they can. Just don't download the patch. Essentially you have exactly what you have now, no security is compromised for existing users. People who want to unlock it then forfeit any support by downloading the patch. This thing wasn't born with BlackBerry OS in it, it's just circuit boards and hardware until BB install the certified OS. Once you remove it you have whatever you want it to be in your hands. With no remnants of the os left over no one can work out how to hack an existing. The patch couldn't be manipulated because it wouldn't check sum and it wouldn't be digitally signed by BlackBerry.
The old it'll compromise others that's still out there line is getting a bit thin. BlackBerry have already compromised it by not providing security updates.
Put a scenario together where one day in the future we hear of the XXXXX exploit. What it does is uses the outdated flash to hack the PlayBook browser giving access to files kept on the PlayBook. Now what, where do we go from there? Will blackberry release a patch for that? And that in essence is what people are asking, if the case is they wouldn't then they should hand back the hardware to the people who bought it. Negating their responsibilities which I'm pretty sure at this point would be exactly what they want.
Talk about having your cake and eating it.

Posted via CB10

[Hirazi Blue]

Sorry, but even if you were to get a patch that gives you the ability to put some other OS (I'm guessing something starting with A?) on it, wouldn't the age of the hardware suddenly become a huge limitation as there are numerous current tablets that outshine the PB on the hardware front? Personally I would have favoured opening the current OS a little more (maybe even root access, perhaps), but even that (or better especially that) is out of the question from "their" POV.

[AWB70]

I was thinking more along the lines of something beginning with U It seems to have been installed on similar spec older tablets and no doubt different flavours will be coming out. Being locked down the playbook isn't even on the radar.
I suppose we're stuck with what we've got. Lesson for future purchases.