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I'm so glad that someone finally raised this point in a forum topic.
When I buy just about any device, I tend to look it up online. Today, for any device you want to buy, by the time it hits the shelves, you can find many reviews, both written and video, telling you all of the pros and cons, showing you how it works, and even comparing it to other 'comparable' devices on the market.
I prefer to spend my time up front evaluating what it is I want to buy and, more importanly, determining from what's said or written about the device, as well as what my particular set of definied needs are, which device makes most sense for me to buy.
I can see the frustration of people who bought a Playbook at launch, because they bought based more on promises and not real-life experiences. But that's the pitfall of being an early adoptor. My real confusion is with people who bought it this past December based on price drops. It's not like there weren't a gazillion reviews, videos, and threads just like this one.
When I joined this site, I had already been a Blackberry user for quite some time. I made my first post because I had a question about how to do something on my Curve 8830 that I couldn't figure out myself. I found that my question was responded to quickly and correctly. I began reading through the forums and found many nice people being very helpful and continued to check in here on a regular basis. At that time, there were many people complaining about phone rebooting, white screens, delays in getting software updates, and the likes.
But recently, it's different. Every device has its own unique quirks. Check device-specific forums and you'll see a mix of complements and complaints. The main difference, as I see it, is that RIM products are niche devices and everyone who owns them don't fall into the niche.
Right now, if you own a BB phone, a Playbook is a great companion device. If you don't, then it's just another wifi tablet. There are technical capabilities that make the Playbook shine (wifi file transfer, multitasking, and the fluidity of the UI). But if you're a consumer who simply said, "hey, that Playbook is now $200.00 so I'll give it a try." Not knowing exactly what it is and diving in based on price is not always the best approach.
People here are airing their frustration at functionality that is supposed to be here but is not. That's OK. People are also complaining about functionality that was never promised, and that irks me. There is not device that does everything everyone wants (until the iPad renders Flash on websites and comes in a 7" form factor presumably). Every device will generate it's own list of owner complaints.
Since the iPad mini is not out yet (or even announced), the tablet-du-jour seems to be the Nexus 7. At the same price point, I still would go with the Playbook for one simple reason. The Nexus 7 has no rear-facing camera. This was a big omission as far as I am concerned because I use my Playbook to scan QR codes and then bridge to my phones internet connection so that I can look up product/services information where I don't have a wifi connection. That's a show stopper for me with that device.
Everyone has issues with devices. I feel bad for anyone who went into their Playbook purchase either misinformed or under-educated. I feel that these people deserve a place to vent their frustration. But my frustration is in having other people's frustration scattered among hundreds of threads making it difficult to simply look for a solution to a problem or simply follow an interesting train of thought without having the topic get derailed.
Maybe we need a separate forum in which people can do all of the complaining and bashing they want. I just want to see cleaner threads. We've got a pretty hefty wait ahead of us before BB10 hits. But in the meantime, we're going to see 2.1 at some point (hopefully soon). With a lot of time with no news, speculative threads have turned into threads like this and it doesn't surprise me.
There's no mistaking what the contents of a thread titled "I'm tired of defending this tablet" is about. I know what I'm in for when I click the thread to read it. I just wish that these could be consolodated and that threads about real topics of importance to people wouldn't turn into similar discussions.07-15-12 01:15 PM - WHAAAAAH!!!!!! Boo hoo i'm sick and tired of all the wining and complaining!!!....the grass isn't any greener on the other side i've used some of the other tablets and there's plenty to complain about there to so sit back relax have a drink and be thankful it could be a whole lot worse
07-15-12 01:54 PM - To the OP,
Use whatever device tickles your fancy... it's your choice and your choice alone.. you really don't have to post your reasons here because it doesn't mean anything.
However, if you were an individual not affected by peer pressure, try to rationally justify your tablet needs to yourself - lay out all the device specs and functions and review the following to yourself:
- price
- efficiency (ie. multitasking, predictive texting)
- portability
- data plan effectiveness
- reliable communication device
- orgranizer
- apps and gaming
- overall usefulness
- browser experience (flash importance?)
- multimedia (taking pictures and video)
- ebook reader
- gps/mapping
- interacing to different devices.. transfer of files
- ease of use
- can I pick up chicks with it? (if you consider this a need)
- etc.
and again .. and this is important ... justify to yourself which device maximizes your needs. Go with that one.. cause that's the one you've truly justified to yourself .. and not to others
..because in the end that what really matters and knowing that another individual's needs are most likely different from your own.
PS: If more than one device satisfies your needs and you've got the money then buy em all.. it's great for the economy
Last edited by lynxs_claw; 07-15-12 at 05:08 PM.
07-15-12 05:03 PM
