[glassofpinot]

I have a better perspective on the Playbook now - had to get past all the different posting messages. Beyond all the App and selling price comments, few talk about TOTAL cost of ownership (and I salute those who cry out above the crowd).
That means the Bridge eliminates a ~$50 monthly phone/data bill for anyone carrying a Blackberry phone. That's $600 every year - real money in our world. As a business, it ranks above features that we won't use. We are going to deploy a tablet for 100 users in 3-6 months - the money is a big part of the decision. They already carry BB phones - so why do I want to pay Verizon or AT&T more connection/data charges?

Do I also want access to my desktop files - you bet! And otehr things too. But I want to measure the PB based on what it can do to help us as a business, not on an App count or what people will do on the beach. Will we buy the PB or something else - we'll see.
Just IMO, from my perspective.

[lophreaque]

Cost of the data plan was one of the big drivers for my PB decision.
Those costs add up quickly. And for a big deployment they are significant.
Do the math and it is easy to see.

[dmcclure2]

Not sure this is a plus for the PB, for a couple of reasons:

1) It tells any business organization that is not standardized on Blackberry phones to stay away from the playbook...because in the absence of BB phones, there is no economic benefit to the PB for their users.

2) This savings may work by using the Bridge Browser, but for use of the faster native browser you will need to tether to the BB phone, incurring a $25 monthly fee.

While you may read a lot of smarmy comments about how native email and PIM apps are unnecessary, if RIM is to ever reach break-even on this product they need to leverage consumers who do not at present use BB phones. For them, the lack of native apps makes this tablet a non-starter.

Which drags many current users into the discussion of what BB phones to adopt next, to maintain the benefits of the BB/PB synergies. Frankly, I will hold on to my Storm II for as long as it takes to find a decent replacement. Hopefully, one will appear...sometime.

[kbz1960]

Not sure this is a plus for the PB, for a couple of reasons:

1) It tells any business organization that is not standardized on Blackberry phones to stay away from the playbook...because in the absence of BB phones, there is no economic benefit to the PB for their users.

2) This savings may work by using the Bridge Browser, but for use of the faster native browser you will need to tether to the BB phone, incurring a $25 monthly fee.

While you may read a lot of smarmy comments about how native email and PIM apps are unnecessary, if RIM is to ever reach break-even on this product they need to leverage consumers who do not at present use BB phones. For them, the lack of native apps makes this tablet a non-starter.

Which drags many current users into the discussion of what BB phones to adopt next, to maintain the benefits of the BB/PB synergies. Frankly, I will hold on to my Storm II for as long as it takes to find a decent replacement. Hopefully, one will appear...sometime.

You can use the regular browser over bridge is that not supported on BES?

[howarmat]

some places (mostly US) charge for tether and hotspot. May more do not have these extra charges. Even so there are many work arounds for free data access. ATT makes you even pay for bridge access. For some the bridge saves money for others its just a crutch since the device doesnt have proper PIM service

[joshua_sx1]

Honestly, I have a 3G Android tablet that is why I'm not really looking forward to any Android applications in my PlayBook, simply because, I'm sure it will not exceed (even not equally leveled up) the Android tablet with regards to Android applications...

Anyway, since my Android tablet is 3G, I just simply remove my 3G SIM card from my CP and put into the tablet and that's it! No need to bridge or tethered or even look for a hot-spot...

I believe, I will have a better perspective with PlayBook if it has been released with 3G or 4G LTE capabilities...

[shootsscores]

So your phone is dead when you have your tablet working.

Love the bridge.

Trying to get dates organized with colleagues, I have my BB showing a list of times and my PB opened to the calendar.

[WinningWithLogic]

Don't most capable smartphones these days have wifi hotspot capability so you could connect to the internet using your wifi-only tablet anyway. I think this is what most people do?

[kbz1960]

Don't most capable smartphones these days have wifi hotspot capability so you could connect to the internet using your wifi-only tablet anyway. I think this is what most people do?

Yes a lot do. Carriers also charge for that unless of course you use work arounds for it. Another thing if you think bluetooth and bridging kills your phones battery fast I think hotspotting is even worse on the battery.

[Superfly_FR]

Don't most capable smartphones these days have wifi hotspot capability so you could connect to the internet using your wifi-only tablet anyway. I think this is what most people do?

Yes, in did.
But as stated by howarmat, operator mostly charge for that.
So tether is often worse than having a dedicated unlimited data plan, while you'll probably get charged very high, based on your consumption.
At the end, whatever the technical connection trick you use, I will cost more than a single BB data plan over your phone.
(I've been told that some iPhone users have a workaround "hiding" the hotspot use so that they won't get charged. But that's piracy hacking...)

[Sith_Apprentice]

some places (mostly US) charge for tether and hotspot. May more do not have these extra charges. Even so there are many work arounds for free data access. ATT makes you even pay for bridge access. For some the bridge saves money for others its just a crutch since the device doesnt have proper PIM service

AT&T makes you pay? I have 2 BB 9900s on my account with 2 PBs and Bridge. Never paid a dime extra for it.

[metroside]

I tend to agree that there are pros and cons in the way that RIM have setup the Playbook.

While using the Bridge features is awesome if you have a Blackberry already, it does restrict RIM some what.

In reality, the Android and iPhones are everywhere and personally if I had one of these phones why would I want to purchase a PB, especially if it doesn't have an email client on it and it only supports a wifi connection and not 3G? I understand the concept of bundling services in the telecommunication industry to hold onto customers due to the investment they made in products, but I have my doubts about how this will work out for RIM if they want to market to families and everyday consumers to purchase one. Bridging takes away the some of simplicity that iPads provide.

One thing I don't believe gets advertised enough is that many of the new Android phones that are running Honeycomb now support mobile hotspots which works very nice with the PB. I use my work Atrix as a mobile hotspot from time to timeand find the connecton faster than using the bridge with my 9800.

In saying the above, I do have a Blackberry and I do love being able to bridge my phone which piggybacks off my unlimited Blackberry plan and for me personally I believe I am saving a lot of money by having purchased a PB rather than using an Android tablet or a iPad, which cost twice the upfront costs if I was to purchase a 3G version as well as eliminating the need to incur ongoing costs of having to be on an extra monthly data plan.

[howarmat]

AT&T makes you pay? I have 2 BB 9900s on my account with 2 PBs and Bridge. Never paid a dime extra for it.

i should say they cripple the bridge and i think make you pay for all features. That is why everyone downloads a different app from rroys site

[WinningWithLogic]

Yes, in did.
But as stated by howarmat, operator mostly charge for that.
So tether is often worse than having a dedicated unlimited data plan, while you'll probably get charged very high, based on your consumption.
At the end, whatever the technical connection trick you use, I will cost more than a single BB data plan over your phone.
(I've been told that some iPhone users have a workaround "hiding" the hotspot use so that they won't get charged. But that's piracy hacking...)

Yes, good point. In that respect, Bridge is certainly a useful feature then and also potentially a money saver.

Excuse the ignorance here...when you are bridged though is it the equivalent to a full data connection? For example, can you browse App World while you are bridged? Can you play network connected apps/games? Use the Facebook app, etc?

I've also heard people comment that when you are bridged the browser isn't the same (inferior for some reason)?

[hudsmom]

I also have AT&T. I upgraded my data plan to 4gb from 2gb and the tethering was included. The upgrade was $20 more/month. I guess if someone already has the 4gb data plan then the bridge wouldn't cost any extra. Using the bridge with AT&T has worked fine for me with no issues.

[Superfly_FR]

Yes, good point. In that respect, Bridge is certainly a useful feature then and also potentially a money saver.

Excuse the ignorance here...when you are bridged though is it the equivalent to a full data connection? For example, can you browse App World while you are bridged? Can you play network connected apps/games? Use the Facebook app, etc?

I've also heard people comment that when you are bridged the browser isn't the same (inferior for some reason)?

when you are bridged though is it the equivalent to a full data connection? For example, can you browse App World while you are bridged ?
Yes it is equivalent to full data connection and mostly all apps will support that. For the App World there's a restriction referring to localization, so the wifi is mandatory.

I've also heard people comment that when you are bridged the browser isn't the same (inferior for some reason)?
(P.S For newbies : on the PB, there's two browsers, the bridged and the regular)
Well; it depends if you are running OS 1.0.7 or OS 2.0.xxx beta. Under OS2.0, the last patch made browser header more specific, so that the Bridge browser is seen by sites as a mobile device. Mostly, I never use the bridge browser, as the "regular" one perfectly handles bridge connexion.

[Superfly_FR]

i should say they cripple the bridge and i think make you pay for all features. That is why everyone downloads a different app from rroys site

If Sith_Apprentice still have the first bridge app provided by AT&T, there was no limitations, I think. But he must be warn that an update of the bridge will probably result in additional costs ... and may want to watch rroy solution !

[Superfly_FR]

I also have AT&T. I upgraded my data plan to 4gb from 2gb and the tethering was included. The upgrade was $20 more/month. I guess if someone already has the 4gb data plan then the bridge wouldn't cost any extra. Using the bridge with AT&T has worked fine for me with no issues.

I suggest you search the forum a little to have a look to rroy workaround. A separated OTA bridge app ... that will not allow AT&T to detect your bridged PB ...

[glassofpinot]

Along the total cost of ownership line, the Black Friday special pricing at Staples and Best Buy make the cost even lower. Love the low total cost - and we are buying more. I don't see the discounting as a sign of problems, jsut a realization that the product price for a 7-inch work tablet is going to be lower than the original list.

[blackjack93117]

some places (mostly US) charge for tether and hotspot. May more do not have these extra charges. Even so there are many work arounds for free data access. ATT makes you even pay for bridge access. For some the bridge saves money for others its just a crutch since the device doesnt have proper PIM service

A crutch?? That's hilarious. Spoken like a true android fan with bridge envy tired of lugging around his wifi hotspot...(speaking of crutches)

Bridge is the most useful crutch I've ever owned. All I need is my phone which I always have in my pocket anyway for 3G access anywhere I can use my phone - oops I mean crutch. Next time I break my leg I'm going to have to consider using a tool as a crutch, or the crutch as a tool...hammer, baseball bat?

Good thread OP see also:

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...-money-666325/

[blackjack93117]

Not sure this is a plus for the PB, for a couple of reasons:

1) It tells any business organization that is not standardized on Blackberry phones to stay away from the playbook...because in the absence of BB phones, there is no economic benefit to the PB for their users.

2) This savings may work by using the Bridge Browser, but for use of the faster native browser you will need to tether to the BB phone, incurring a $25 monthly fee.

While you may read a lot of smarmy comments about how native email and PIM apps are unnecessary, if RIM is to ever reach break-even on this product they need to leverage consumers who do not at present use BB phones. For them, the lack of native apps makes this tablet a non-starter.

Which drags many current users into the discussion of what BB phones to adopt next, to maintain the benefits of the BB/PB synergies. Frankly, I will hold on to my Storm II for as long as it takes to find a decent replacement. Hopefully, one will appear...sometime.

So why would I care? I have a BB phone and loving it!!

If i need superspeed web access I will probably find a wifi spot, But how often on the road do you need superspeed? You just need a line to the world, which the bridge/phone combo provides brilliantly.

[denielnill]

Asset Analytix tools can determine the total cost of ownership of an asset class; asset type sorted by age, vendor or size; and component. This is useful for determining repair/replace decisions or for vendor selection for replacement purchases

[Jonathan-Archer]

I have a 1GB a month limit to my plan but I can tether all I want on the PB because I'll never get to that limit anyway...

[Fat Bastage]

The bridge is simply a product deficiency repackaged as a feature. Playbook owners like it because it saves money (for the moment). Any tablet could have used a bluetooth connection to the phone for connectivity. In hindsight, we know that the reason that RIM did this is because they are having fits trying to get two PIM's to play nice with their servers. This is why 60 days turned into 10 months.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the "free" part of bridge once RIM figures out native email. Rim relies heavily on their carrier partnerships and it seems like these relationships have been strained recently. The "free" part of bridge seems like it strained things even worse. RIM needs the carriers more than the carriers need RIM.

[Trevante]

A crutch?? That's hilarious. Spoken like a true android fan with bridge envy tired of lugging around his wifi hotspot...(speaking of crutches)

Bridge is the most useful crutch I've ever owned. All I need is my phone which I always have in my pocket anyway for 3G access anywhere I can use my phone - oops I mean crutch. Next time I break my leg I'm going to have to consider using a tool as a crutch, or the crutch as a tool...hammer, baseball bat?

Good thread OP see also:

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...-money-666325/

No, that was a legitimate point. If you don't have a BB phone, then the Playbook doesn't offer as much functionality as most smartphones do. If you do have a BB phone, then you can crutch yourself with "at least I have bridge", but apart from the tethering, bridge just serves as another way to make up for the other missing functionality (PIM/email) in the PlayBook. Were it not for Android app sideloading (and only because I'm tech savvy enough to do so; the average consumer or business buying a tablet isn't going to do all that), I would still be without email, calendar, and contacts on my Playbook. What good is the bridge then?

PS: Most Android phones can easily function as a hotspot, especially if you root them. So just like you, all I need is my phone in my pocket, and I can surf at FULL 3G or 4G speeds, not just 3G via bluetooth speeds. Tethering is just one aspect to the bridge.