Just switched to the nexus 7 (nexus 7 v playbook)

I know most of you won't care but here's my two cents:

After a year with the playbook I made the switch and I thought I'd give a review:

Build quality/feel:

Pb hands down. While I do like the back of the nexus, the rubber feel of the playbook is way better Imo.

Design :
The nexus wins because it's lighter, and it's noticeable. Push on the buttons

Speakers:

Not even close. Pb has the better speakers (I have bose blue tooth speakers so it's not as important to me as some people)


Screen:

Playbook. The nexus is a little sharper but not enough to oust the playbooks bright screen

Os smoothness

The nexus doesn't lag as much as the playbook so it's better.
Browser

Chrome is a lot more functional then the playbook browser but it does close sometimes. Not to say the playbook browser never does that. Nexus.

Apps

Nexus in a landslide. Netflix, hbo to go, etc etc. Have downloaded more apps in a week than I did in 52+ with pb

Hard functionality

Playbook t. The hdmi out wins it for the playbook.

Camera

Playbook. Way better quality and 2.

I have a nexus 7 too. It's alright, decent tablet for the price.

Z10? Why yes it is.

Originally Posted by Darren shawpah

I know most of you won't care but here's my two cents:

After a year with the playbook I made the switch and I thought I'd give a review:

Build quality/feel:

Pb hands down. While I do like the back of the nexus, the rubber feel of the playbook is way better Imo.

Design :
The nexus wins because it's lighter, and it's noticeable. Push on the buttons

Speakers:

Not even close. Pb has the better speakers (I have bose blue tooth speakers so it's not as important to me as some people)


Screen:

Playbook. The nexus is a little sharper but not enough to oust the playbooks bright screen

Os smoothness

The nexus doesn't lag as much as the playbook so it's better.
Browser

Chrome is a lot more functional then the playbook browser but it does close sometimes. Not to say the playbook browser never does that. Nexus.

Apps

Nexus in a landslide. Netflix, hbo to go, etc etc. Have downloaded more apps in a week than I did in 52+ with pb

Hard functionality

Playbook t. The hdmi out wins it for the playbook.

Camera

Playbook. Way better quality and 2.

Yep, I agree with the comments highlighted.
JB 4.2.2.OS still doesn't have the "feel" of the PB. It is a hard quality to describe, kinda like the way a good car door closes. I guess it is maybe because I keep trying to swipe the stupid thing. So I still give the edge to PB.
Chrome has no flash. Android has about 10 or so browsers and I have tried them all with the last android flash installed. All are very unstable except for Puffin, which I think gets its own flash off servers. So, although flash works well in JB 4.1.2, it finally does cause instability. Again, advantage PB.
Apps, yeah. I find myself installing the Amazon Free App of the Day but I only regularly use about 10. Apps are just memory eaters.Same with my PB. So that really is even for me.

I don't understand why you had to choose, one or the other? Did you have to sell the PB? There are too many posts that say they can only have one tablet. None are perfect and I use them based on what they are good at. Music/browsing/video = PB; apps N7.

Oh, we forgot price. Hard to find a 32 gb N7 < $200 even though it is getting replaced soon. Easy to find the 64 gb PB <$200 if you look hard enough.

I won a Nexus 7 a bit ago at a radio station raffle/benefit, played with it a few days and I ended up selling it. It wasn't a bad tablet but I preferred the features and UI of the PB over it. The PB just serves my needs better and I still don't care for android that much. That's me.

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

I won a Nexus 7 a bit ago at a radio station raffle/benefit, played with it a few days and I ended up selling it. It wasn't a bad tablet but I preferred the features and UI of the PB over it. The PB just serves my needs better and I still don't care for android that much. That's me.

And that is the POINT. It is our own PERSONAL Opinions that count on any of this. We are all entitled to them. Also, this highlights the other issue - folks get comfortable with their platform. In this case, the UI of the pb is just so natural in many, again, OPINIONS. That is why this is applicable to some other discussions of Tech and possibly Switching Tech. We get comfortable and we have an investment in an app environment. So getting folks to switch to a new platform or back to a platform becomes hard or harder. Unfortunately, with rim's pretty certain abandonment of a tablet platform folks will have to look elsewhere. I do understand that rim has determined it canNOT make money. But that still encourages folks to look elsewhere and that leads to more defections and not just in tablets but in phones, too.

Oh, well, a drizzly first weekend in June morning brings out the GRAY mood!!!

Good quick comparison. Straight to the point. Glad you are liking the Nexus. It is a cool little tablet. Me personally will wait for my PB to become completely useless before I switch. To another one. :rotfl: kidding...

Originally Posted by Darren shawpah

I know most of you won't care but here's my two cents:

After a year with the playbook I made the switch and I thought I'd give a review:

Build quality/feel:

Pb hands down. While I do like the back of the nexus, the rubber feel of the playbook is way better Imo.

Design :
The nexus wins because it's lighter, and it's noticeable. Push on the buttons

Speakers:

Not even close. Pb has the better speakers (I have bose blue tooth speakers so it's not as important to me as some people)


Screen:

Playbook. The nexus is a little sharper but not enough to oust the playbooks bright screen

Os smoothness

The nexus doesn't lag as much as the playbook so it's better.
Browser

Chrome is a lot more functional then the playbook browser but it does close sometimes. Not to say the playbook browser never does that. Nexus.

Apps

Nexus in a landslide. Netflix, hbo to go, etc etc. Have downloaded more apps in a week than I did in 52+ with pb

Hard functionality

Playbook t. The hdmi out wins it for the playbook.

Camera

Playbook. Way better quality and 2.

Congrats on your new device!


Tapatalking using my iphone

My sister had to switch her phone service to U-verse and as a "Thank you" she was offered a $50 Visa gift card or a Nexus 7. I told her to pick the Nexus. The choices made me think that the price of a Nexus must really be dropping, but I haven't actually shopped for one as I have been very happy with my PlayBook. She was just happy that she could get both, nook and Kindle on it and didn't have to choose one device or another. She was frustrated, though, that she had to download an app to use the camera and that there was only a forward facing camera. (A little awkward when taking photos of others. ) Other than that, she is quite happy with her choice.

Not bad as a 2 cents review, PlayBook is a great product indeed. It has a nice solid hardware with dumbed down OS. The OS is not that bad really, but definitely can do a lot better.

Posted via CB10

Isn't this a Blackberry Playbook forum?

Originally Posted by Mickrick

Isn't this a Blackberry Playbook forum?

Yes. That's why the Nexus was compared to a Playbook and not a toaster.

I picked up a Nexus 7 after a recent sale at Costco.ca ($199 for the 32GB version). Kept it a week and then returned it.

My issues were mainly that I felt it laggy (it needs either more RAM or a faster processor, but probably more RAM). Noticeably more laggy than my Nexus 4. Also, while you can install pretty much any app, very few are actually optimized for tablets so you essentially get blown up phone apps. And even some of the apps that do take advantage of the extra real estate, like the Calendar app, I find could be done much better. Even Android itself needs more optimization for tablets. They way you swipe down from the top right for settings and top left for notifications could be implemented a lot better and wasting the whole bottom of the screen for the three stock android commands is a waste of real estate especially while in landscape mode. Also, the Nexus 7 favours a portrait orientation (the way mandatory elements use screen real estate) and I prefer landscape mode. And last of all, no front facing camera killed it as it meant no Skype or video chat.

All in all it just left me frustrated as I wasn't really getting anything more over my Nexus 4 as the larger screen size for browsing was offset by slower performance, worse app experience, and less features. I much prefer the PlayBook in terms of UI and wish it was just lighter and faster. Hopefully BB10 does come out for the PB and that fills in the gap a bit.

I may try the next version of the Nexus 7 as they are supposed to be increasing the RAM to 2GB and adding a front facing camera, but Google needs to spend some time making Android on tablets a better experience. I've seen how things have gotten better on the phones from Gingerbread to ICS to Jelly Bean coming from using the Galaxy S2 to the Nexus 4 so hopefully it will get better.

Originally Posted by Darren shawpah

Design :
The nexus wins because it's lighter, and it's noticeable. Push on the buttons

What does that mean?

And "lighter" usually means "poor build quality" and in the case of the Nexus, thats most certainly true.

Originally Posted by Darren shawpah

Os smoothness
The nexus doesn't lag as much as the playbook so it's better.

Seriously? What "lag" does the PlayBook have?

I would give the 64gb storage which most of us seem to have on our Playbooks against the max 32gb the Nexus has as a plus point. And the native email app. And the onscreen keyboard. The 1080p video recording is a big plus. The full touchscreen experience. And the fast charge socket which allows us to charge our Playbooks, well, fast. A feature very often overlooked.

Originally Posted by Angus_CB

Yes. That's why the Nexus was compared to a Playbook and not a toaster.

And just as pointless. The only thing the two have in common is that they're both tablets.

I have Nexus 7 and Playbook. Now I almost use Nexus 7 (thanks to my Z10 - it can provide bluetooth internet tethering to Nexus)
It was not easy choice. I love true QNX OS multitasking, solid PB hardware, intuitive gui
Main reasons, why Nexus is my choice:
- mkv format movies with dolby soundtracks
- skype
- GPS applications
- Chrome bookmarks/history sync

PS: I can sell my PB 16Gb in Toronto

Originally Posted by Mickrick

Seriously? What "lag" does the PlayBook have?

On mine, the browser lags quite a bit and the app world lags a lot.

Originally Posted by Mickrick

And just as pointless. The only thing the two have in common is that they're both tablets.

It was a legit review, the OP is saying the Nexus works for him, great. Having unbiased reviews helps everyone.

As I wrote elsewhere, I don't mind these reviews or contrasts. It is UNLIKELY that rim will be releasing any new tablet. So to find out how PB owners are looking around and what they are replacing them with can be helpful TO ME. Particularly, when the units are contrasted. A mere bash would be UNhelpful.

Another note: Tethering or hotspotting can cost additional in the US.

Originally Posted by Mickrick

And just as pointless. The only thing the two have in common is that they're both tablets.

They are both tablets with the same size screen that sell for about the same price.
If the Nexus is not a direct competitor to the Playbook what is?
I notice you weren't upset about the parts of the review where the Playbook came out on top, build quality and screen.
I also notice you weren't trying to defend the Playbook browser or lack of apps.

Most of us like our Playbooks. There is no shame in admitting that there are competitive products on the market. Remember, the iPod Mini and the Nexus 7 showed up after the Playbook. Blackberry had a good idea, they just haven't supported or promoted it very well.

If they stay in the phone business and succeed in having enough app access, there will be a new tablet or maybe two of different size. If they already have the basic software and the store it should not be that difficult to piece together the tablet hardware even if they don't sell that many.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using CB Forums mobile app

Originally Posted by Fr3lncr

I picked up a Nexus 7 after a recent sale at Costco.ca ($199 for the 32GB version). Kept it a week and then returned it.

My issues were mainly that I felt it laggy (it needs either more RAM or a faster processor, but probably more RAM). Noticeably more laggy than my Nexus 4. Also, while you can install pretty much any app, very few are actually optimized for tablets so you essentially get blown up phone apps. And even some of the apps that do take advantage of the extra real estate, like the Calendar app, I find could be done much better. Even Android itself needs more optimization for tablets. They way you swipe down from the top right for settings and top left for notifications could be implemented a lot better and wasting the whole bottom of the screen for the three stock android commands is a waste of real estate especially while in landscape mode. Also, the Nexus 7 favours a portrait orientation (the way mandatory elements use screen real estate) and I prefer landscape mode. And last of all, no front facing camera killed it as it meant no Skype or video chat.

All in all it just left me frustrated as I wasn't really getting anything more over my Nexus 4 as the larger screen size for browsing was offset by slower performance, worse app experience, and less features. I much prefer the PlayBook in terms of UI and wish it was just lighter and faster. Hopefully BB10 does come out for the PB and that fills in the gap a bit.

I may try the next version of the Nexus 7 as they are supposed to be increasing the RAM to 2GB and adding a front facing camera, but Google needs to spend some time making Android on tablets a better experience. I've seen how things have gotten better on the phones from Gingerbread to ICS to Jelly Bean coming from using the Galaxy S2 to the Nexus 4 so hopefully it will get better.

Just for clarification, the N7 has a front facing camera but no rear facing camera. It is fine for Skype but not easy to take pictures with unless it is of yourself.

Originally Posted by Mickrick

What does that mean?

And "lighter" usually means "poor build quality" and in the case of the Nexus, thats most certainly true.



Seriously? What "lag" does the PlayBook have?

I would give the 64gb storage which most of us seem to have on our Playbooks against the max 32gb the Nexus has as a plus point. And the native email app. And the onscreen keyboard. The 1080p video recording is a big plus. The full touchscreen experience. And the fast charge socket which allows us to charge our Playbooks, well, fast. A feature very often overlooked.

I question you owning a pb if you've never ever had any lag.

Originally Posted by kbz1960

I question you owning a pb if you've never ever had any lag.

I guess "lag" can be considered a personal opinion. I've never really had any lag in the OS just swiping around. I've had some lag with the keyboard. And reboot time, if you can consider that lag. LOL.

Originally Posted by OceanSpray_Cranberry

I guess "lag" can be considered a personal opinion. I've never really had any lag in the OS just swiping around. I've had some lag with the keyboard. And reboot time, if you can consider that lag. LOL.

You got a better one than I have then. No I don't consider boot time as lag. I've had where things just don't respond or it takes them half a minute to. I keep my pb clean, no apps beyond stock, hardly any files pics etc as it seems anything causes issues with it when I have in the past. I still use it daily and get frustrated with it daily.

Originally Posted by kbz1960

You got a better one than I have then. No I don't consider boot time as lag. I've had where things just don't respond or it takes them half a minute to. I keep my pb clean, no apps beyond stock, hardly any files pics etc as it seems anything causes issues with it when I have in the past. I still use it daily and get frustrated with it daily.

Well, yeah, I have trouble with the mail app not responding but I assume that is mail server related or app crashing. And, of course, browser checkerboarding. I don't consider that lag. I usually think lag is when hardware becomes taxed and the whole system, not just certain apps, slows down.

I keep pretty clean, too, and no android sideloading. My 16 gb is a little full, about 4 gb free. My 64 gb has alot of space.