- DexHere is my comparison. Blackberry Playbook vs Google Nexus 7.
Disclaimer. Blackberry Playbook user for over a year and Google Nexus 7 user for a week.
1. Built quality.
I've had Playbook for a while and it can take beating. Playbook is made of better materials. Rubber casing on Playbook does not feel as cheap as plastic on Nexus 7.
This one goes to PB
2. Design
I love slim profile of Nexus 7 and its weight which is noticeably less than Playbook.
This one goes to N7
2. Speakers
This goes to Playbook hands down. Having speakers in the front and on both sides of the screen creates far better listening experience. Rear N7 speaker is good but not as good as Playbook.
3. Display
This goes to Nexus 7. Playbook screen is brighter but letters are noticeably sharper on Google Nexus 7. Far better for eyes.
4. Performance
This goes to Nexus 7. Nexus 7 feels snappier than Playbook. I guess quad core cpu in N7 makes a difference
5. OS
This is tough one. This is my second "adventure" with Android. First time I had Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and honestly I did not like it at all.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is way better than Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwitch on Samsung Galaxy Tab. I love Android customization options with widgets, live wallpapers etc. Google integration and notification solution is just awesome on 4.2. However, i find QNX to be more robust with its TRUE full multitasking and no button os. swipe function on Playbook. 7" screen is small realty and Playbook utilizes this space 100%. I find it annoying that Nexus 7 "control bar" is always visible when playing games and there is no way to hide it unless app allows for it. It is good that control bar is at least gone when watching movies. I strongly disliked it on Gingerbread. Also full support of flash on Playbook and its bridge integration with blackberry phones are strong assets. As long as Playbook and BB phone are connected through bluetooth, playbook is always connected to the internet. Seamingless tethering with no need for any extra steps. Email redundancy is gone with Playbook and BB phone combo. Finally having Android Player on Playbook is benefit as it allows to run both native QNX and many android apps on Playbook.
so this is draw at this point. I like both os for different reasons and it is hard to choose complete winner. I will revisit this once BB10 comes out on PB with its "flow" notification system.
6. The internet
Chrome is faster than Playbook browser. Chrome generates online pages way faster and offer more options than Playbook browser.
This one goes hands down to N7.
7. App store
Hands down N7. To be fair Playbook has gone long way since it was introduced. Now Playbook app store has good selection of apps and games. There are many great apps both native and android based. Android player works surprisingly well on Playbook. Having said that Android store app selection is just jaw dropping. The only minus of Android store is that many apps are made for phone not tablet. Also Rim is very aggressive and offers many games on Playbook at no charge that cost money on Android. Playbook has strong community and app builders that create some awesome stuff only available on Playbook. Like games Flycraft, Pacemaker or exclusive Amiga game on Playbook. Still Playbook has long way to go. Also I find that many titles do not get released at all or released late on Playbook.
8. Price
This hands down goes to Playbook. RIM offers crazy deals on Playbook now.
9. Connections and camera
this one goes again to playbook. Built in HDMI and BOTH front and rear cameras are great on Playbook. I could leave with no rear camera on N7 but HDMI should be already included in N7.
10. Future
Playbook as it is now is already done. With over 2,000,000 playbooks sold i think rim will eventually come out with Playbook 2 after BB10 is launched. future of Playbook and RIM. Google is 100% behind Nexus so i am not worried about its future support and development.
So this one goes to N7 as of today.
Final words. N7 is pretty cool tablet but i do not see myself selling Playbook. I think i will keep Nexus 7. There is a lot to be liked about N7. But there is a lot to like about Playbook as well. At its current prices Playbook is just awesome buy especially with BB10 coming out on Playbook in short few months.
Please welcome comments.
Update
11. Accessories
Playbook has far better selection of OEM accessories such as cases, shells,Bluetooth keyboard rapid charger etc. Nothing like that is offered by Google. There are some stuff for N7 on eBay but they not OEM and they are of questionable quality. RIm made PB accessories are high quality.
This one goes to PB
12. Battery
This one goes to N7. Battery will last longer on N7 than PB. However all "goodies" such as live widgets and wallpapers need to be kept to minimum. They are power hungry.
Update 2
13. GPS
This one goes to N7. GPS works much better on Google Nexus 7 than Playbook. Playbook GPS takes much longer to find current location. GPS on N7 is quick.
Update 3
14. Camera.
This one goes hands down to playbook. This is not enough t that Playbook has both front and back camera, the quality of video is much better. Also i find horizontal position of camera on Playbook as opposed to vertical position on Nexus 7 much better. Recording on playbook in full Hd is way bette plus framerate on Nexus 7 is poor too. So this one goes 100% to playbook. N7 camera is bad.Last edited by bitek; 12-05-12 at 12:49 PM.
11-26-12 07:46 PMLike 12 - I agree with most of your comments. I tried both as well. I much prefer PlayBook's UI as I don't really like the Android UI. I found it too Google centric as I don't use Google other than as a search engine. Perhaps because of this, I find the PlayBook better suits my needs. The Nexus 7 is really good but just not for me. I returned it.11-26-12 08:07 PMLike 0
- Thanks for the nice review. To be fair, under connections, you may want to add that N7 is capable of expandable storage through OTG, something playbook is not capable of. I was looking at the N7 before purchasing my 32G playbook for $118 at Staples. The price is just irresistible.
"Rim is very aggressive and offers many games on Playbook at no charge that cost money on Android" - I am interested in these free games, can you provide some examples?
In your opinion, do you think 32GB N7 is $132 better than playbook?11-26-12 08:37 PMLike 0 - Thanks for the nice review. To be fair, under connections, you may want to add that N7 is capable of expandable storage through OTG, something playbook is not capable of. I was looking at the N7 before purchasing my 32G playbook for $118 at Staples. The price is just irresistible.
"Rim is very aggressive and offers many games on Playbook at no charge that cost money on Android" - I am interested in these free games, can you provide some examples?
In your opinion, do you think 32GB N7 is $132 better than playbook?
rim offers free games for limited time. shadowgun. modern combat 2. etc. to be honest I like N7 a lot but I am typing now on Playbook. both tablets have strong points. I think Playbook has future as long as rim will continue making them and it will not drop it completely after all current pb are sold out. I think rim will not do that despite huge losses on pb. I think rim will come out with new. less expensive to make version. I remember last interview where Thorstan said that future is in mobile phones and tablets. so playbook might just stay.
Sent from Blackberry Playbook using TapaTalk 211-26-12 08:48 PMLike 0 - OTG is USB On-The-Go.
"You can plug in USB input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse, or both, with the use of a USB hub. You can also plug in a USB drive for extended data storage, as long as you download a free app from the Play Store called StickMount."
Here is a link that demonstrates USB OTG:
[VIDEO] Google Nexus 7 Tablet & OTG Cable for USB Host Connection - xda-developers11-26-12 09:05 PMLike 0 - USB OTG allows for external devices liek hard drives to be hooked up and used. Its really nice if you carry a nice external hardrive or even thumbdrive that is loaded with music and movies.
As for free games, RIM gives you a few but there are still much more that are free and quite good on the android market. Plus you have amazon free app of the day that has given away tons of great stuff including full version of docs to go, office suite pro, quick office pro and all the angry birds ad free versions, Modern combat sandstorm and many others.
There is no doubt that some of the games look better on the playbook though since they were developed for that size/resolution screen. I just dont like playing some of the games on the playbook because your gestures in the game can cause the device think you are swiping to switch apps and pause the game and such. its really annoying sometimes.
Speakers and build quality are certainly plus ones for the playbook but you have to remember the playbook was built as a $500+ tablet and sold at closeout prices for over a year where the Nexus is built as a $199 tablet11-26-12 09:08 PMLike 0 - Yes selection of both games and apps on Nexus 7 is great. One thing I noticed is that installing pirated software on Android is just too easy. This is why I think more developers will try qnx. android tablet sales are poor. This is all about phones.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 211-26-12 09:16 PMLike 0 - Looking forward to another review when PlayBook Is at OS10 by then it "should" have usbotg more apps and likely an awesome video and picture editor baked in. One thing I am really looking forward to is a better browser. I hope to see this as well with BlackBerry10. PlayBook's my go to tablet, I just love it. If I had to choose another it would be Nexus 7 over Kindle hd for sure.11-26-12 10:37 PMLike 0
- A couple of comments on the somewhat dated video showing use of Stick Mount app on a rooted Nexus7. There is now an app called Nexus Media Importer which can be used with non-rooted N7 to access storage on flash drives etc in read but not write mode. Movies can be streamed, music can be streamed, documents can be accessed etc..There is also an app called Rotation Control which I use to have the the apps and app drawer shown in the landscape orientation but that is also supposed to be accomplished by the latest Jelly Bean update.4.2. As with the Playbook Bluetooth mouse and keyboard can be used with the N7 so.the use of plug in keyboard and mouse is to me a poor use of the OTG. Aso it has been stated in other threads that the PB has the hardware capability for OTG but that it has not been enabled yet. It is puzzling that the PB has the Type AB micro USB port which started out as an OTG option.11-26-12 10:57 PMLike 0
- Missed a big one. What about the battery life?
I've both of those devices and i'd say that the nexus takes that one. My setup for the Nexus is pretty low maintance with only a few live widgets and varies apps running in the background. I'm easily getting two days on standby with the screen on time around ten hours.
With the Playbook not so much.Usually around eight hours of browsing time. Maybe less than one percent of battery drain per hour in standby mode.
I've been quite surprized at the sense of clam when giving the Nexus7 a rest around 25%-30%. Great feeling to know that the battery meter will be close to the same as it was left 6-12 hours later.11-26-12 10:57 PMLike 0 - Stability is another huge factor when comparing Android tabs to the PB. The OP mentions Google Chrome for Android as being superior. I would agree - if it wasn't the source of so many random lockups. It's almost unusable on every version of Android I've tried (and I've tried them all, from stock ICS through CM10 to my current AOKP JB Milestone 1 with the godmachine81 kernel). And despite Google's efforts to "butter up" Android as of version 4.1, it still doesn't multitask as smoothly as my PB - even on an overclocked dual-core tab that posts benchmark scores better than many quad-core devices (including the Nexus 7).
Combined with the aforementioned stability advantages, this means that I never hesitate when interacting with my PB, whereas I'm constantly anticipating the next lockup or random reboot when using one of my Android tabs. To be sure, the PB is missing stuff. The sluggish, feature incomplete browser and lack of Skype still annoys me (though Android is no panacea for the latter, in my experience). However, for those who value stability, reliability and security over convenience and (for now) app selection, the PB is still hands down the better device.
RCK11-27-12 12:03 AMLike 0 - Haven't noticed that the battery drain in my Nexus is really much less per hour than for the BBPB. The N7 battery is about 4325 millamps while the PB is 5400. So the PB has a larger battery to help make up for lower efficiency. There are complaints about battery life and charging problems on both forums. I can get <0.3% per hour in standby on the PB in airplane mode.11-27-12 12:21 AMLike 0
- Missed a big one. What about the battery life?
I've both of those devices and i'd say that the nexus takes that one. My setup for the Nexus is pretty low maintance with only a few live widgets and varies apps running in the background. I'm easily getting two days on standby with the screen on time around ten hours.
With the Playbook not so much.Usually around eight hours of browsing time. Maybe less than one percent of battery drain per hour in standby mode.
I've been quite surprized at the sense of clam when giving the Nexus7 a rest around 25%-30%. Great feeling to know that the battery meter will be close to the same as it was left 6-12 hours later.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 211-27-12 06:28 AMLike 0 - Stability is another huge factor when comparing Android tabs to the PB. The OP mentions Google Chrome for Android as being superior. I would agree - if it wasn't the source of so many random lockups. It's almost unusable on every version of Android I've tried (and I've tried them all, from stock ICS through CM10 to my current AOKP JB Milestone 1 with the godmachine81 kernel). And despite Google's efforts to "butter up" Android as of version 4.1, it still doesn't multitask as smoothly as my PB - even on an overclocked dual-core tab that posts benchmark scores better than many quad-core devices (including the Nexus 7).
Combined with the aforementioned stability advantages, this means that I never hesitate when interacting with my PB, whereas I'm constantly anticipating the next lockup or random reboot when using one of my Android tabs. To be sure, the PB is missing stuff. The sluggish, feature incomplete browser and lack of Skype still annoys me (though Android is no panacea for the latter, in my experience). However, for those who value stability, reliability and security over convenience and (for now) app selection, the PB is still hands down the better device.
RCK
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 211-27-12 06:32 AMLike 0 -
RCK11-27-12 07:31 AMLike 0 - A couple of things I would add:
The Nexus 7 has the ability to sleep/wake up automatically with some cases (via magnet). It works like the BlackBerry holster. I don't have to worry about swiping across the screen, or pressing the power button to turn on my N7, just open the case. I always thought it was odd that the PlayBook didn't have that feature, since every BB phone I've owned has had it.
The Nexus 7 has OTG support. With the Nexus Media Importer app, I watch movies and shows off of a flash drive without needing to copy it to my tablet. Nice feature, although you currently can't charge the N7 at the same time since the OTG cable takes up the USB port.
OTG support had been built into BB10, so the PlayBook should be able to do the same thing once the update comes out.
I love the desktop dock for my PlayBook. I rarely ever have to use the USB port to charge it. With the issues people have had with the USB port breaking, I do everything I can not to use it for charging. I could see the N7 having the same issue, since everything goes through that one port. The N7 has POGO prongs on the side for a docking station, but the accessory has yet to be released (other than mythical pictures). The only downside to the PlayBook dock is no HDMI access.
The N7 doesn't officially have DNLA or MiraCast support, although you can use a third party app (like BubbleUPnP) to add DNLA. It'll be nice to see DNLA added to the PlayBook with the BB10 update.blackcaneaddict likes this.11-27-12 11:04 AMLike 1 - A couple of things I would add:
The Nexus 7 has the ability to sleep/wake up automatically with some cases (via magnet). It works like the BlackBerry holster. I don't have to worry about swiping across the screen, or pressing the power button to turn on my N7, just open the case. I always thought it was odd that the PlayBook didn't have that feature, since every BB phone I've owned has had it.
The Nexus 7 has OTG support. With the Nexus Media Importer app, I watch movies and shows off of a flash drive without needing to copy it to my tablet. Nice feature, although you currently can't charge the N7 at the same time since the OTG cable takes up the USB port.
OTG support had been built into BB10, so the PlayBook should be able to do the same thing once the update comes out.
I love the desktop dock for my PlayBook. I rarely ever have to use the USB port to charge it. With the issues people have had with the USB port breaking, I do everything I can not to use it for charging. I could see the N7 having the same issue, since everything goes through that one port. The N7 has POGO prongs on the side for a docking station, but the accessory has yet to be released (other than mythical pictures). The only downside to the PlayBook dock is no HDMI access.
The N7 doesn't officially have DNLA or MiraCast support, although you can use a third party app (like BubbleUPnP) to add DNLA. It'll be nice to see DNLA added to the PlayBook with the BB10 update.11-27-12 04:30 PMLike 0 - Yea same here. 10 hours is right around average maximum time that im getting. Rounded to the nearest hour of course.
With the way Android works from my understanding is that that even since the live wallpapers run in the background they never use any noticeable battery until your on the home screen.
That would factor into your total screen on time if you wanted to check out how much battery it's using.11-27-12 10:02 PMLike 0 - Stability is another huge factor when comparing Android tabs to the PB. The OP mentions Google Chrome for Android as being superior. I would agree - if it wasn't the source of so many random lockups. It's almost unusable on every version of Android I've tried (and I've tried them all, from stock ICS through CM10 to my current AOKP JB Milestone 1 with the godmachine81 kernel). And despite Google's efforts to "butter up" Android as of version 4.1, it still doesn't multitask as smoothly as my PB - even on an overclocked dual-core tab that posts benchmark scores better than many quad-core devices (including the Nexus 7).
Combined with the aforementioned stability advantages, this means that I never hesitate when interacting with my PB, whereas I'm constantly anticipating the next lockup or random reboot when using one of my Android tabs. To be sure, the PB is missing stuff. The sluggish, feature incomplete browser and lack of Skype still annoys me (though Android is no panacea for the latter, in my experience). However, for those who value stability, reliability and security over convenience and (for now) app selection, the PB is still hands down the better device.
RCK11-27-12 10:45 PMLike 0 -
Again, if you don't mind putting up with the occasional catastrophic (read: potential data loss) failure, plus the ongoing need to run a Task Killer from time to time when one or more background tasks get wonky (I prefer estrongs), then Android is a viable solution. I still enjoy using gReader or TapaTalk on my Acer from time to time, and in such a capacity - non-critical surfing/media consumption where a reboot is merely an inconvenience - Android really shines. However, if I'm heading out the door, and I want to be sure that the device I'm carrying will be reliable in the field, I bring my PlayBook. Hasn't let me down yet.
RCK11-27-12 11:17 PMLike 0 - There's no question that it's better than it was (I have the auto-update option set in Google Play so I'm always current), however, it still tends to get buggy after a while. I had a lockup just last week with only three tabs open, which was doubly frustrating because I really liked AOKP JB Milestone 1 and was hoping that "this would be the one" that would allow me to finally trust an Android device. But, of course, it just wasn't meant to be, so....
Again, if you don't mind putting up with the occasional catastrophic (read: potential data loss) failure, plus the ongoing need to run a Task Killer from time to time when one or more background tasks get wonky (I prefer estrongs), then Android is a viable solution. I still enjoy using gReader or TapaTalk on my Acer from time to time, and in such a capacity - non-critical surfing/media consumption where a reboot is merely an inconvenience - Android really shines. However, if I'm heading out the door, and I want to be sure that the device I'm carrying will be reliable in the field, I bring my PlayBook. Hasn't let me down yet.
RCK
and the PB browser by far crashes more than chrome does. the PB browser doesnt crash as often as pre OS 2.1 but does probably once a week11-27-12 11:31 PMLike 0 - i havent used a task killer on android since 2.2 and experience no issues where i would need one. It certainly hinders performance in android more than it helps
and the PB browser by far crashes more than chrome does. the PB browser doesnt crash as often as pre OS 2.1 but does probably once a week
No question the PB browser crashes from time to time - but when it does go south, it rarely (if ever) takes the whole OS with it, which is more than I can say for every version of Android I've tried from 3.1 up through 4.1.2. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise. I've got to support Android across an entire organization, and I sure wish I could just standardize on one reliable build - with a fully-functional Chrome as the web browser - and be done with it.
RCK11-28-12 12:17 AMLike 0 -
No question the PB browser crashes from time to time - but when it does go south, it rarely (if ever) takes the whole OS with it, which is more than I can say for every version of Android I've tried from 3.1 up through 4.1.2. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise. I've got to support Android across an entire organization, and I sure wish I could just standardize on one reliable build - with a fully-functional Chrome as the web browser - and be done with it.
RCK11-28-12 12:34 AMLike 0 - Tre LawrenceBetween RealitiesWoah... did someone say "task killer?"
Noooooo....reeneebob likes this.11-28-12 12:56 AMLike 1
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