1. luvbuglady's Avatar
    I was thinking of getting an Ipad2 but now am wondering the difference with the Playbook. I have a Torch 9800 and used to have an Ipod and am not sure which way to go. Brief history... I am at home 100% of the time due to disability but my laptop is kind of heavy and annoying to lug around so that is why I wanted one of the above items. I just don't know what any difference is. I would like to play games and use the web as the web on the 9800 is too small and a pain to constantly magnify. Does the playbook take the same programs as those on my 9800? You can email me if you would like or reply here, but I just would like to know what the difference is (PS: I do love my Torch)
    08-10-11 08:25 PM
  2. southlander's Avatar
    You cannot run the 9800 apps on the PlayBook. You will find some apps publishers do also make PlayBook versions. Same app that is, but written to run on the PlayBook.

    Search Results for "PlayBook" - BlackBerry App World
    08-10-11 08:28 PM
  3. joshua_sx1's Avatar
    if you are not a die-hard obsessed fan of "applications", playbook is a better choice for you since you have already BB phone and you will enjoy one exclusive function of PB that is not available in other tablets... they called it "bridging"...
    08-10-11 09:16 PM
  4. Ithasbegun's Avatar
    if you are not a die-hard obsessed fan of "applications", playbook is a better choice for you since you have already BB phone and you will enjoy one exclusive function of PB that is not available in other tablets... they called it "bridging"...
    If you're home 100% of the time, what is the advantage of the bridge?

    Yes, Verizon 4G is really that fast!
    08-10-11 09:22 PM
  5. joshua_sx1's Avatar
    ^^good point there! but if I'm home, 100% of the time, I would use simply use laptop... it makes more sense...
    08-10-11 09:47 PM
  6. insanekronic's Avatar
    I was thinking of getting an Ipad2 but now am wondering the difference with the Playbook. I have a Torch 9800 and used to have an Ipod and am not sure which way to go. Brief history... I am at home 100% of the time due to disability but my laptop is kind of heavy and annoying to lug around so that is why I wanted one of the above items. I just don't know what any difference is. I would like to play games and use the web as the web on the 9800 is too small and a pain to constantly magnify. Does the playbook take the same programs as those on my 9800? You can email me if you would like or reply here, but I just would like to know what the difference is (PS: I do love my Torch)
    If you're getting this immediately then I'd get an iPad2 since its more functional for everything you'll want. If you can wait a bit until a couple more updates come out the playbook may have the same amount of use for you.
    08-10-11 10:04 PM
  7. moryc's Avatar
    ...but my laptop is kind of heavy and annoying to lug around so that is why I wanted one of the above items...
    Based on the fact that you find your laptop heavy and annoying, dependable on how big your laptop is in comparison to the iPad2 and PlayBook, I would seriously consider the one that will provide you with what you are seemingly looking for -- something smaller and lighter...therefore, PlayBook seems like the device for you.

    iPad2 dimensions are:

    Height: 241.2 mm (9.50 inches)
    Width: 185.7 mm (7.31 inches)
    Depth: 8.8 mm (0.34 inch)
    Weight: 601 g (1.33 pounds)

    PlayBook dimensions are 130 x 194 x 10 mm and it weights 425 g

    PlayBook is 2/3 of the weight of the iPad2...

    Both will do what you are looking for -- playing games and surfing the web...

    iPad2 will have MORE games to choose from at this point -- so if there is a specific type of game you are looking for, and that becomes a deal breaker, you need to consider that...

    If you are looking for the device to replace your laptop as a web browser, at the risk of flames for stating what RIM keeps on stating over and over -- PlayBook WILL provide you with FLASH support/iPad2 will not.

    ...so ultimately the tale of the tape is this:

    You mentioned three criteria -- need for something lighter (PlayBook), games (iPad2), and internet browser (PlayBook) ... you will ultimately need to figure out how each of these are weighted though.

    Both are great devices BTW ... it boils down to your intended use
    08-10-11 10:34 PM
  8. moryc's Avatar
    ^^good point there! but if I'm home, 100% of the time, I would use simply use laptop... it makes more sense...
    OP prefaced the fact that s/he finds the laptop too heavy and annoying to lug around
    08-10-11 10:35 PM
  9. luvbuglady's Avatar
    you guys are all sweet for giving me your opinions and information. It is greatly appreciated and I guess I will have to weigh my decision carefully but again, thank you so much for all your input.
    08-11-11 06:15 AM
  10. symphara's Avatar
    The advantage of a tablet is that it can be used with a minimum of inconvenience on the go, even while standing.

    If you stay at home all the time I'd look into a very portable laptop. The 11" MacBook Air is not much heavier than the iPad but it is immensely more powerful and convenient, in a sitting position. At 13" you have more excellent options at various price points (Air, Samsung Series 9), up to the Sony Z series which is a powerhouse at ~1.2kg.

    Either way, this is a Blackberry forum - if you're asking if the PlayBook is good for gaming I'd emphatically say no because it has very few games of any sophistication. In any case I wouldn't buy a PlayBook just to keep it at home.
    08-11-11 06:36 AM
  11. MikeLip's Avatar
    The Playbook has a few advantages. I have the PB and a couple other pads - WebOS, Android of two flavors, and the iPad 2.

    I have found that for continuous use, you want a 7" tablet. I use the 10" guys a lot, but compared to the 7" tabs they are unwieldy. The two 7" devices are a Samsung Galaxy and the PB.

    The advantage to the Galaxy is that Android has more applications. The Galaxy is version 2.2, and it seems kind of crude compared to the PB. Well, most things do. The latest Android is pretty nice, but not as polished as QNX, WebOS or iOS. It would be hard for me to make up my mind whether I wanted the larger application base of the Android machine, or the polished and intuitive function of the PB.

    If I had to choose a 10" tab at this point it would be a tossup between the HP Touchpad and the iPad. The HP has far fewer apps, but HP seems to be screening them quite tightly. The overall quality of the apps is higher in general than iPad. WebOS seems to me to be more intuitive than iOS - I really like it and it works in some ways similarly to QNX.

    Email is a must-have for me, and I find that HPs email client is the best one on a pad. Android email clients are all pretty crude and do not take advantage of the pad capabilities and screen real estate - they are built for phones. iPads email is better, but not as close to desktop mail as HPs. I wish there were a client like Thunderbird or Outlook available.

    So, they all have their pluses and minuses. If what you want is a good web experience in a 7" tab you won't do better than Playbook. If you want all the toys and apps to explore, you will want to go to a different OS and possibly different size. Android apps are plentiful but uneven in execution. iOS apps are a vast universe with superb to awful applications. HP apps are somewhere in a space of their own, with very good stuff but not a lot. More than Playbook, less than Android, but on average high quality.

    I'd be happy with either the iPad or Touchpad, and in fact when I reach for a tab it's usually the Touchpad.
    08-11-11 07:42 AM
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