[killa4luv]

I have purchased 5 Playbooks, and have kept one by my side virtually every day over the past 2 years. Ironically, it was 2 years ago this month that I purchased my first Playbook and fell in love. I've had 3 16gbs, a 32 gb and then bought the 64 gb as my main device. I am a power user.

After having the ipad mini for 2 weeks I just wanted share what my experience has been.
The playbook is 2 years old now and the hardware is what it is at this point. All of the current tablets have better processors, app stores and battery life. The one saving grace Bridge, is no longer a factor because the bridge to BB10 isn't nearly as good, and I have a cellular tablet now which doesn't need my phones internet connection. I still have several playbooks and will still use them, but it is no longer my primary tablet.

Ipad mini strengths-
Apps. this really can't be overstated, every app available is available on the ipad and for my personal use and also my business I've found many useful apps that mainly weren't available for the PB or existed in a 3rd party diminished version. And I'm not talking about instagram, skype or netflix here. I don't use any of those. I'm talking espn, time warner cable, brother printer (at my restaurant), HP printer (at my house), Video surveillance app (for the restaurant) and several others. this has made my life easier. these are mainly productivity apps.

Battery life- The battery on this is amazing. I can go a whole day on heavy use and come home with 30% left. And this is with my mainly surfing the net and streaming my surveillance cameras. This was always an issue on the PB for me. its not close and thats with me running a 4g lte vs a wifi tablet.

Speakers- way better on the playbook. They really nailed the placement of the speakers and its not until you have used something else that u really appreciate that aspect of the PB's design. And their much louder and clearer too.

OS- PB beats it hands down. I'm constantly annoyed that I so frequently have to push a button on a touch device as much as i have to. The PB OS is so elegant, swiping through apps, having apps actually running in the background, closing them with just the touch of a little x in the corner. Its all so fluid and smooth. The Ipad is fluid in terms of its general operation, but not moving through apps its not. double pressing a button to show open, but paused, not running apps, holding an app to highlight a close button and then pressing the home button again. Its really clumsy. The PB OS is what made me fall in love with the PB, that and Bridge and it still shines as a superior way for an OS to operate.

Screen size- Ipad mini's screen is larger and the device is a little larger but unless you have them side by side you'd think theyre about the same size. The ipad has a super small bezel on the left and right if you hold it in portrait mode which becomes an issue sometimes when there are things to click there and you have the device in a case as I do. PB screen is still a little sharper, very minor, but its impressive considering its 2 years old.

Camera- Rear camera seems crisper on the ipad. PB camera was no slouch though, part of the reason I carried it with me was for the awesome photos and videos it would take. But although they are both listed as 5mp the ipad mini seems more crystal clear and sharper than the PB. I'd like to hear others thoughts. Also the autofocus and facial recognition is better. I don't use the front facing cameras but I know the PB has higher resolution cameras there. The ipad has all of that baked in photo software too. BB got this right in BB10 but not on the PB.

Conclusion
In the end I feel like, the major difference between how you use a phone and tablet are that a tablet's core value really lies in its app ecosystem. The PB was awesome to me when i first got it. The tablet space was still young and it did much of what i needed from it. But as the tablet space has grown and tablets are expected to do more, my PB doesn't do more. And it seems as though BB has abandoned this space until it can figure out how best to do it right. This is the right thing to do imo. The next tablet that BB puts out has to have 90% of the top apps and better battery life and then they can compete. they were on the right track in terms of the hardware and I feel like they nailed the OS, but while I prefer the PB over the ipad in some significant ways, it all comes down to the apps on a tablet. ipad wins that hands down.

[Kris Simundson]

I have purchased 5 Playbooks, and have kept one by my side virtually every day over the past 2 years. Ironically, it was 2 years ago this month that I purchased my first Playbook and fell in love. I've had 3 16gbs, a 32 gb and then bought the 64 gb as my main device. I am a power user.

After having the ipad mini for 2 weeks I just wanted share what my experience has been.
The playbook is 2 years old now and the hardware is what it is at this point. All of the current tablets have better processors, app stores and battery life. The one saving grace Bridge, is no longer a factor because the bridge to BB10 isn't nearly as good, and I have a cellular tablet now which doesn't need my phones internet connection. I still have several playbooks and will still use them, but it is no longer my primary tablet.

Ipad mini strengths-
Apps. this really can't be overstated, every app available is available on the ipad and for my personal use and also my business I've found many useful apps that mainly weren't available for the PB or existed in a 3rd party diminished version. And I'm not talking about instagram, skype or netflix here. I don't use any of those. I'm talking espn, time warner cable, brother printer (at my restaurant), HP printer (at my house), Video surveillance app (for the restaurant) and several others. this has made my life easier. these are mainly productivity apps.

Battery life- The battery on this is amazing. I can go a whole day on heavy use and come home with 30% left. And this is with my mainly surfing the net and streaming my surveillance cameras. This was always an issue on the PB for me. its not close and thats with me running a 4g lte vs a wifi tablet.

Speakers- way better on the playbook. They really nailed the placement of the speakers and its not until you have used something else that u really appreciate that aspect of the PB's design. And their much louder and clearer too.

OS- PB beats it hands down. I'm constantly annoyed that I so frequently have to push a button on a touch device as much as i have to. The PB OS is so elegant, swiping through apps, having apps actually running in the background, closing them with just the touch of a little x in the corner. Its all so fluid and smooth. The Ipad is fluid in terms of its general operation, but not moving through apps its not. double pressing a button to show open, but paused, not running apps, holding an app to highlight a close button and then pressing the home button again. Its really clumsy. The PB OS is what made me fall in love with the PB, that and Bridge and it still shines as a superior way for an OS to operate.

Screen size- Ipad mini's screen is larger and the device is a little larger but unless you have them side by side you'd think theyre about the same size. The ipad has a super small bezel on the left and right if you hold it in portrait mode which becomes an issue sometimes when there are things to click there and you have the device in a case as I do. PB screen is still a little sharper, very minor, but its impressive considering its 2 years old.

Camera- Rear camera seems crisper on the ipad. PB camera was no slouch though, part of the reason I carried it with me was for the awesome photos and videos it would take. But although they are both listed as 5mp the ipad mini seems more crystal clear and sharper than the PB. I'd like to hear others thoughts. Also the autofocus and facial recognition is better. I don't use the front facing cameras but I know the PB has higher resolution cameras there. The ipad has all of that baked in photo software too. BB got this right in BB10 but not on the PB.

Conclusion
In the end I feel like, the major difference between how you use a phone and tablet are that a tablet's core value really lies in its app ecosystem. The PB was awesome to me when i first got it. The tablet space was still young and it did much of what i needed from it. But as the tablet space has grown and tablets are expected to do more, my PB doesn't do more. And it seems as though BB has abandoned this space until it can figure out how best to do it right. This is the right thing to do imo. The next tablet that BB puts out has to have 90% of the top apps and better battery life and then they can compete. they were on the right track in terms of the hardware and I feel like they nailed the OS, but while I prefer the PB over the ipad in some significant ways, it all comes down to the apps on a tablet. ipad wins that hands down.

Good overview of both devices, shows real thought into it. Having owned a iPad 2nd Generation and a Playbook 16GB, I can echo your setiments on pretty much every aspect

[FF22]

Well-done review.

[anon(6038817)]

Good observations. I bought a 64 GB PlayBook two weeks ago, but very nearly bought an iPad Mini instead.

I don't regret my purchase, as I feel I've gotten a fantastic value for what I paid.

If apps were more important to me, I would have gone with the iPad. But other things like flash support, front-facing speakers, built-in HDMI out, rapid rapid charging port, presentation mode, and Bridge swayed me the other way.

I hope you enjoy your iPad!

[killa4luv]

Good observations. I bought a 64 GB PlayBook two weeks ago, but very nearly bought an iPad Mini instead.

I don't regret my purchase, as I feel I've gotten a fantastic value for what I paid.

If apps were more important to me, I would have gone with the iPad. But other things like flash support, front-facing speakers, built-in HDMI out, rapid rapid charging port, presentation mode, and Bridge swayed me the other way.

I hope you enjoy your iPad!

You know what? I failed to mention those features and they are important features! The iPad charges really slowly, and I mean really slowly. Like 3.5 hours. But the battery is so good, it kind of cancels that out. I can get through a day of heavy use and just charge it overnight.

The connectivity options are available for the iPad though they are proprietary and expensive. Presentation mode on the bb is an excellent feature its just not a mass appeal feature. IMO, bb should've targeted a few large industries, like health care, real estate, and general corporate offices and tried to be prominent in that market with tailor made apps/solutions. Ride that for a while until they could bring entertainment type apps on board. They did a ton of things right with the play book, especially since it still compares favorably or evenly to a device made 2 years later.