[Tehpriest]

Hi I am now on the verge of purchasing my Playbook but I have one very important criteria that I am still unclear on after reading the threads here. The new OS2 seems to be able to sync with Google but does it behave like an android tablet would, that is will it sync both ways automatically at set intervals (mine is presently 3 minutes). Also is all this information then available on the Playbook while it is offline? I am aware these seem like simple questions but they are vitally important for me to get clear answers to before I purchase. Thanks in advance.

P.S. Will it also run all Android apps now?

[rob9804]

P.S. Will it also run all Android apps now?

no it wont run ALL of them only the ones the developer's ported over to the playbook

[Tehpriest]

Bump. Anyone can clarify this for me please. Really do want to go get it :-D

[BrizzadMan]

Hi TehPriest! When you are talking about Google sync, are you specifically asking about GMAIL, or Google Docs?

If you're takling about GMAIL you can set your sync options to:

"PUSH" (immediate)

Or

"MANUAL" which then gives you the option to set interval sync (15m, 30m, 1h, 2h)

Also - Android Apps can only be downloaded from the BlackBerry AppWorld - they have to be submitted by the developer themselves. You cannot run just any Android App as you might expect. Unfortunate some may see, though I think they're lucky RIM has adopted any kind of support for Android Apps at all.

[BrizzadMan]

OH - forgot to answer, yes the e-mails are downloaded to the PlayBook for offline viewing. There is a restriction though of of "Message Sync Timeframe" which allows synchronization of "3 Days, 7 days, 15 days, or 30 days" of messages.

I'm not certain if that is only for the INITIAL sync, or if it will be ongoing (i.e: you sync 7 days of e-mail to current time/date, and then it removes any older than that?) Someone else may be able to clarify that.

[Tehpriest]

Thanks. So do I take it that the contacts and calendar are also two way live updated so I can input from PC, Phone or Playbook and get the same on all ? Hope I am explaining my question clearly. If yes then a trip to the shop tomorrow will be my next appointment input .

[BrizzadMan]

You'll need to clarify what you mean by "Two-way live updated":

1.) So you can input from your PC (where are you inputting from?) Are you logging into the GMAIL website and managing your contacts there? If so, yes. If not, and you are using Outlook which stores files locally only accessible on your computer, then no. (You would then be required to import your contacts into GMAIL so PB will actually see them)

2.) Phone - what kind of phone do you have and how does it sync currently?

[Tehpriest]

Phone is an Android and syncs email, contacts and calendar two way with Gmail. Pc runs Outlook collects all my mail accounts and then syncs email, contacts and calendar two way with Gmail. So all my devices have email, contacts and calendar in sync all the time. I also have an old Android tablet which does the same and it is this I want to upgrade to the Playbook which has a much more usable UI apart from being miles ahead technically to what I currently have.

[BrizzadMan]

I'd say then, as long as Outlook & Gmail are synchronizing fine - you should have no issues. The PB will only look @ GMAIL, not Outlook of course. I am curious if updating the contacts on the PB that are 'brought in' from GMAIL, if they will then update back to GMAIL? I see no reason why not - though do more searching.

I myself only use GMAIL for e-mail, not for calendaring & contacts.