[FF22]

USB OTG?

Googling it will provide a better answer as my understanding mostly comes from these forums

... but AFAIK it allows the PB to act as the USB master depending on what it sees at the other end of the cable so's you can plug in memory sticks and other stuff. The word a few months back was that the hardware was already there due to the chipset known to be inside the PB and USB OTG could be enabled in the OS with a fairly simple (but apparently not trivial - as it needs drivers to be written) set of changes.

There were some reports that some people saw development builds with some USB OTG support for memory sticks, but you could imagine the PB connected to a printer say by the same mechanism.

Cynic alert: At this point, I don't think we will ever see it on the pb. (more than willing to be proved wrong by Rim/BBRY or whomever but I doubt it!)

[mmcpher]

I've had this PB since the day they were released and have been happy with it. It serves my needs still but i will shortly have a Surface Pro 128. One of the attractive features of the Surface Pro is it runs Windows 8, in some respects better and more intuitively than on my laptop or my desktop. And there is some benefit in running the same OS on multiple devices. The Surface, in some respects is Playbook-like.

Of all the tablets and touch screen pc's and laptops, the Playbook still makes the best use of the bezel, but Surface is a solid second. The Surface has some heft and thickness and with the exception of some angling on the edges, it somewhat looks and feels like a relative of the Playbook. In terms of Surface specific apps, Windows Store isn't all that much better than BB World, either in content or layout. With the critical exception of the availability of the full Office Suite, which is another major plus. I use the keyboard case with my PB, and here too, the Surface with a touch keyboard cover is similar. But its a little bigger as and more substantial and is easily attached or detached. While some reviewers have criticized the Surface pen functions, I was impressed in the way it translated pen-written handwriting into text, although it could be faster. The Surface browser is very fast and again renders web pages better than many pc's and certainly better than the PB. But the Surface runs hot and drains the battery down in 4 to 5 hours.

I think the Surface Pro is a decent yardstick of where the full-featured tablet market is right now in terms of features. The current PB is competitive and you can see where it will need to evolve. Even at launch, the Surface OS is more polished and full-featured than the PB OS, but hopefully the PB 2 will have a more polished version of BB10.

[JeepBB]

Cynic alert: At this point, I don't think we will ever see it on the pb. (more than willing to be proved wrong by Rim/BBRY or whomever but I doubt it!)

I could see it coming but, like you, I'm not sure how highly I'd rate the chances - too many "coming soons" eventually wear a body down.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the recent 2.1 update, even though I can't see any differences, as it shows they are still involved with PB. Much as I like my PB, and despite its lack of completion in some areas, if I were RIM, I'd have bailed on it long ago given the harm it's done both their Rep and bottom-line. So, thank you for your persistence RIM. LOL

I could see a scenario unfolding where they continue to use the PB, and the vocal CB community , as a testbed for things they might want to include in a new tablet (if it ever becomes economic to build another one) or even the BB10 phones.

Two million PB users would represent a significant beta-test community and any software that survived the process is likely to be solid enough to include in other products at minimal risk.

So maybe we'll see a succession of 2.1 builds with increments of capability over the coming months?

[JeepBB]

I've had this PB since the day they were released and have been happy with it. It serves my needs still but i will shortly have a Surface Pro 128. One of the attractive features of the Surface Pro is it runs Windows 8, in some respects better and more intuitively than on my laptop or my desktop. And there is some benefit in running the same OS on multiple devices. The Surface, in some respects is Playbook-like.

Of all the tablets and touch screen pc's and laptops, the Playbook still makes the best use of the bezel, but Surface is a solid second. The Surface has some heft and thickness and with the exception of some angling on the edges, it somewhat looks and feels like a relative of the Playbook. In terms of Surface specific apps, Windows Store isn't all that much better than BB World, either in content or layout. With the critical exception of the availability of the full Office Suite, which is another major plus. I use the keyboard case with my PB, and here too, the Surface with a touch keyboard cover is similar. But its a little bigger as and more substantial and is easily attached or detached. While some reviewers have criticized the Surface pen functions, I was impressed in the way it translated pen-written handwriting into text, although it could be faster. The Surface browser is very fast and again renders web pages better than many pc's and certainly better than the PB. But the Surface runs hot and drains the battery down in 4 to 5 hours.

I think the Surface Pro is a decent yardstick of where the full-featured tablet market is right now in terms of features. The current PB is competitive and you can see where it will need to evolve. Even at launch, the Surface OS is more polished and full-featured than the PB OS, but hopefully the PB 2 will have a more polished version of BB10.

That's all useful to know. Thanks for that review-ette.

Me and my boy both like the look of the Surface too. From our perspective:

Pros: Looks (the click-on keyboard/cover is inspired!), Full Office suite, Handwriting to Text conversion.

Cons: Size (too big?), Battery life.

The limited offerings in the App Store wouldn't bother me as I have a Nokia Lumia but, to be fair, I've not noticed too many gaps in the Apps I use. So that wouldn't be an issue for me, and it should only get better.

Realistically, if for no other reason than to have new shiny tech, the day when me and my PB part company is probably not many months away, and the Surface will probably be at the top of the list. I'd like to have the choice between Surface and a PB2 running BB10, but PB2 is so dependent on the success of the BB10 phones that I don't believe PB2 will appear anytime soon. You only have to browse the BB10 forums to realise that the launch isn't unfolding quite as planned and there's a huge imperative on them fixing issues/bugs and bringing big-hitting Apps prior to the US launch.

So we'll see how that unfolds and if a Surface or PB2 lie in my future.

[FF22]

I could see it coming but, like you, I'm not sure how highly I'd rate the chances - too many "coming soons" eventually wear a body down.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the recent 2.1 update, even though I can't see any differences, as it shows they are still involved with PB. Much as I like my PB, and despite its lack of completion in some areas, if I were RIM, I'd have bailed on it long ago given the harm it's done both their Rep and bottom-line. So, thank you for your persistence RIM. LOL

I could see a scenario unfolding where they continue to use the PB, and the vocal CB community , as a testbed for things they might want to include in a new tablet (if it ever becomes economic to build another one) or even the BB10 phones.

Two million PB users would represent a significant beta-test community and any software that survived the process is likely to be solid enough to include in other products at minimal risk.

So maybe we'll see a succession of 2.1 builds with increments of capability over the coming months?

Oh, so optimistic and so early in the morning - well, early, here, anyway. From your keyboard to God's, well, Thor's eyes! (g)