[sportline]

hehe looks good. i got dell streak. venue pro looks good too with portrait slider ala torch 9800.
with slider out, it's almost 9" / ipad size?

[kbz1960]

3g pb is a scaled up, full touchscreen blackberry..so it definitely run on BIS/BES and get PIM functionality. will be easier to sell, i believe.

It probably would if said people want to pay for another data plan. But even with email and PIM it's still missing basic functionality that should be standard in any OS unless you download or buy an app to accomplish it which a person should not have to do and there is still that lack of app/dev support.

[sportline]

well you would have to pay for data plan on any 3G tablet..can't compare to wifi only tablet. but you got mobility with 3G.
app/dev support will come with volume and corporate lobbying. hp can bring amazon and others during and shortly after launch, so why couldn't rim bring any is beyond my comprehension.

[kbz1960]

well you would have to pay for data plan on any 3G tablet..can't compare to wifi only tablet. but you got mobility with 3G.
app/dev support will come with volume and corporate lobbying. hp can bring amazon and others during and shortly after launch, so why couldn't rim bring any is beyond my comprehension.

Humm, you have mobility with bridge. And yes any 3g you have to pay another data plan, maybe works for people with a lot of money or corporations but not your avg consumer.

Your last question is an unknown like a lot of things at RIM lately.

[sportline]

yeah but bridge won't give you offline email, and having 3g version you may use other handset (not bb)..good from sales point of view. of course its additional cost.
rim will get full carrier backup with 3g version as carriers will get their part of the cake. bridge is not fully supported because carriers feels bypassed.
maybe one day people can use pb as a telephone + tablet, using bt headset or something?

back to form factor, do we need hardware button(s) in front bottom bezel?

[_StephenBB81]

Does no one carry a Briefcase anymore? 10" or 11" isn't an issue in one of those.

What is a Briefcase?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sportline]

What is a Briefcase?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

its a big man-purse

[kbz1960]

Some don't care about offline email again, like me. You have to think avg joe consumer not Mr. Business who needs it all now and before now. But back to form.

I think a trackpad and mouse buttons would be a great addition if they were done right and in the right place.

[01itr]

I think a trackpad and mouse buttons would be a great addition if they were done right and in the right place.

Any hardware additions will add to the weight and thickness of the tablet. Personally I never had problems with my Playbook where I wished I had a trackpad/buttons.

[sportline]

if 3g pb becomes a tablet phone (making voice calls) , then call/off and back buttons are probably handy.
i still think a home button is not such a bad idea. the problem with pb now is the bezel sides (right and left) got to be wide enough to allow for gestures. that makes it slightly wider. why don't just make gestures at the bottom bezel, a-la palm pre? then the screen can be stretched to both left and right.
just an idea.

[diegonei]

if 3g pb becomes a tablet phone (making voice calls) , then call/off and back buttons are probably handy.
i still think a home button is not such a bad idea. the problem with pb now is the bezel sides (right and left) got to be wide enough to allow for gestures. that makes it slightly wider. why don't just make gestures at the bottom bezel, a-la palm pre? then the screen can be stretched to both left and right.
just an idea.

And get sued over copying webOS? hmm...

[kbz1960]

Any hardware additions will add to the weight and thickness of the tablet. Personally I never had problems with my Playbook where I wished I had a trackpad/buttons.

I guess your are better at selecting things then most people that are complaining it takes several tries to get the cursor where they want it or to get the link they want. But yes to weight and size.

[sportline]

And get sued over copying webOS? hmm...

well if webos is owned by appled rim will definitely get sued with cards view and current gestures

[BSFA2008]

before thinking about the next playbook, how 'bout getting the FIRST playbook right, and getting out some QNX phones so the developers have some incentive to develop?!

[BSFA2008]

if 3g pb becomes a tablet phone (making voice calls) , then call/off and back buttons are probably handy.
i still think a home button is not such a bad idea. the problem with pb now is the bezel sides (right and left) got to be wide enough to allow for gestures. that makes it slightly wider. why don't just make gestures at the bottom bezel, a-la palm pre? then the screen can be stretched to both left and right.
just an idea.

Psh. The wider bezel is a welcome feature to me. Finally, I have something to hold onto. With my Evo, I'm constantly either touching something on the screen I didn't want to touch or I'm mashing a capacitive "button" below the screen. I'm so sick of it.

tldr; without wide bezel, nothing to hold onto. wide bezel good. keep wide bezel.

[sportline]

nothing much you can do to get the first one (wifi) right, negative publicity:
- no developers will approach
- no native email/PIM functionality for wifi until radio version, and possibly pay service for BIS/BES
- low sales volume
- bridge experience is not satisfactory. and piggybacking data plan won't be liked by any carrier.

better start all over and launch a 3G/4G radio version both PAYG and carrier-contract, worldwide. don't just stay with one carrier, especially sprint. 4G consumes too much battery with poor signals and sprint is loaded with big screen androids. sell an unlocked version is better i believe.
that way you can attract developers (who know you will get support from carriers). carriers will be happy since they can install their bloatware and sell data plan.

[BlackBerry Guy]

I'd say the best business decision should put most of their efforts into releasing a QNX powered phone sometime within the next 6 months. They can ride 7" design for a while as a way to differentiate themselves from the 10" tablets. There's no perfect tablet size - both are compromises.

[sportline]

if the bb phones (9900 onwards) run BBOS7 and upgradeable to QNX, therefore logically playbook is downgradeable to BBOS7?

just plan B if this QNX never took off, rim can just port BBOS7 to playbook. make it a big torch, which is not bad at all.

[louzer]

I don't see why QNX phones can't be developed in parallel. After all, the core is the same and it's just the extensions that make it a tablet or a phone. And it's not like RIM is a small company with just a few developers.

If we're talking 8.5x11", I think it would make more sense to make an A4 size tablet which could be set to either 8.5x11 or A4. That way you could display documents at real size. Add a pen interface like the HTC View and you can have virtual document signing.

A slide out or folding keyboard makes it too bulkyand too much like a laptop. I personally don't like the idea of a projected keyboard since it's pretty much just like a touch keyboard but freeing up screen space. I do like the idea of a bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo.

I'd also like to see a virtual thumb scroller added to the virtual keyboard or arrow keys to allow easier navigation for editing.

But I think they should stick with the 7" form factor as well. The scrolling on the Playbook is so responsive that in landscape mode, it's just fine. I'm also growing very fond of the 16x9 aspect ratio.

Finally, I think a great compromise would be a 3G/4G radio built in. If you want a data plan, you can get a carrier to subsidise the cost. If not, and you have a Blackberry, then use the Bridge and your PIM magically appears. If you use another type of phone, and you want to tether or use your phone as a wifi hotspot, Make a PIM available for download from the App Store. That way, no app redundancy on your Playbook. But... if Microsoft 365 has outlook, then all that could change.

Thanks to the OP for a thought-provoking thread.

And while I'm at it, it would be nice if you could turn off the auto-show feature of the keyboard so you can use the web editors on sites l

[esalonia]

I am of the opinion that while 7" is nice and portable, 10" is perfect for a tablet. I feel it is the best balance between too small and too big. I know it's not very scientific but I feel it is "just right". To borrow a phrase from a wise man... "of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

[sportline]

I don't see why QNX phones can't be developed in parallel. After all, the core is the same and it's just the extensions that make it a tablet or a phone. And it's not like RIM is a small company with just a few developers.

If we're talking 8.5x11", I think it would make more sense to make an A4 size tablet which could be set to either 8.5x11 or A4. That way you could display documents at real size. Add a pen interface like the HTC View and you can have virtual document signing.

A slide out or folding keyboard makes it too bulkyand too much like a laptop. I personally don't like the idea of a projected keyboard since it's pretty much just like a touch keyboard but freeing up screen space. I do like the idea of a bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo.

I'd also like to see a virtual thumb scroller added to the virtual keyboard or arrow keys to allow easier navigation for editing.

But I think they should stick with the 7" form factor as well. The scrolling on the Playbook is so responsive that in landscape mode, it's just fine. I'm also growing very fond of the 16x9 aspect ratio.

Finally, I think a great compromise would be a 3G/4G radio built in. If you want a data plan, you can get a carrier to subsidise the cost. If not, and you have a Blackberry, then use the Bridge and your PIM magically appears. If you use another type of phone, and you want to tether or use your phone as a wifi hotspot, Make a PIM available for download from the App Store. That way, no app redundancy on your Playbook. But... if Microsoft 365 has outlook, then all that could change.

Thanks to the OP for a thought-provoking thread.

And while I'm at it, it would be nice if you could turn off the auto-show feature of the keyboard so you can use the web editors on sites l

i have seen few pens comes out on tablet lately. even apple apparently acknowledge need or use of pens.
with tablet form factor i thought most will accept that bluetooth keyboard + mouse is the best option.
as for hardware button, a row of them won't do any harm. lenovo thinkpad tablet have 4 of them, android buttons.
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet and Keyboard Folio case hands-on (video) -- Engadget

this is from lenovo western europe : look to top : PROFESSIONAL GRADE
http://news.eu.lenovo.com/pr/lenovo-...s-systems.aspx

an A4 lightweight business tablet, IPS/gorilla display with 64GB memory and usb port may easily fetch $1000. we will see if the business them (as in lenovo thinkpad tablet) is selling ; will go on sale next month for 500-800$ or so. it looks business, just like a thinkpad laptop.

[sportline]

what now? maybe rim will sell an android tablet now?
a 7" playbook android and 7" playbook QNX? which one do you want?

[kbz1960]

I'll take the 7" windows 8 playbook.

[sportline]

a 3G 7" playbook with android software or windows mango ( big tiles, remember :d) , 400$, hows its sound
hardware is best, top notch.

[sookster54]

I've used an iPad, some 10" ones and some 7" ones (Galaxy tab and Playbook) and I much prefer 7"- it fits in pockets and aren't bulky and heavy. The only 10" I'm interested in is the Asus Transformer for the keyboard dock that could replace my netbook. 10" is just simply too large for being a mobile device.