1. danielcj's Avatar
    With the announcement of B&N's tablet, the Playbook will be up against even more competition since Amazon's Fire was announced. I just don't get it, how can a bookseller like B&N release a tablet with Netflix yet RIM, can't seem to get some of these basic apps preinstalled on theirs. Granted it is running a different OS and all, but with a premium price of $500, you would need to satisfy the multimedia folks to prevent the PB to be pigeon holed as only a business tool.

    If the PB had the Kindle app, Skype w/ video, and Netflix/Hulu...I guarantee sales will go up!
    11-07-11 12:41 PM
  2. Blkacesvf41's Avatar
    With the announcement of B&N's tablet, the Playbook will be up against even more competition since Amazon's Fire was announced. I just don't get it, how can a bookseller like B&N release a tablet with Netflix yet RIM, can't seem to get some of these basic apps preinstalled on theirs. Granted it is running a different OS and all, but with a premium price of $500, you would need to satisfy the multimedia folks to prevent the PB to be pigeon holed as only a business tool.

    If the PB had the Kindle app, Skype w/ video, and Netflix/Hulu...I guarantee sales will go up!
    I agree, let's hope that 2.0 will bring some of these apps.
    11-07-11 12:48 PM
  3. aneftp's Avatar
    The 7 inch tablet prices by both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have got RIM checked mated on pricing.

    There is no reasonable person who would pay even more than $300 for a Playbook no matter what "specs" it has to offer when a similar 7 inch tablet is selling for $199/$249.

    Pricing is everything in this economy no matter how many bells and whistles RIM can offer, the public will see $199/$249.
    11-07-11 12:51 PM
  4. danielcj's Avatar
    I will be pleasantly surprised if those apps will be included but I am not holding my breath. It would also be nice if the OS update utilized the front LED.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-07-11 12:52 PM
  5. lnichols's Avatar
    We know that RIM has been holding up and blocking apps that may compete with there own functionality (even if that functionality won't be out till OS2). Look at IM+. Yeah it had issues, but RIM was holding it up and giving the company the run-around, and the working theory is because it would compete with BBM at some point. We know that there are mail apps and alternative browsers being blocked. It's hard to tell right now if companies aren't developing for the Playbook because RIM said there was going to be an Android Player soon after release and they all have Android versions of the apps and are waiting, or if they submitted apps and RIM is blocking them because they compete with there future Video Service, Videoconferencing apps, Native PIM/e-mail, etc.

    RIM has made a lot of mistakes with the Playbook rollout that has hindered sales and adoption by consumers. I doubt that 2.0 is going to magically fix all this either unless they release Android Player in 2.0 and all these apps like Netflix, Skype, Kindle, etc. show up at the same time in App World.
    11-07-11 12:55 PM
  6. danielcj's Avatar
    The 7 inch tablet prices by both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have got RIM checked mated on pricing.

    There is no reasonable person who would pay even more than $300 for a Playbook no matter what "specs" it has to offer when a similar 7 inch tablet is selling for $199/$249.

    Pricing is everything in this economy no matter how many bells and whistles RIM can offer, the public will see $199/$249.
    I paid $300 for my PB and think it is a reasonable price for the higher specs. Now we just need to make sure devs utilize them. They also need to fix the keyboard!

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-07-11 12:55 PM
  7. pustyak's Avatar
    Keep in mind that neither the Amazon Fire nor the Nook Tablet have a camera. That means that video chat is out completely.
    11-07-11 12:57 PM
  8. danielcj's Avatar
    Yea paying a bit more for front and rear cameras would be worth it to a lot of consumers if video chat was available.

    I don't think the android player will fix everything as I'm sure a lot of native apps won't run correctly.

    That's an interesting notion that RIM might be blocking apps but at the same time PB sales are so poor that it doesn't seem like they would pose a threat. I think its more like devs are holding out to port their android apps onto the android player.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-07-11 01:02 PM
  9. papped's Avatar
    Keep in mind that neither the Amazon Fire nor the Nook Tablet have a camera. That means that video chat is out completely.
    Pull them all in with the first gen device for $199, then release an upgrade version with cameras later on. It'll happen...
    drum likes this.
    11-07-11 01:08 PM
  10. houshinto#IM's Avatar
    Keep in mind that neither the Amazon Fire nor the Nook Tablet have a camera. That means that video chat is out completely.
    That's not all.
    The Kindle Fire has:

    Ads - unless you buy a more expensive version
    no 3G
    less battery life
    no camera or microphone
    no GPS
    no HDMI output capability
    less memory

    Even if the exterior is the same the interior is vastly different and the fact that is has Ad's explains the pricing more. Frankly that's a deal breaker from the start.
    11-07-11 01:09 PM
  11. Blkacesvf41's Avatar
    We know that RIM has been holding up and blocking apps that may compete with there own functionality (even if that functionality won't be out till OS2). Look at IM+. Yeah it had issues, but RIM was holding it up and giving the company the run-around, and the working theory is because it would compete with BBM at some point. We know that there are mail apps and alternative browsers being blocked. It's hard to tell right now if companies aren't developing for the Playbook because RIM said there was going to be an Android Player soon after release and they all have Android versions of the apps and are waiting, or if they submitted apps and RIM is blocking them because they compete with there future Video Service, Videoconferencing apps, Native PIM/e-mail, etc.

    RIM has made a lot of mistakes with the Playbook rollout that has hindered sales and adoption by consumers. I doubt that 2.0 is going to magically fix all this either unless they release Android Player in 2.0 and all these apps like Netflix, Skype, Kindle, etc. show up at the same time in App World.
    It just doesn't make sense for RIM to be blocking these apps when they could only increase PB sales. Btw as far as these tablets, why do they mean by an "experimental browser"?
    11-07-11 01:11 PM
  12. papped's Avatar
    It just doesn't make sense for RIM to be blocking these apps when they could only increase PB sales. Btw as far as these tablets, why do they mean by an "experimental browser"?
    They purposely didn't release a lot of things that could have increased sales. So even if it doesn't make sense, they do do that...
    11-07-11 01:13 PM
  13. danielcj's Avatar
    They purposely didn't release a lot of things that could have increased sales. So even if it doesn't make sense, they do do that...
    I thought apps like IM+ have been available for the BB for years and it was never an issue right?

    I'm a frequent Amazon customer and if I didn't pick up my PB for $300 a few months ago, I would have probably ordered the Fire as a tablet for browsing which is pretty much what I do on my PB...browse Amazon.com and order crap...

    The rear camera is excellent and the front is a nice bonus on the PB but I could probably live without it since there isn't Skype.
    11-07-11 01:43 PM
  14. adamman's Avatar
    With the announcement of B&N's tablet, the Playbook will be up against even more competition since Amazon's Fire was announced. I just don't get it, how can a bookseller like B&N release a tablet with Netflix yet RIM, can't seem to get some of these basic apps preinstalled on theirs. Granted it is running a different OS and all, but with a premium price of $500, you would need to satisfy the multimedia folks to prevent the PB to be pigeon holed as only a business tool.

    If the PB had the Kindle app, Skype w/ video, and Netflix/Hulu...I guarantee sales will go up!
    don't forget the galaxy tab 7.7 - another 7-incher. but it will most probably be priced at around the playbook's original price. also, it is rumored that apple will release a 7 or 8-inch version of the ipad. so we will indeed have some stiff competition here.
    11-07-11 01:43 PM
  15. danielcj's Avatar
    don't forget the galaxy tab 7.7 - another 7-incher. but it will most probably be priced at around the playbook's original price. also, it is rumored that apple will release a 7 or 8-inch version of the ipad. so we will indeed have some stiff competition here.
    Yea the gap in which the PB can be under developed is closing fast. I still think RIM should throw money at developers to use QNX and not Android. That will also be an advantage when they get ported to QNX phones next year..
    BernFlo likes this.
    11-07-11 01:53 PM
  16. Shadow_S2K's Avatar
    Netflix, hulu etc are all offered on the android platform...but those tablets are hardly selling well at all individually...so what does that mean? To say the PB is a failure because of the lack of these apps is hardly accurate, its just that Ipad is king...and nothing will change that, other tablets are just trying to find whatever niche they can to get some piece of the pie. And with the Playbook I think they have a good target market that they just need to market it better to.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-07-11 01:55 PM
  17. danielcj's Avatar
    Netflix, hulu etc are all offered on the android platform...but those tablets are hardly selling well at all individually...so what does that mean? To say the PB is a failure because of the lack of these apps is hardly accurate, its just that Ipad is king...and nothing will change that, other tablets are just trying to find whatever niche they can to get some piece of the pie. And with the Playbook I think they have a good target market that they just need to market it better to.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Good points. I never said the PB is a failure though. So what is the target market for the PB in your opinion? Does anybody know PB sales are like in BB dense countries like Indonesia and India?
    11-07-11 01:59 PM
  18. adamman's Avatar
    Yea the gap in which the PB can be under developed is closing fast. I still think RIM should throw money at developers to use QNX and not Android. That will also be an advantage when they get ported to QNX phones next year..
    i agree qnx is great (this is my subjective evaluation). i wish it was supported by developers as well as android or ios, had all basic features it's currently lacking, and was owned by another company that actually delivers on promises.

    so google, microsoft, amazon, or whoever, please, buy qnx. rim is just killing it.
    11-07-11 02:00 PM
  19. papped's Avatar
    The fire will have a good niche, because at the price point people will get into tablets just because they can (doesn't really matter what it does or doesn't offer).
    adamman and kmcobra64 like this.
    11-07-11 02:05 PM
  20. Hobbes2099's Avatar
    Keep in mind most of these decisions are commercial and based on the promise of sales and that alone.
    The hardware specs on a device only matter for so long. Even the most powerful tablet (PB among them) have little future if there's no developers behind it. Take any tablet, the PB and see the specs. While very impressive today, 18 months from today and these specs will pale in comparison. It always happens.

    The tablet market has the impression that the BB PB has no apps for it (that there's a recent flood of books isn't helping either). This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy until RIM takes active steps to break the cycle. Presenting BBX was the first agressive (and smart) decision to let the developer ecosystem out there know there is money to be made.

    Amazon (and soon B&N) will not develop apps for PB because "RIM is not a serious contender". The number of QNX tablets in the market are still small compared to the Android tablets available. It's true, individually, XOOM tablets and Galaxy tablets are also shunned by Apple's gargantuan lead in the tablet market, but it's easier for Amazon to develop for two platforms (iOS, Android) and reach 99% of the market with two developing platforms. Adding WebOS, QNX and any additional platform (Bada, Meego, WP7 and what not) is very expensive because of licencing, testing, Q&A, etc.

    Also consider that there are two very strong brands behind Android, Google and Amazon. These two brands are leaders in content harvesting and content delivery (Amazon even more so than Google).
    11-07-11 02:35 PM
  21. RCCollins's Avatar
    .. Granted it is running a different OS and all, but with a premium price of $500, you would need to satisfy the multimedia folks to prevent the PB to be pigeon holed as only a business tool.
    Exactly what makes the PLAYbook a business tool?
    trickykid likes this.
    11-07-11 02:43 PM
  22. danielcj's Avatar
    Exactly what makes the PLAYbook a business tool?
    I have no idea. It isn't really a multimedia tool either ...
    11-07-11 02:54 PM
  23. danielcj's Avatar
    Keep in mind most of these decisions are commercial and based on the promise of sales and that alone.
    The hardware specs on a device only matter for so long. Even the most powerful tablet (PB among them) have little future if there's no developers behind it. Take any tablet, the PB and see the specs. While very impressive today, 18 months from today and these specs will pale in comparison. It always happens.

    The tablet market has the impression that the BB PB has no apps for it (that there's a recent flood of books isn't helping either). This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy until RIM takes active steps to break the cycle. Presenting BBX was the first agressive (and smart) decision to let the developer ecosystem out there know there is money to be made.

    Amazon (and soon B&N) will not develop apps for PB because "RIM is not a serious contender". The number of QNX tablets in the market are still small compared to the Android tablets available. It's true, individually, XOOM tablets and Galaxy tablets are also shunned by Apple's gargantuan lead in the tablet market, but it's easier for Amazon to develop for two platforms (iOS, Android) and reach 99% of the market with two developing platforms. Adding WebOS, QNX and any additional platform (Bada, Meego, WP7 and what not) is very expensive because of licencing, testing, Q&A, etc.

    Also consider that there are two very strong brands behind Android, Google and Amazon. These two brands are leaders in content harvesting and content delivery (Amazon even more so than Google).

    These are all very good points. Things don't look so good for the PB and that's why I think RIM needs to pay Amazon, Google and Skype to develop their apps.

    Who knows...maybe this time next year RIM might be bought out for their patents..
    11-07-11 02:57 PM
  24. Blacklac's Avatar
    Netflix, hulu etc are all offered on the android platform...but those tablets are hardly selling well at all individually...so what does that mean? To say the PB is a failure because of the lack of these apps is hardly accurate, its just that Ipad is king...and nothing will change that, other tablets are just trying to find whatever niche they can to get some piece of the pie. And with the Playbook I think they have a good target market that they just need to market it better to.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Just my opinion, but if BBX/QNX had all those big time Apps like Netflix, Skype, Hulu+, etc, the PB wouldn't compete with Android, but iPads. The thing holding back Android Tablets is Android itself IMO. Ice Cream Sandwich may fix that, but Android and Tablets don't look premium, IMO.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-07-11 02:58 PM
  25. notfanboy's Avatar
    Netflix, hulu etc are all offered on the android platform...but those tablets are hardly selling well at all individually...so what does that mean? To say the PB is a failure because of the lack of these apps is hardly accurate, its just that Ipad is king...and nothing will change that, other tablets are just trying to find whatever niche they can to get some piece of the pie. And with the Playbook I think they have a good target market that they just need to market it better to.
    iPad is king, but it's not as dominant as it was last year. Apple's tablet market share is down to 2/3rds, according to this article, and it's mainly due to Android.

    Apple's share of the tablet market has shrunk 29% to 67%, as Google's mobile operating system Android took a chunk out of the company's global sales during the last quarter this year.

    Android-powered tablet computers rose to 27% from 2.3% for the same period a year earlier, according to research firm Strategy Analysis.
    You mentioned that none of the other tablets are selling well individually but the Asus Transformer is selling 440,000 units per month.

    The Kindle Fire, the Amazon Hollywood tablet, the Transformer Prime, and the introduction of Ice Cream Sandwich is going to eat that market share even more.
    11-07-11 03:09 PM
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