[Spacemonkie]

I would get a nexus 7. Better OS, unless you want to use it for pictures (I never use my playbook for pictures)

Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk 2

[texazzpete]

There is no harm but high megapixel cams add significantly to the price of bargain tablets. We must remember the playbook was not designed or sold as a bargain tablet initially. So its like trying to compare apples and oranges. The fire and the nexus 7 are bargain tablets.

The Nexus 7 is being sold for a bargain price...it doesn't make it a 'bargain tablet'. It's perhaps the most powerful 7 inch tablet out there, afterall.

[HKSpeed]

The Nexus 7 is going to have a HUGE amount of support from the hacker community. There will be so many custom roms available for this thing, you'll be able to tweak the heck out of it. Once Windows 8 comes out, there will be a huge push to get it ported to the Nexus 7.

Don't forget Amazon is supposed to release the Kindle Fire 2 before Christmas, although many reports say it'll be released July or August. For $199 it is supposed be quad core, 1280x800 resolution, and have a camera (nobody knows how many). The OS is supposed to more similar to Android, rather than a totally custom build like the KF1.

[JasW]

I recently read a review in the Boston Globe of the Nexus by their tech writer, in which he claimed that there were no other 7" tablets that could do all the things the Nexus does. I sent him a polite email pointing out that the playbook does many things the Nexus can't, and his reply was along the lines of "I had forgotten about the playbook, and apparently so has everyone else". He also described RIM as a "doomed" company.

His comment about the PB was smartalecky, but not entirely unfair. CB acts as a big echo chamber. In the outside world, however, the PB is, unfortunately, more or less forgotten. (Hence, no Skype, Netflix, etc.). Nobody's fault but RIM'S.

[papped]

His comment about the PB was smartalecky, but not entirely unfair. CB acts as a big echo chamber. In the outside world, however, the PB is, unfortunately, more or less forgotten. (Hence, no Skype, Netflix, etc.). Nobody's fault but RIM'S.

It wasn't forgotten, it was never really widely known in the first place.

However, the same end result is basically true for a large, large portion of android tablets...

[texazzpete]

However, the same end result is basically true for a large, large portion of android tablets...

Till now, i still tell folks that RIM or Nokia going Android would be the death of them.

As it stands now, Android is almost exclusively a Samsung and Google pie.

[nextcity]

The Nexus 7 is being sold for a bargain price...it doesn't make it a 'bargain tablet'. It's perhaps the most powerful 7 inch tablet out there, afterall.

Just got my pre-ordered Nexus 7, and it is the best Android device I have ever used. Still, my Playbook will get plenty of use as well. The Nexus 7 is what I will use to "play," while the Playbook is what I will use for work.

[jon4400]

About your other open tabs
The playbook supports flash so it might be very helpful if you want to access adult content.

[dono54]

Just got my pre-ordered Nexus 7, and it is the best Android device I have ever used. Still, my Playbook will get plenty of use as well. The Nexus 7 is what I will use to "play," while the Playbook is what I will use for work.

Did you get a 8GB or 16GB?

[nextcity]

Even though I read it only cost Google $5 extra to install 16GB over the build cost for the 8GB version, I paid the extra $50 for the 16GB Nexus 7. I transferred everything over from my Droid Razr, but still did not go over 8GB. However, the extra space will come in handy for downloading a few movies to watch during flights, etc.

[dono54]

My 32GB is 3/4 full and I am thinking I should have bought a 64gb.

[sf49ers]

It has flash... Otherwise a huge portion of applications wouldn't even work anymore and the entire air SDK and apis would be pointless.

Jelly bean doesn't allow Flash player and the situation is same with 3rd party browsers, I am not sure if there is a hack for it at the moment. Adobe AIR runs on the same technology as Flash. The difference is the additional libraries available in AIR to allow you to more easily create Rich Internet Applications, as opposed to Flash itself which is targeted at animation and games creation. Although Air applications can run in a flash player but Adobe positions Air as a browser-less runtime for applications that can be deployed onto the desktop and Flash player is more of a browser plugin.

[anon(4018671)]

Android isn't a very efficient OS. I'm not 100% sure on this so someone correct me if I'm wrong but with the quad core chip allows Android to have the UI on one core to prevent lag. QNX is far better than Android with a dual core and the PB proves it. Now imagine QNX on the same quad core chip, is it even necessary? Maybe more RAM but more cores IDK. I think they should make a desktop version lol

[howarmat]

android doesnt need a quad core either but it doesnt stop manufactures making the hardware for it. What makes you think the OS is not very efficient? What makes QNX better than android on dual core?

[notfanboy]

About your other open tabs
The playbook supports flash so it might be very helpful if you want to access adult content.

Hmm, now I get the significance of your username.

[Tre Lawrence]

Android isn't a very efficient OS. I'm not 100% sure on this so someone correct me if I'm wrong but with the quad core chip allows Android to have the UI on one core to prevent lag. QNX is far better than Android with a dual core and the PB proves it. Now imagine QNX on the same quad core chip, is it even necessary? Maybe more RAM but more cores IDK. I think they should make a desktop version lol

Careful. Using the PB as a benchmark for anything in consumer electronics is kind of risky LOL.

[jesus marion joseph]

Can you post the email here? I would be anxious to read the exchange.

I don't want to open the guy to an inbox full of CB venom, but here's the basic exchange:

Me:

"I read your review of the new Google 7 inch tablet with some dismay. You claimed that the Nexus has features not found in other 7 inch tablets such as GPS, bluetooth, high resolution display and (relatively) low price. There are many, however, who have had these features for a year or more in the Blackberry Playbook. It has a 1080p hi def screen, bluetooth connectivity, a GPS locator, a 7 inch size format, and an excellent browser kit that runs virtually any video format. It can also play hi-def video to any video monitor with an HDMI input and offers internet connectivity through nearly any Blackberry phone without a tethering charge through its bridge app downloaded to the phone if you are not near a wifi source. As long as your phone has a signal, you can connect over the 3G network. The same software also allows any touchscreen Blackberry phone to function as a remote control for the tablet via bluetooth. Excellent for doing presentations. Hi def movies can be ripped to your computer and downloaded onto the tablet, either via a USB cable or wirelessly, as can other file types. It also compares favorably in the price category. I bought my 64gig version for $299 in November, and I believe the prices are even lower now. Almost forgot, the sound from its stereo speakers is far and away better than any other tablet I've seen. It can also shoot 720p video and 5 mp still shots and has front and rear facing cameras. There are no twitter, Skype or Netflix apps, but Playbook users can vide call each other directly.

True, RIM may or may not be around for the long haul, but in the meantime they've produced one of a 7 inch tablet and beat Google to the market by a mile. It may turn out to be the equivalent of the Beta video format, unfortunately. I think it's a great device that could use a little favorable press. RIM's marketing for this thing has been pathetic to non-existent.

Anyway, people are constantly surprised when I demonstrate for them what this tablet can do. Even my wife, who is a die hard Apple fan and gets frustrated by her inability to play flash videos on her browser."

Reply:

"Truth to tell, I�d forgotten all about the Play Book, along with almost everyone else. Yes, it�s got some really impressive software, but it�s a doomed product from a (probably) doomed company. So I see little point in writing about it further. Glad you like yours, though. Thanks for writing."


I agree that his response was a little smart-alecky, but he didn't know me from Adam, and I could be a RIM "insider" for all he knew. Also, I can't say his response is incorrect.

[brucep1]

I don't want to open the guy to an inbox full of CB venom, but here's the basic exchange:

Me:

"I read your review of the new Google 7 inch tablet with some dismay. You claimed that the Nexus has features not found in other 7 inch tablets such as GPS, bluetooth, high resolution display and (relatively) low price. There are many, however, who have had these features for a year or more in the Blackberry Playbook. It has a 1080p hi def screen, bluetooth connectivity, a GPS locator, a 7 inch size format, and an excellent browser kit that runs virtually any video format. It can also play hi-def video to any video monitor with an HDMI input and offers internet connectivity through nearly any Blackberry phone without a tethering charge through its bridge app downloaded to the phone if you are not near a wifi source. As long as your phone has a signal, you can connect over the 3G network. The same software also allows any touchscreen Blackberry phone to function as a remote control for the tablet via bluetooth. Excellent for doing presentations. Hi def movies can be ripped to your computer and downloaded onto the tablet, either via a USB cable or wirelessly, as can other file types. It also compares favorably in the price category. I bought my 64gig version for $299 in November, and I believe the prices are even lower now. Almost forgot, the sound from its stereo speakers is far and away better than any other tablet I've seen. It can also shoot 720p video and 5 mp still shots and has front and rear facing cameras. There are no twitter, Skype or Netflix apps, but Playbook users can vide call each other directly.

True, RIM may or may not be around for the long haul, but in the meantime they've produced one of a 7 inch tablet and beat Google to the market by a mile. It may turn out to be the equivalent of the Beta video format, unfortunately. I think it's a great device that could use a little favorable press. RIM's marketing for this thing has been pathetic to non-existent.

Anyway, people are constantly surprised when I demonstrate for them what this tablet can do. Even my wife, who is a die hard Apple fan and gets frustrated by her inability to play flash videos on her browser."

Reply:

"Truth to tell, I�d forgotten all about the Play Book, along with almost everyone else. Yes, it�s got some really impressive software, but it�s a doomed product from a (probably) doomed company. So I see little point in writing about it further. Glad you like yours, though. Thanks for writing."


I agree that his response was a little smart-alecky, but he didn't know me from Adam, and I could be a RIM "insider" for all he knew. Also, I can't say his response is incorrect.

Thanks for posting the exchange, I was curious.

While harsh, his response is tough to argue with. For a lot of people the PB has become an afterthought, for others it still gets the job done.

As with all things tech, enjoy and use what you want.

[jesus marion joseph]

I agree completely. Life is harsh sometimes. If RIM goes tits-up I'll bang away on my playbook until I can't anymore, then buy something else.

[VerryBestr]

android doesnt need a quad core either but it doesnt stop manufactures making the hardware for it. What makes you think the OS is not very efficient? What makes QNX better than android on dual core?

A bit off topic, but given the same total compute power in a dual core and a quad core processor, the dual core will generally perform better. Using multiple cores is not easy. The main reason that parallel processing (multiple cpus) has become prevalent is that physical limits have slowed/limited the progression in clock speed that once characterized processor progress.

For Android -vs- QNX (and iOS), there are two issues. The Android apps that are most compatible across the variety of Android hardware are written in Java. Java is an interpreted language, and Java apps will generally run much slower than C/C++/Objective C apps. Apps which depend on interpreters are not allowed in iOS (but are, of course, allowed on the PB). The second issue is the development of hardware acceleration in Android and the complications developers can encounter in actually using this acceleration:
| The truth about hardware acceleration on Android | ExtremeTech
| Hardware Acceleration | Android Developers

[anon(4018671)]

android doesnt need a quad core either but it doesnt stop manufactures making the hardware for it. What makes you think the OS is not very efficient? What makes QNX better than android on dual core?

Well Android has a lot of overhead compared to QNX. Not that its terrible just compared to QNX. Allowing the OS to assign a core specifically for the UI is a solution especially with all the widgets a user might have on screen. I've see the OS slow just as much as I've seen QNX slow but comparing the resources a widget uses compared to a full program QNX wins hands down.

I hear ya that Android doesn't need quad core, and I think that the PB could use a bit more power at times but right now from what I've seen of the Nexus 7" it does need the quad core. Android has a lot of stuff going on all the time and multicore helps keep program threads from waiting. I just think that Android needs multicore moer than QNX to remain smooth.