[kbz1960]

First off I had a tour and my main reason at first for buying the playbook was being able to browse over the bridge connection without the need of another data plan. Well things were OK until the last OS 1.7 update and since that one the browser would pause a lot or just stop in lala land.

So right before I saw the 1.8 update was out I installed the dev beta to see if that might be an improvement. Needless to say I didn't test browsing over bridge much due to time. Next day I see my carrier had a good deal on a 9850 torch and since I've had my tour for 2 years I was ready for something new.

Got the torch home, updated and got it setup. Removed the tour from the playbook and paired the torch to it. Let me tell you it is night and day for using the bridge app to browse. Now some could be the beta and some the torch or all of one but I'm not into testing all options to find out.

Now that my browsing thru the bridge app is better then it ever has been I'm in love with my pb once again. I never have cared about native email blah blah and don't even use email on my phone, I just use gmail in the browser on the playbook in html to get my never important email. I however do look forward to 2.0 having spellcheck and the like.

PB + OS 7 phone FTW...... for me at least.

[andrewmcwhirter]

That's great that it is such an improvement. I'm using a Torch 9800 with my PlayBook, and although I manage to browse the internet on the PlayBook using bridge, it can be very slow at times and tends to hang. Unfortunately I'm not due for a full upgrade till the end of next summer . Perhaps I'll pay the little bit extra and get myself the 9900.

[lnichols]

Yep when I upgraded to my OS7 device it was an amazing difference. It is obvious that RIM meant to have the OS7 phone out at the same time, or before the Playbook. Looks like they finally fixed notifications in 1.08 release too.

[kbz1960]

I'm wondering if many more have found this to be so. I can't believe the difference!

[yunvi]

I've got a 9700 with 0S 6.something something and I always thought your realization would have been the case for me when I do finally get a new bb....that things will go so much smoother.

the 9900 looks nice, but im waiting for the BBX line..

[vgwillm]

Kbz1960...i too had the tour and yes I upgraded to 9930 and it was a big difference. Well worth the price. Enjoy.

[shootsscores]

Bridging my Bold 9650 running OS6 works very well. We have seen reports that devices running OS5 don't perform as well. Stands to reason that OS7 BBs would work even better than OS6 with their more powerful processors. I'm pleased with my super combo for now but when the QNX phones come out I'll be picking one up post haste!

[kbz1960]

Right now I think I'll be able to wait for a QNX phone but who knows at that time. Guess now that uscell has faster upgrade programs I may be able to get one without having to pay full price when the time comes.

For now I'm so darned happy I made the change. If it stayed the same as it has been with my tour not sure what I would've done, maybe even jumped ship

[yourpoison]

i am currently on a curve 8530 os 5 device, i find some days the bridge is unusable. but i just ordered the bold 9900 from amazon wireless for a penny. very excited for this upgrade but it is on backorder til the end of next week. hopefully this combo is as good as you say it is.

[dennie82]

I'm on OS5 for my 9700, no lag or difficulty trying to get it bridged. So with OS7, what kind of differences that's substantial. I'm thinking of getting the 9900 if it's worth it or just wait for BBX.

[Spencerdl]

Thanks kzb1960, now I have something to look forward to when I upgrade. My 9650(OS6) and PlayBook do work well together and now I'm hearing(reading) that it gets better with OS7, thats a GOOD thing.

[Pearl9100]

Now that my browsing thru the bridge app is better then it ever has been I'm in love with my pb once again. I never have cared about native email blah blah and don't even use email on my phone, I just use gmail in the browser on the playbook in html to get my never important email. I however do look forward to 2.0 having spellcheck and the like.

PB + OS 7 phone FTW...... for me at least.

When you switch over to the native email client on your bb, you will fall in love with your bb and pb all over again.

[yunvi]

I'm on OS5 for my 9700, no lag or difficulty trying to get it bridged. So with OS7, what kind of differences that's substantial. I'm thinking of getting the 9900 if it's worth it or just wait for BBX.

Really? I would try down grading back to OS5 just so that my phone is less cluttered and give the whole bridge scenario a fresh grade. (working pretty good but im thirsty for something better)

How's the bridged browsing D82 ?

[BaconMunch]

i am currently on a curve 8530 os 5 device, i find some days the bridge is unusable. but i just ordered the bold 9900 from amazon wireless for a penny. very excited for this upgrade but it is on backorder til the end of next week. hopefully this combo is as good as you say it is.

I had a curve 8330 os 5 device when the PlayBook launched and Bridge was brutal due to the low memory. Emails lagged and browsing was very slow. When I upgraded to the 9900 in September it was beautiful, definitely night and day difference here.

Now with Mobile Hotspot coming soon it looks like browsing internet on the Playbook has been bumped from 1.5Mbps (Bluetooth cap, theoretical) to 8-10Mbps. Good stuff all around!

[lnichols]

Now with Mobile Hotspot coming soon it looks like browsing internet on the Playbook has been bumped from 1.5Mbps (Bluetooth cap, theoretical) to 8-10Mbps. Good stuff all around!

RIM really should have implemented Bluetooth 3.0 on both the Playbook and OS7 devices. Then we would have those type of speeds without the Mobile Hotspot. I know the Playbook's chipset supports it, don't know about the newer phones.

[slalom]

I find the bridged browser through my 9810 slower that using firefox on a notebook tethered through my 9810. I have a feeling there is still some "souping up" to do on bridged browsing.

[Lhendr]

Os5 8530 curve bridging w/playbook worked (so far). I just went through the bridge installation process and it is working great - I'm having so much fun hee hee hee..

I do expect to upgrade my phone to the new os, but for now I just hope for continued success.

BTW newbie here to the forum and playbook. 8530 curve + playbook = Gadget Love

[jafobabe]

Welcome to the forums!
Hope you enjoy your PB for a long time to come...

Check out the "Newbie Tips and Tricks for your Playbook" here... some cool tips too!

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...t-know-671764/

[Angelo_Campher]

Although I said I wouldn't buy a 9900, I went out and bought one. The phone grows on you and I find it difficult to use my 9700 now.

Anyway, my experience with bridge between the PlayBook and the 9900 is terrible... My 9700 does a much better job for some reason.

I'm using the latest version of Bridge on both phones and I'm currently still 1.07 of the PlayBook OS.

[shootsscores]

Although I said I wouldn't buy a 9900, I went out and bought one. The phone grows on you and I find it difficult to use my 9700 now.

Anyway, my experience with bridge between the PlayBook and the 9900 is terrible... My 9700 does a much better job for some reason.

I'm using the latest version of Bridge on both phones and I'm currently still 1.07 of the PlayBook OS.

Why not try updating to 1.08 and see what happens? I think the bridge performance got even better with .08.

[Angelo_Campher]

Why not try updating to 1.08 and see what happens? I think the bridge performance got even better with .08.

I tend to upgrade once I'm sure that it is better and after all the issues I've read about the wifi I think I'll give it a miss.

I'll just use the 9700 for now. It's no big deal.

[KQ9]

Yup. My Bold 9000 and Bold 9780 bridge is definitely very different. Much faster on the 9780. Could be the bluetooth stack, or 3G modem speed? or just plain performance of the device.

[Rickroller]

Never used Bridge..but I will say that using Mobile Hotspot with my Android works great! Last night after getting back from work, I had my phone charging in the bedroom while I was surfing the PB on the couch in the other room..a good 20 feet away with no hiccups at all.

[kbz1960]

Of course just using wifi is much better even a phone hotspot. Even better if you don't have to pay for it.

[Angelo_Campher]

Is it possible to make a wifi hotspot bridge version instead of bluetooth? Would be really nice especially if the connection could be shared with the rest of the apps.