1. lawguyman's Avatar
    I am a gadget freak so I buy a lot of gadgets to try out. I got my Nexus 7 yesterday.

    Nexus 7 has gotten very good reviews and I was expecting to be impressed. After using it for a day, I am coming away less than impressed.

    The reviews all said that the device felt more expensive than it is. I disagree. It feels like cheap plastic. Playbookfeelssolid becasue it is made out of metal. I definitely prefer the build quality of the Playbook.

    The two are pretty much the same thickness and length. Playbook is maybe a half inch taller.Playbook is a little bit heavier too.The dimensions are comparable, neither has an obious benefit.

    Nexus 7 has a higher resolution screen that is pretty dim, even on its highest setting. With auto-brightness disabled and the brightness cranked up to its highest setting, it is still not bright. Playbook's screen is better even though it is lower resolution.

    Nexus 7 does not have an HDMI port and does not support an MHL adapter. This is a pretty big omission, in my opinion. I need HDMI for both business and for consumer use.

    The big draw of Nexus 7 is that it uses the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is pretty good. The claims that Google went to war on lag are true. It is a pretty nice experience, the best of any Android tablet so far. My gripe with Android is that it does not feel very well thought out. The home screens exist for no purpose other than widget placement and I find widgets pointless. This why Android OEMs have resorted to making giant weather widgets and clocks. I never know what to do with the homescreen to make it useful. I still don't. On Nexus 7, the home screen widgets exist to push Google Play products like apps, movies, books, and magazines. I got rid of those and still have no clue what to put there instead.

    We all know what the PlayBook experience is so I won't go into it much. All I will say is that PlayBook never had to have a war on lag because it doesn't have any and never did.

    One area where Nexus 7 wins in most areas is on core functions. PlayBook PIM apps simply take too long to load. I can load Mail on Nexus 7 in under two seconds. It takes around 10 seconds to load mail on PlayBook. I wish this could change. There are similar lag times when loading contacts and calendar. I prefer the Playbook Apps themselves but the load times are WAY too long.

    Apps. Maybe one day we will no longer have to pound this drum. The Android ecosystem is much better than Playbook's. It feels odd to be able to Skype or use Netflix, as if it is no big deal. Even though PlayBook is better in so many ways, Apps are dragging everything else down. I will say this: PlayBook has lots of good games now. In fact, more than I will ever play. I just wish that the same old non-game suspects would be available on PlayBook.

    PlayBook's integration with BB phones through Bridge has become a great feature. It is probably the reason that I continue to hang on to PlayBook and my Bold 9900. I use it all the time and it really enhances productivity. This is a killer feature but no one knows about it.

    In sum, even though Nexus 7 is a pretty flawed product, its flaws are in some ways preferable to PlayBook's flaws. You can do more of the things more people want to do with Nexus 7 than with PlayBook. For the last year and more, we have all been complaining about the same things. Some have been corrected but some have not been addressed. It is unfortunate but RIMhas moved at its own pace.As much as I like PlayBook, I have NEVER recommended it to anyone even though I use it every day. This so because of its missing features. Nexus 7 may not be great in any one area but it is good enough in most things. Playbook is great in some things and is a complete failure in others. I'm still hopingthat these things get worked out . . .
    Mallet21, FF22, dugggggg and 21 others like this.
    07-18-12 08:47 AM
  2. Mercury's Avatar
    Very well thought out review. I'm not one for many apps, so that whole app ecosystem to me is not a big deal on the playbook.

    If I want to skype (which is very very rare) I sit at my computer with my HD webcam and Netflix (I don't use period), I LOVE my stereo system that I have put more than $10,000 into it and if I ever got Netflix, I would activate it on my PS3 so I can get full 5.1 sound.

    So to me, I'll stick to my PB, as it has everything I want and need.
    Hawnz and eternalemb like this.
    07-18-12 09:30 AM
  3. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    I am a gadget freak so I buy a lot of gadgets to try out. I got my Nexus 7 yesterday.

    Nexus 7 has gotten very good reviews and I was expecting to be impressed. After using it for a day, I am coming away less than impressed.

    The reviews all said that the device felt more expensive than it is. I disagree. It feels like cheap plastic. Playbookfeelssolid becasue it is made out of metal. I definitely prefer the build quality of the Playbook.

    The two are pretty much the same thickness and length. Playbook is maybe a half inch taller.Playbook is a little bit heavier too.The dimensions are comparable, neither has an obious benefit.

    Nexus 7 has a higher resolution screen that is pretty dim, even on its highest setting. With auto-brightness disabled and the brightness cranked up to its highest setting, it is still not bright. Playbook's screen is better even though it is lower resolution.

    Nexus 7 does not have an HDMI port and does not support an MHL adapter. This is a pretty big omission, in my opinion. I need HDMI for both business and for consumer use.

    The big draw of Nexus 7 is that it uses the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is pretty good. The claims that Google went to war on lag are true. It is a pretty nice experience, the best of any Android tablet so far. My gripe with Android is that it does not feel very well thought out. The home screens exist for no purpose other than widget placement and I find widgets pointless. This why Android OEMs have resorted to making giant weather widgets and clocks. I never know what to do with the homescreen to make it useful. I still don't. On Nexus 7, the home screen widgets exist to push Google Play products like apps, movies, books, and magazines. I got rid of those and still have no clue what to put there instead.

    We all know what the PlayBook experience is so I won't go into it much. All I will say is that PlayBook never had to have a war on lag because it doesn't have any and never did.

    One area where Nexus 7 wins in most areas is on core functions. PlayBook PIM apps simply take too long to load. I can load Mail on Nexus 7 in under two seconds. It takes around 10 seconds to load mail on PlayBook. I wish this could change. There are similar lag times when loading contacts and calendar. I prefer the Playbook Apps themselves but the load times are WAY too long.

    Apps. Maybe one day we will no longer have to pound this drum. The Android ecosystem is much better than Playbook's. It feels odd to be able to Skype or use Netflix, as if it is no big deal. Even though PlayBook is better in so many ways, Apps are dragging everything else down. I will say this: PlayBook has lots of good games now. In fact, more than I will ever play. I just wish that the same old non-game suspects would be available on PlayBook.

    PlayBook's integration with BB phones through Bridge has become a great feature. It is probably the reason that I continue to hang on to PlayBook and my Bold 9900. I use it all the time and it really enhances productivity. This is a killer feature but no one knows about it.

    In sum, even though Nexus 7 is a pretty flawed product, its flaws are in some ways preferable to PlayBook's flaws. You can do more of the things more people want to do with Nexus 7 than with PlayBook. For the last year and more, we have all been complaining about the same things. Some have been corrected but some have not been addressed. It is unfortunate but RIMhas moved at its own pace.As much as I like PlayBook, I have NEVER recommended it to anyone even though I use it every day. This so because of its missing features. Nexus 7 may not be great in any one area but it is good enough in most things. Playbook is great in some things and is a complete failure in others. I'm still hopingthat these things get worked out . . .
    Good stuff.

    Re: widgets. I find great use for widgets on my personal workhorse. The ability to swipe and get automatic info and the ability to organize homescreens into categories (like"work" or "productivity") is invaluable. But now that I think about it, I don't know that I'd need that same functionality on a tablet.

    You can reduce the number of screens, no?
    07-18-12 09:56 AM
  4. amjass12's Avatar
    Nice review. I agree android is not well thought out... Having used the s3 and nexus, I get the impression its 'messy' whereas the pb and ios are tidier in their layout... I would love to see widgets on the bb though.. And also to have the lag time reduced on loading pim applications.

    I agree to a certain extent with the app situation... I'm also not one for a million apps... However there's nothing wrong with having the essentials... Skype etc... And why have the developers for the bb native fb and YouTube app decided to make it so primitive? There is absolutely no need for this either... The playbook hardware and software capabilities are far far far beyond things like the basic adobe, fb and YouTube app.... So why can't they exist... This is the only downside to blackberry... I think most people feel like this... The bb does communication and multitasking better than any other (imo) especially on the pb... So rim just need to sort these minor problems out to make this the perfect device...bb10 will be amazing!! But I hope it's an end also, to basic applications, when in reality the pb (and bb10) will be capable of running advanced and nice looking apps!!
    07-18-12 09:59 AM
  5. PedroBorgas's Avatar
    Hope they fix these minor bug and increase (further more) the great experience that i'm having.

    My "complaints" are the normal ones - Lag loading some apps and the mail, "lack" of apps, the GPS(doesnt want to work) and maybe, for the next generation of PB, a Flash light to complement the back camera...

    I had an Android tablet too - a low quality one (Veryyyyy low quality one), and through its problems i could see that the OS was easier to deal with, but it felt kinda "cheap". Sometimes that's good, and makes the experience more fluid, but sometimes u want quality at an acessible price - Check, with my PB.

    Waiting for 2.1 and BB10

    Sent from a beautiful but old BB 8520 or a new and shinny PB 2.0
    07-18-12 10:20 AM
  6. Michel Souris's Avatar
    I have never had a problem with Android. I have an Acer A100, and it's a superb tablet, quick, responsive, easy to organize and deal with. I'm currently on Ice Cream Sandwich, but it was about the same under Honeycomb. The underlying ecosystem of apps is just wonderful, and easy to use. Widgets make life easier. I can go into airplane mode with just a single tap on my home screen, not 3 taps as on my PB. The battery and sound is better on the PB, but everything else on the Android just rocks.
    Richdog- likes this.
    07-18-12 10:42 AM
  7. urbanmx's Avatar
    Thank you for the review. It sounds like the nexus is a very nice device but does not make the PB obsolete. Great new since I will be keeping my PB for a while.
    07-18-12 10:59 AM
  8. dugggggg's Avatar
    As much as I like PlayBook, I have NEVER recommended it to anyone even though I use it every day.
    Given that, would you recommend the Nexus 7, despite the shortcomings you mentioned?
    Last edited by dugggggg; 07-18-12 at 12:04 PM.
    07-18-12 11:20 AM
  9. ranchlizard's Avatar
    I very much agree! I got the Nexus 7 yesterday and found it plasticy and cheap. In fact, after 2 hours of use, I noticed the backing was coming off, almost completely separating enough to expose the innards. It wouldn't snap back on, so I returned it to Staples this morning.

    By contrast, my PlayBook is solid and and rewarding to use. I'm much more satisfied!
    07-18-12 11:26 AM
  10. ClassyBOLD's Avatar
    I don't think you guys understand the Nexus 7...It's very good for what's meant to be:

    A reasonably priced device that gives access to a plush ecosystem of apps, games, music, books, and movies.

    Even at a comparable price, the PlayBook (which I own and use everyday) cannot match that.

    I agree that build wise the Playbook is better, but RIM needs to learn that hardware doesn't sell without the software to back it up.
    bodjor likes this.
    07-18-12 11:39 AM
  11. thelink74's Avatar
    I find the combination of my Bold 9900, blackberry mini keyboard and PB the ultimate complete package (IMO of course). I am currently bridged typing this and it is amazing. I also use it in corporate meetings for note taking and i can email myself the word doc for storage on my work PC (quicker than plugging it to the work pc via usb). During lunch i plug in the ear buds to listen to my library which is about 20 gigs and surf the web. Outside of work i use the amazing HD quality rear camera to record family events. I even bought an adapter to prop the PB onto my tripod for recording. At home i plug the PB to my 50 inch plasma via HDMI and using BB remote app on my 9900 can play the video and navigate the PB from the sofa. I love the 7 inch form factor for ease of carrying around with me all the time...
    07-18-12 11:45 AM
  12. PedroBorgas's Avatar
    i just read about the specs of N7.

    No back cam? I'm shocked :O

    And how much Ghz is a Quad core? I know PB is a 1Ghz dual core...

    Sent from a beautiful but old BB 8520 or a new and shinny PB 2.0
    07-18-12 11:48 AM
  13. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    i just read about the specs of N7.

    No back cam? I'm shocked :O

    And how much Ghz is a Quad core? I know PB is a 1Ghz dual core...

    Sent from a beautiful but old BB 8520 or a new and shinny PB 2.0
    In all fairness, it is designed to be a low end tablet.

    Mobile post via Tapatalk
    07-18-12 11:51 AM
  14. nextcity's Avatar
    I view my Nexus 7 as an oversized version of my android phone, minus the phone of course. I need Netflix, Hulu, MLB At Bat 12, etc. on the go on a bigger screen. I need the ability to video chat. I need and love my Playbook too for when I want to view websites in their full size, watch ESPN on my tv via HDMI without having to use my laptop, etc. It is now my Ipad that I will no longer drag around with me, as I prefer the 7" size.
    Last edited by nextcity; 07-18-12 at 01:02 PM.
    07-18-12 12:06 PM
  15. brianatbb's Avatar
    Very well thought out review. I'm not one for many apps, so that whole app ecosystem to me is not a big deal on the playbook.

    If I want to skype (which is very very rare) I sit at my computer with my HD webcam.
    Kinda hard to do when your five thousand miles from home, or across the city. I thought one of the PB's strength was its mobility.
    07-18-12 12:07 PM
  16. brianatbb's Avatar
    Hope they fix these minor bug and increase (further more) the great experience that i'm having.

    My "complaints" are the normal ones - Lag loading some apps and the mail, "lack" of apps, the GPS(doesnt want to work) and maybe, for the next generation of PB, a Flash light to complement the back camera...
    If they were so minor a) they would have been fixed; and b) so many people would not be complaining about them. And the Messages bug, where for many people it crashes regularly and needs a PB reboot, is not minor. It's damn near a game-changer.
    07-18-12 12:10 PM
  17. FF22's Avatar
    I like the review. I guess we do have to remember that our pb was not designed to sell for $200 to $300. It was designed and originally sold for $500 to $700 (do I have those initial prices right?) so its construction and other hardware (cameras, speakers, microphones) was/is much better than some of these NOW comparably priced tablets.

    Let's see how well rim does when it introduces its next/newer models, if it does, and at what price.
    07-18-12 12:14 PM
  18. utsmaster18's Avatar
    It's hard to compare the two and say that one feels cheap and the other feels premium when the playbook was originally a $500 tablet. Yeah the price of the playbook is $200 NOW but that doesn't mean that it is fair to compare the two. It would be a better argument to compare the quality with a tablet of comparable price at launch as this is what manufacturers intended to sell the device at.

    Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
    07-18-12 12:17 PM
  19. dugggggg's Avatar
    It's nice to think of the PlayBook as a $500-$700 device, but that's just RIM and its usual overpricing. Fifteen months have passed since the PB came out, and there have since been steady advances in hardware at even lower prices due to major economies of scale thanks to the Kindle Fire. Internally, the Nexus 7 likely has a better GPS, battery, and LCD. And externally, I am sure it is made of stronger glass.
    07-18-12 12:58 PM
  20. goku_vegeta's Avatar
    It's nice to think of the PlayBook as a $500-$700 device, but that's just RIM and its usual overpricing. Fifteen months have passed since the PB came out, and there have since been steady advances in hardware at even lower prices due to major economies of scale thanks to the Kindle Fire. Internally, the Nexus 7 likely has a better GPS, battery, and LCD. And externally, I am sure it is made of stronger glass.
    Overpricing? :P

    The iPad 2 was sold at the same price as the PlayBook and in terms of hardware alone it pretty much kills the iPad 2.

    I think pretty much the majority of tablets started out at 499.99 until a few started to deviate from that benchmark.
    07-18-12 01:04 PM
  21. PedroBorgas's Avatar
    If they were so minor a) they would have been fixed; and b) so many people would not be complaining about them. And the Messages bug, where for many people it crashes regularly and needs a PB reboot, is not minor. It's damn near a game-changer.


    No that bad for me, because i mainly use the phone mailing system.

    And maybe their main goal is BB10 and PB 2.1 so they really aren't upset about these issues. Dunno. I was just saying

    And i'm not complaining, just hoping that the great Tab i have can become even greater - its called ambition eheh

    Pedro

    Sent from a beautiful but old BB 8520 or a new and shinny PB 2.0
    07-18-12 01:24 PM
  22. PedroBorgas's Avatar
    And about that Quadcore question??

    Sent from a beautiful but old BB 8520 or a new and shinny PB 2.0
    07-18-12 01:25 PM
  23. torndownunit's Avatar
    Very well thought out review. I'm not one for many apps, so that whole app ecosystem to me is not a big deal on the playbook.

    If I want to skype (which is very very rare) I sit at my computer with my HD webcam and Netflix (I don't use period), I LOVE my stereo system that I have put more than $10,000 into it and if I ever got Netflix, I would activate it on my PS3 so I can get full 5.1 sound.

    So to me, I'll stick to my PB, as it has everything I want and need.
    That is how YOU like to use it. But you can't see why other people would like to have applications that they can you on every other mobile platform out there available on their Playbook? Even if you don't have the same uses, you must see why that is an issue. Even if people don't use those apps, for the good for the device they should want them to at least be available.

    I don't even use Skype, but I'd like to see people be able to on the Playbook. And I'd personally like to see Pulse (without having to sideload every update) and Tunein radio apps available (and no, the browser is not the same as Tunein Pro, see the whole thread dedicated to this). Both very common apps that aren't available on Playbook.
    Last edited by torndownunit; 07-18-12 at 04:37 PM.
    07-18-12 01:55 PM
  24. cdelcampo216's Avatar
    This is one of the best reviews I've read on this forum in a long time. I agree with the comment about the Main thing holding back the PlayBook being the lack of Core apps. I don't use my tablet for games and also don't have a BlackBerry phone so the Bridge features are null to me. I would like to see a better Facebook and Twitter app, although Blaq is pretty decent. Skype... Do we even need to go there? I have an Android phone and Love the selection of apps and Facetime or something like it would keep me attached to my PlayBook for good. But, alas ...

    I am going to wait and see if there is any truth behind all the iPad Mini rumors before my next purchase. I paid less than $100 out of pocket for my PlayBook so, I'm not going to say that it's the best bang for the buck but I do love the Bezel gestures and the sound quality is the best by far of any tablet on the market.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Last edited by cdelcampo216; 07-18-12 at 05:04 PM. Reason: Additional content
    07-18-12 05:01 PM
  25. NaijaBerry's Avatar
    Good helpful post I was thinking of buying one to muck about with, but I don't like plastic, already have a Samsung android plastic, a second plastic thing would be annoying! Still love the PLAYBOOK one year and two units later!
    07-18-12 05:37 PM
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