- Potential PB owners and those browsing for advice on purchasing a tablet, I got a PM today from a member asking why I thought the PB was so great. Another asking why I bought a PB. I'm going to be real here. Tablet selection is a very personal and subjective decision. Each person has specific features, needs and/or requirements in a tablet. Some even have needs they're unaware of until they experience a tablet. Some have expectations that are quite simply unrealistic. There is no perfect tablet. So your choice is a compromise, in my opinion.
I'm not going to argue size, screen, multitasking, UI, smoothness of operation, apps, battery, versatility or any of the many other factors used to make a decision. They are all covered in the PB forums here, by insightful and helpful members, pro and con, on the PB.
Keeping in mind that my first tablet was a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and that we have two iPads in my household, I can say that I've sufficient time on those two OSs. As simply as I can put it regarding my decision to choose the PB; I researched, I went to Staples and put in a lot of time on a PB over several days. I read the praises and complaints of the PB, as well as many other tablets on their respective forums. In the end, fully informed, with the option of owning any tablet I wanted, I chose the Playbook. It fulfills my requirements and I'm actually more pleased with my decision now than when I initially purchased it.
To purchase anything, let alone an electronic device, without researching and trying it out, hands on as much as realistically possible, is a mistake. If you're considering a Playbook, the resources are here, use them. Find a way, through a retailer or someone who has a PB, to put time on it. This was edited to also remind you to read through the Newbie's Tips and Tricks Sticky, per jafobabes great advice.
My opinion and my answer. Thank you for reading this. Good luck.Last edited by rotorwrench; 01-28-12 at 03:13 AM.
01-28-12 12:49 AMLike 21 - Yeah, and please, no more "Convince me why I should buy a PB yada, yada, yada, ...." threads!!!
The answers to virtually all your questions can be found here if you take the time to do a little research before posting.01-28-12 12:56 AMLike 7 - I totally agree, and I did my research for a whole year reading these forums, doing searches on the CB site, and going down to test the PB out at stores.
I went through all the PB vids done by CB, and swear by the Sticky "Newbie Tips and Tricks" Thread too.
And that's why I have the links under my signature.01-28-12 01:03 AMLike 7 - (1) Yes, do research before you buy. Otherwise there will be another grumpy thread describing why you hated the Playbook. And we have enough of those. There are lots of reviews on the Playbook (old ones are no good as most of the stuff they criticize will be fixed in February). Youtube videos are also a good start. So, do your homework.
(2) Most importantly, find a Playbook in a store and spend some time playing with it (you won't be charged for that). Don't bother listening to what salespeople say (most of the time they are either biased, uninformed, or misinformed). If you are new to tablets, play with other tablets as well to compare.
(1) + (2) = Happy Playbook Owner01-28-12 01:09 AMLike 3 - I totally agree, and I did my research for a whole year reading these forums, doing searches on the CB site, and going down to test the PB out at stores.
I went through all the PB vids done by CB, and swear by the Sticky "Newbie Tips and Tricks" Thread too.
And that's why I have the links under my signature.01-28-12 01:18 AMLike 4 - ....and if you just can't help yourself, refuse to do some research, and must post a question that has been posted a million times before, then pose your question in a respectful manner to jafobabe....she is our resident girl genius without a moustache.01-28-12 01:22 AMLike 4
- Hahahhhahahha Thanks Al! .... And I have to admit it was all the posters on this forum that increased and continue to increase my knowledge of the PB. So a Big Round of Applause for all of them too!.
Last edited by jafobabe; 01-28-12 at 01:34 AM.
01-28-12 01:30 AMLike 5 - I, too, researched for months before buying. But I was still surprised after I got it home -pleasantly. It was more than I'd hoped for or even knew I wanted.
And I love this thread! Thanks rotorwrench!!!alnamvet68 and rotorwrench like this.01-28-12 02:09 AMLike 2 -
-
- Well, I'm positive I'm not the only one that can say that I've been educated and informed by the members of this forum.01-28-12 03:25 AMLike 3
- Not only that, but pre-congrats!! You're only 8 away from 1000 posts! You can't quit now!!!!cntrydncr223 likes this.01-28-12 03:29 AMLike 1
- Rotorwrench you hit it out of the park with tablets being a "personal and subjective" decision. Tablets are THE personal computer you better spend sometime to get the right one and you list many factors that must be balanced. For me the choice was easy. Here is my journey.
Long time user of many computer platforms from the early days of personal computers. Their were lots of options to choose from sort of like now in the tablet space. Try out what you platforms you can and get a feel for what the device will do in your hands.
I obviously tried the Apple tablet when it came out. While it was slick it suffered from two things. It was huge and you needed to run iTunes. I have always loved Apple hardware design but hated how the OS and software always seemed to force you to do things a certain way; the apple way. It is hard to explain but I hated the user experience and the closed ecosystem felt restrictive but huge.
So i waited for android. Many many hardware options big small cheap expensive and a new flavour of android on what appeared to be a monthly basis. Nice hardware on some models but the OS seems to never be tightly integrated to the hardware also a huge and less restrictive ecosystem.
Enter PlayBook. They acknowledge that a new OS is needed to do what is necessary. The OS was unfinished at launch and is still very rough but on first try they NAILed the hardware and they NAILed the user interface. The ecosystem was barren to start but getting much better. I chose PlayBook. And for me it has been excellent and I love the device. If the level of slickness in the OS2.0 preview is real and that level of slickness permeates all the other functions of the device I really dont know what I might do to this thing!Last edited by Glamrlama; 01-28-12 at 07:05 AM.
rotorwrench and hpjrt like this.01-28-12 06:53 AMLike 2 - kbz1960Doesn't MatterYep I've been hanging out here since I got my tour over 2 years ago. If you cansee some of my post after the pb came out I was constantly saying I was waiting for functionality before I was going to think about getting it.
Reading user experience etc. a couple months later, still not having the functionality I assumed I needed there was a sale so I jumped in and got one. Don't regret it one bit as it is the best fit for me and it keeps getting better and improved so when 2.0 comes it will be all most like getting a new tablet.cntrydncr223 likes this.01-28-12 07:08 AMLike 1 - As I have said many times in these forums, the best way to choose a phone or tablet which bests suits the user is to do RESEARCH, RESEARCH, and more RESEARCH. Todays market brings many different styles, functions, sizes and ect., far from the BIG grey bricks of the past (motorola of the distance past ). I choose Blackberry because it fits MY needs, not because every Tom, and Harry use them (no pun intended). I'm just glad that I have a choice to pick the tablet or phone for ......ME01-28-12 07:44 AMLike 3
- I think it is foolish to make any sizeable purchase without a little research. At even $200 you should still know what it is you are buying. The internet can be a wonderful thing when looking at anything new. That being said I am more than pleased with my PB and just need a little more convincing for the boss (my wife) to let me get a secondcntrydncr223 likes this.01-28-12 07:52 AMLike 1
- In a way, we (all PB owners) have all been Beta testers for a product that may have been intentionally released in the partially completed form that it was. In just a few short months after initial launch, every non-fan has posted what in my estimation is a relatively short list of its purported shortcomings, have written highly biased reviews which inevitably compared it to the iPad and 'rrhoid tablets, have only recently compared it to e-Readers (as if that's what it really is/was), have offered proof of its supposed failure by citing RIMM stock value declines, and continue to talk smack by citing the number of units sold to date (and in less then a year) as if that statistic is the end all be all for success.
We now have the other side of the story, the true, real world experience of actual users, most who have been objective in their assessments of this highly mobile portable pocket pc, and who can speak with authority and objectivity the pros and cons of the PB, without having to continuously compare it to "tablets", which the PB is not, and never was intended to be. The "fans" (for lack of a better word) were/are not blinded by the hateful opposition, instead, chose to remove the blinders, saw what the PB was in its current form, and with a intelligent and sharp eye to the future, saw that this humble platform with a QNX brain had unlimited potential.
In a few weeks, we supporters will see that potential realized.... we will be smug in the knowledge that RIMM/BB/PB is not only not dead, but that all the hateful and rhetorical demagoguery was all for naught, and that while the haters will have to hate, they will have less to hate about, and more to be in awe of. I doubt the naysayers will be public in their awe of the nearly completed PlayBook, but that is to be expected.
And so, in closing, I have to ask just one thing....what was the original subject matter of this thread?Last edited by alnamvet68; 01-28-12 at 08:10 AM.
01-28-12 08:01 AMLike 5 - Great thread. I,too, researched for the last year on which device to get. I bought my 32gb in Dec. as an xmas prezzie for myself and now have a 64gb on he way. My partner will get the 32 as a valentines gift. I bought it for what it does and have not been disappointed. What it is capable of, is a totally different matter.01-28-12 08:10 AMLike 4
- In a way, we (all PB owners) have all been Beta testers for a product that may have been intentionally released in the partially completed form that it was. In just a few short months after initial launch, every non-fan has posted what in my estimation is a relatively short list of its purported shortcomings, have written highly biased reviews which inevitably compared it to the iPad and 'rrhoid tablets, have only recently compared it to e-Readers (as if that's what it really is/was), have offered proof of its supposed failure by citing RIMM stock value declines, and continue to talk smack by citing the number of units sold to date (and in less then a year) as if that statistic is the end all be all for success.
We now have the other side of the story, the true, real world experience of actual users, most who have been objective in their assessments of this highly mobile portable pocket pc, and who can speak with authority and objectivity the pros and cons of the PB, without having to continuously compare it to "tablets", which the PB is not, and never was intended to be. The "fans" (for lack of a better word) were/are not blinded by the hateful opposition, instead, chose to remove the blinders, saw what the PB was in its current form, and with a intelligent and sharp eye to the future, saw that this humble platform with a QNX brain had unlimited potential.
In a few weeks, we supporters will see that potential realized.... we will be smug in the knowledge that RIMM/BB/PB is not only not dead, but that all the hateful and rhetorical demagoguery was all for naught, and that while the haters will have to hate, they will have less to hate about, and more to be in awe of. I doubt the naysayers will be public in their awe of the nearly completed PlayBook, but that is to be expected.
And so, in closing, I have to ask just one thing....what was the original subject matter of this thread?01-28-12 08:19 AMLike 0 - Great thread. I,too, researched for the last year on which device to get. I bought my 32gb in Dec. as an xmas prezzie for myself and now have a 64gb on he way. My partner will get the 32 as a valentines gift. I bought it for what it does and have not been disappointed. What it is capable of, is a totally different matter.Bisboxer likes this.01-28-12 08:20 AMLike 1
- I too like my Playbook, but this talk of i-sheep (and presumably a-sheep) is a little like the crow calling the raven black. There is an awful lot of mutual back-slapping and uncritical self-congratulation about the PB, and an equal unthinking and sheep-like criticism of all things Apple and Android. PB does have its faults, and iPad does have its advantages.
I'm very happy indeed with what I own, particularly given what I paid for it, and I'm going to be happier still in February. However, that doesn't make an iPad owner a fool and I do not wish to viewed as a b-sheep, blindly extolling all-things Blackberry.
Horses for courses, folks.blacksea07 likes this.01-28-12 10:49 AMLike 1 - I too like my Playbook, but this talk of i-sheep (and presumably a-sheep) is a little like the crow calling the raven black. There is an awful lot of mutual back-slapping and uncritical self-congratulation about the PB, and an equal unthinking and sheep-like criticism of all things Apple and Android. PB does have its faults, and iPad does have its advantages.
I'm very happy indeed with what I own, particularly given what I paid for it, and I'm going to be happier still in February. However, that doesn't make an iPad owner a fool and I do not wish to viewed as a b-sheep, blindly extolling all-things Blackberry.
Horses for courses, folks.
I also included my experience with the other tablets not necessarily to point out how bad they were, but to show there were desireable attributes with them as well, or we wouldn't have purchased them to begin with. I consider no one a fool for owning other tablets. That's why I point out to potential buyers there is no perfect tablet, but for me, the PB comes closest.
As they say, you can judge a fighter by the skill of those he's vanquished. That being the case, I have to judge the PB the top fighter. In my opinion.01-28-12 12:19 PMLike 4 -
- Forum
- BlackBerry PlayBook Forums
- BlackBerry PlayBook
Potential PB owners and tablet shoppers
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD