1. fuzzyreets's Avatar
    Hi folks. I'm a brand new PB user. Just bought one a few days ago on sale. First impression is that it is missing a few things that I would like...Slingbox, RDP app, video streaming app, splashtop, etc. I read a bit about 2.0 and thought about upgrading to the beta but want to know what the pros and cons are. Do I have access to the Android apps yet? Will I lose some functionality? Is it a faster OS? Just looking for some information to see if I should do it or not. Thanks.
    12-10-11 05:46 PM
  2. bbtabletuser's Avatar
    You will lose the favourites, media, games ect tabs. Android apps can be sideloaded but only some will work. im not sure if it will be faster but you might, just might get native mail. there are a few videos around so just google them
    bbfan1040 likes this.
    12-10-11 06:49 PM
  3. taylortbb's Avatar
    All that you get is the new UI with multiple panes rather than tabs. Through sideloading you can install some community packaged Android apps but they are not in App World. OS 2.0 is a beta and it does have bugs, certain games like Dead Space won't even start. However, the second (newer) beta has been pretty good and most apps do work.

    2.0 release features like native PIM, BES, Android apps in AppWorld, USB OTG, auto correct, etc are NOT in the beta.
    12-10-11 08:08 PM
  4. sleepngbear's Avatar
    My experience upgrading to 2.0 was mixed. There are some neat new features in the UI as well as a hint of some maintainability of browser bookmarks. I liked what I saw of those. But a few things stopped working, including most of the bridge apps and (for which a work-around has been provided), but most importantly, WiFi. I could not connect to my home network, and consequently the Software Updates function just hung up checking for new versions. I couldn't live with that, but I am patiently awaiting the official 2.0 release.
    12-10-11 08:21 PM
  5. kbz1960's Avatar
    As others have said. I completely skipped the 1.8 update as I just installed the beta before it came out. I do find while using bridge that my browser is faster and doesn't crash near as often as it did on 1.7. I only installed 1 android app but it doesn't work over bridge as I hoped it would.

    Guess I'm sticking with it right because it does seem better than 1.7 was and some have had trouble with wifi on 1.8. I also am unsure if I want to try rooting it and don't know if I can if I go back to 1.8.
    yanicmb likes this.
    12-10-11 08:57 PM
  6. CanadianThomas's Avatar
    i was on the beta OS2 for a few days and im a must have the newest and best tech kind of guy. but i found the browser to be a bit unstable at times, a few cool android apps but they cant seem to access the camera or mic. no native email yet. i found overall that the new ui is very nice but not much different and all in all for the sake of stability i went back to os1. it seems to depend on what ur main uses are. you should get enough responses here to help u decide. i did it, if u dont like it. revert to the non beta. easy. enjoy your very cool new playbook.
    12-10-11 10:29 PM
  7. snowindec9's Avatar
    there will be no cons when the official os 2.0 arrives.that sucky part is that its not going to be here until february.by that time the ipad 3 will be gearing up for an official launch.
    12-11-11 01:56 AM
  8. lynntarbox's Avatar
    wow. reading this thread i can only garner the following:

    how will RIM possibly meet the february deadline? it doesn't even sound like its close at all and apparently some old functionality is now broken. are they rewriting the whole thing or something? are they going to massively test the native email client/auto correct etc etc at the very last minute?
    12-11-11 02:07 AM
  9. nimrodity's Avatar
    either they have all the big features and optimzations hidden up their sleeves on bugfixing them till feb or i see dark times coming people complaining again by the promised but missed release.
    The current os 2 misses just too much of all whats really needed to be done delivering the promised user experience.
    But all we can do is wait and see,its not like rim listens to use small users fixing things.
    They put so much effort into security and protection,but if the go on like this,there wont be much to secure anymore.
    Rim really needs to step up the game and put more effort in all of this or they are getting their asses kicked,but thats just my opinion
    12-11-11 02:37 AM
  10. Guyzer's Avatar
    you can always go back. 2.0 is what i've always wanted in the playbook. I am actually thinking about avoiding any new upgrades after this beta.

    I get the android apps I want isilo, repligo reader, and rdp enterprise. i get a better docs2go with google docs support. I love using overdrive with my local library. I've listened to 3 different audiobooks and have other ebooks available.

    There are memory problems with this beta though. Easily fixed with a reboot. The playbook sports 1 gig of ram but when running up to 3 apps with android player it goes below 100 megs of free ram. Depending on how much you need to do at the same time you might want to avoid the beta.

    I recommend to try it out. Follow the instructions closely and you'll have no problems running the playbook you've always wanted. If you dont like it you can always go back. Considering you have a new playbook you dont have anything really you want to save most likely. Do a wipe then an upgrade.

    Hope you find fun and use in your playbook like I have!
    12-11-11 05:39 AM
  11. VerryBestr's Avatar
    it doesn't even sound like its close at all and apparently some old functionality is now broken. are they rewriting the whole thing or something? are they going to massively test the native email client/auto correct etc etc at the very last minute?
    Since you are new to the PlayBook, perhaps you missed the explanation of what this beta O/S actually is. It is a beta version intended for developers, of both native apps and Android apps. Most new version 2 features have been stripped out of this beta version.

    I imagine that RIM employees are testing the full version 2.0. That is the way RIM does its phone development. Personally, I think that RIM's approach is just not adapted for computing, and that RIM should have the full O/S out for beta testing, at least for developers and enterprise clients.

    Yes, a large part of the system is apparently being rewritten. It seems that the version 1 user interface was implemented using Flash, for rapid deployment. The version 2 user interface is supposedly coming from TAT (The Astonishing Tribe), RIM's user interface technology acquisition.
    12-11-11 06:36 AM
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