[melander]

I bought my Playbook at the beginning of August. I've been well impressed coming from using Palm products and had a feeling HPalm was not going to be on Sprint. The Playbook was a professional quality device among a lot of consumer crap (Android)

But as great as my PB was, I felt I was missing something when hearing about this Bridge and how the PB can use the BB's TCP/IP stack, whether it's cell data or Wifi.

So this week, I got a BB Bold 9930 and wow. I pride myself in recognizing marketing schemes and always shying away from the impulse item aisles. But it's a sweet device that makes the Playbook even sweeter.

RIM wins. The Playbook was my gateway device to RIM and they got $925 ( $500 for PB $425 for Bold) from me that I had not planned on spending.

[gord888]

Congrats on the ultimate "BlackBerry combo"... would you like fries with that?

[Foppa_21]

I have the same combo and absolutely love it. My wife's appreciation grew this weekend as we were driving to the mountains and she got on the web using the playbook (bridged to 9930 that was in my pocket) and looked up restaurants in the upcoming town. And once there, I was able to check in on my fantasy baseball team using the "big screen."

Enjoy your combo. New usage discoveries will come every day.

[123berryaddicted]

have the same combo.... absolutely loooove my 9900. i still feel the playbook is totally not living up to its potential - this is RIMs fault. I'm very disappointed in the lack of apps (lack of ndk is the major reason why), lack of native features (email, calendar, auto correct, etc etc)... and i think April-September is more than ample time to have made these features available. The v2.0 tsblet OS ks officially loooong overdue (in my opinion)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sf49ers]

if you have bought recently, you may be eligible for the following offer, check it out

RIM is offering $100 prepaid MC for existing blackberry customers who buy a playbook before Sept 22: USA/CANADA

BlackBerry PlayBook Back-At-School Offer

[FMB8900]

The 9900 and the Playbook is the ultimate combination! But 123Berry is right, the playbook is totally not living up to its potential. It's capable of sooooo much more, QNX is an phenomenal OS.

I have a feeling that this years DevCon is going to be full of surprises

[stillzmatik]

have the same combo.... absolutely loooove my 9900. i still feel the playbook is totally not living up to its potential - this is RIMs fault. I'm very disappointed in the lack of apps (lack of ndk is the major reason why), lack of native features (email, calendar, auto correct, etc etc)... and i think April-September is more than ample time to have made these features available. The v2.0 tsblet OS ks officially loooong overdue (in my opinion)

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

why are u complaining about a lack of email and calendar support? that's what the bridge is for...this is RIM's first tablet. By all means, they've done an excellent job.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kevkev3123]

I too have the same combo. i just wish bluetooth had faster data transfer rates, browser is slow on bridge. all in all the bold 9930 is an amazing device and the playbook is great too. Can't wait for the update!!!

edit: the only complaint i have is that BBM doesn't work through bridge using the 9930

[togardergrosse]

I too have the same combo. i just wish bluetooth had faster data transfer rates, browser is slow on bridge. all in all the bold 9930 is an amazing device and the playbook is great too. Can't wait for the update!!!

edit: the only complaint i have is that BBM doesn't work through bridge using the 9930

How come? Did u mean BBM Groups?

[kevkev3123]

No, It just won't work. I open bbm on the playbook and gives me an error. But when I connect it to my 9650, it works beautifully. I think that the BBM on the 9930 is too new

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[rleo25]

I have the same combo and absolutely love it. My wife's appreciation grew this weekend as we were driving to the mountains and she got on the web using the playbook (bridged to 9930 that was in my pocket) and looked up restaurants in the upcoming town. And once there, I was able to check in on my fantasy baseball team using the "big screen."

Enjoy your combo. New usage discoveries will come every day.

Actally I have my Pb bridged with a bold 9700, do you think web browsing experience will improve with the 9930 ?

[melander]

if you have bought recently, you may be eligible for the following offer, check it out

RIM is offering $100 prepaid MC for existing blackberry customers who buy a playbook before Sept 22: USA/CANADA

BlackBerry PlayBook Back-At-School Offer

Oh would have been nice. But the PB purchase has to be in this month it seems.

[JerBru]

the bridge thing is amazing.

While driving in the US (no WIFI) we could log onto the border sites to check traffic conditions.
excellent

[canuckerr]

Does anyone have figures in regards to how much data the bridging uses?
I only have a 500mb data plan and i'm afraid if I bridge and i'm not careful my data charges are going to go through the roof?

[guerllamo7]

Agree, RIMM wins. But, let me just add, we win as well. As I was shopping for a tablet, I looked at the iPads (1 and 2) and the Blackberry Playbook.
As I did my research, I learned the iPad1, was built with a slot for a camera but did not come with one. Now, all the iPad1 users will have to spend another 500-600 bucks to get something compatible to us. This is a huge deal. Apple did not have a "finished product" so they just did not add it. RIMM, took a better consumer route. They provided all the hardware and shortly after launch, they did an OTA and we all had video calling capability. Our additional cost $0.00, Apple users and extra $500.00 bucks.
There are several other features about the PB that make it a great tablet over the iPads, such as dual stereo speakes, better cameras, etc. However, the point is the way apple handles the relationship with users.
A friend of mine got an iPad2 and was so excited but learned that when he plugged it in to his iTunes, he had to update iTunes, but I tunes would not let him use it unless he upgraded to a new OS, then when he spent the money for it, he learned the OS would not work without more RAM, so needless to say, it took him a long time to get his tablet up and running.
Now, as others mentioned above, RIMM is rewarding BB users with a $100.00 MC for the purchase of a Playbook.
Frankly, I am happy to use RIMM products and not just because I like them but because I like the company. I feel they will always try to give us a fair deal.

Apple has just started charging for content on apps. So Google Books and Amazon Kindle have pulled their apps. This is to promote their own inferior but pretty book store. I don't believe RIMM would ever pull stunts like this. I've seen this story before but apple was the victim at the hand of Microsoft. Now, that apple has an advantage it seems they learned the wrong lessons from their near death experience.

Just some food for thought as we enjoy our awesome new BB phones and the very well equiped Blackberry Playbook. Enjoy, great products and in my view a great company. Thanks for being a good corporate citizen and for remembering that many of us stuck with you through some tough times RIMM.

[Alberta Blue]

Does anyone have figures in regards to how much data the bridging uses?
I only have a 500mb data plan and i'm afraid if I bridge and i'm not careful my data charges are going to go through the roof?

I use about 15 MB per hour watching You Tube, surfing, email, and BBMing while tethered.

[slivy58]

why are u complaining about a lack of email and calendar support? that's what the bridge is for...this is RIM's first tablet. By all means, they've done an excellent job.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Excellent job! What do you mean excellent job... If keeping us in the dark, lack of support, broken promises and a half-baked product (to name a few) are considered �excellent� then I�d have to agree.

Just like Apple has said �you must use iTunes�, RIM has said �you must use bridge�� And don�t get me started on �the next update will change all that�, too little too late.

Bought my PB shortly after they came out and have been trying my darndest to like it yet it falls way too short, ended up buying an Android tablet (god forbid) and now I know what I�ve been missing, much happier now.

[s219]

Agree, RIMM wins. But, let me just add, we win as well. As I was shopping for a tablet, I looked at the iPads (1 and 2) and the Blackberry Playbook.
As I did my research, I learned the iPad1, was built with a slot for a camera but did not come with one. Now, all the iPad1 users will have to spend another 500-600 bucks to get something compatible to us. This is a huge deal. Apple did not have a "finished product" so they just did not add it. RIMM, took a better consumer route. They provided all the hardware and shortly after launch, they did an OTA and we all had video calling capability. Our additional cost $0.00, Apple users and extra $500.00 bucks.
There are several other features about the PB that make it a great tablet over the iPads, such as dual stereo speakes, better cameras, etc. However, the point is the way apple handles the relationship with users.
A friend of mine got an iPad2 and was so excited but learned that when he plugged it in to his iTunes, he had to update iTunes, but I tunes would not let him use it unless he upgraded to a new OS, then when he spent the money for it, he learned the OS would not work without more RAM, so needless to say, it took him a long time to get his tablet up and running.
Now, as others mentioned above, RIMM is rewarding BB users with a $100.00 MC for the purchase of a Playbook.
Frankly, I am happy to use RIMM products and not just because I like them but because I like the company. I feel they will always try to give us a fair deal.

Apple has just started charging for content on apps. So Google Books and Amazon Kindle have pulled their apps. This is to promote their own inferior but pretty book store. I don't believe RIMM would ever pull stunts like this. I've seen this story before but apple was the victim at the hand of Microsoft. Now, that apple has an advantage it seems they learned the wrong lessons from their near death experience.

Just some food for thought as we enjoy our awesome new BB phones and the very well equiped Blackberry Playbook. Enjoy, great products and in my view a great company. Thanks for being a good corporate citizen and for remembering that many of us stuck with you through some tough times RIMM.

That is quite a stretch. There was no PlayBook when the iPad 1 was out. By the time the PlayBook was out, it competed against the iPad 2 with cameras (which was on sale a month earlier). You're making some strange argument about your extra $500 there.

Your friend did not need to suffer through iTunes just to activate his iPad. That is an unfortunate experience, but solely due to his inexperience.

Google and Amazon did not pull their books apps, they modified them to satisfy Apple's new terms. Do some research before posting.

I think I understand the goal of your argument, but you're not using any legitimate examples to support your point. This is the same sort of nonsense that got RIM into trouble in the first place.

[123berryaddicted]

Excellent job! What do you mean excellent job... If keeping us in the dark, lack of support, broken promises and a half-baked product (to name a few) are considered �excellent� then I�d have to agree.

Just like Apple has said �you must use iTunes�, RIM has said �you must use bridge�� And don�t get me started on �the next update will change all that�, too little too late.

Bought my PB shortly after they came out and have been trying my darndest to like it yet it falls way too short, ended up buying an Android tablet (god forbid) and now I know what I�ve been missing, much happier now.

Exactly. And if I could add to your post:

Bridge is a neat feature. But it is very limited, missing features and is also to slow for most users who want to get their business done in a timely fashion.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Economist101]

Now, as others mentioned above, RIMM is rewarding BB users with a $100.00 MC for the purchase of a Playbook.
Frankly, I am happy to use RIMM products and not just because I like them but because I like the company. I feel they will always try to give us a fair deal.

Keep in mind that the $100 rebate is a response to slow sales, not an attempt at being fair. RIM wouldn't be offering $100 off of a hot-selling product. I hate to break it to you, but ultimately RIM is like most every other company, Apple included.

Apple has just started charging for content on apps. So Google Books and Amazon Kindle have pulled their apps. This is to promote their own inferior but pretty book store. I don't believe RIMM would ever pull stunts like this.

One, those apps weren't "pulled." Two, until RIM achieves a decent number of tablet sales, you don't know what they would do. Remember, RIM and Google both demand the same 30% Apple does for app sales, so let's not act as though Apple is all by itself there. That wouldn't be "fair."

[Economist101]

Just like Apple has said �you must use iTunes�, RIM has said �you must use bridge�� And don�t get me started on �the next update will change all that�, too little too late.

The two really aren't comparable. iTunes is necessary for initial setup and software updates, which are a tad less frequently used than retrieving e-mail and or checking one's calendar. Yes, both devices have some dependencies to other devices for full functionality, but the iPad has never needed to be connected to iTunes just so users could read and send Exchange e-mail or find the date and time of their next appointment.

[dkingsf]

The 9900 and the Playbook is the ultimate combination! But 123Berry is right, the playbook is totally not living up to its potential. It's capable of sooooo much more, QNX is an phenomenal OS.

I have a feeling that this years DevCon is going to be full of surprises

They said that last year and there was nothing material. SURPRISE!

[Tre Lawrence]

LOL at "RIMM is rewarding BB users with a $100.00 MC for the purchase of a Playbook."

You guys are hilarious.

Rewarding you? Y'all slay me.

[LegenJERRY]

RIM reminds me of Nintendo when it was back in its glory days... Growing up Nintendo and Super Nintendo kicked boooty! Sega couldnt match Nintendo's awesomeness... Then out came Sony's Playstation and it was different as it played CD's (oooo, ahhhhh) and later the Xbox; but I stuck with good o'l Nintendo and sunk with it while all my friends had the "cooler" systems... Then, before you know it, all the "cool" games are on the Playstation and Xbox while Nintendo fell behind (may not be the case now, im talking 90's).... I guess it feels like history is repeating but with smartphones this time around... haha (I'm just a frustrated BB fan).

[melander]

RIM reminds me of Nintendo when it was back in its glory days... Growing up Nintendo and Super Nintendo kicked boooty! Sega couldnt match Nintendo's awesomeness... Then out came Sony's Playstation and it was different as it played CD's (oooo, ahhhhh) and later the Xbox; but I stuck with good o'l Nintendo and sunk with it while all my friends had the "cooler" systems... Then, before you know it, all the "cool" games are on the Playstation and Xbox while Nintendo fell behind (may not be the case now, im talking 90's).... I guess it feels like history is repeating but with smartphones this time around... haha (I'm just a frustrated BB fan).

I have a different perspective since I thought the Genesis was a better game console than the SNES. Genesis was first with 16 bit (advertised as such) and with Megadrive you could have a CD console. Oh yea, it had THREE buttons, giving more possible choices that what it was up against when introduced. Maybe if I was spoiled I could have had both to make a non-biased decision on that.

But this time around I tried everything out there before making my choice with the Playbook and I think it is the cooler device among tablets.

It has the right size, build quality and UI that fits for a lot of people. I use my HDMI out to LCD top open up flash video sites like TBS (What I'm doing now) that do not play as well on Android or not at all on iPad.

Android does have a lot of miscellaneous apps and also trojans and bots due to reduced security. Speaking as an old Usenet admin, it wasn't about having 10s of thousands more groups than the next provider (alt.*) , it was about the quality of real groups and feeds.

RIM has, so far, been pretty consistent with updates, though no really big news. I wonder how many folks sit at their PC and keep hitting the updates Control Panel with the same fervor that they have on mobile devices. But I don't feel that RIM is by any means abandoning the product and there is more on the horizon for us.