[BBplaybookJS]

It's an app called Battery Guru. Look for it in the App World.

If you can wade through all the dreck, honestly BlackBerry should be ashamed of the state of Appworld I checked the new releases in the application section yesterday and it was full, unfortunately not one of the offerings was actually an app.

[bb-bandit]

I'm sorry but the state rim is in at the moment how can anyone say it isn't a risk buying one. Yes for the money it is a good device but with and support or decent app support either what is the point ????

these are the same people that kept saying, "I am so confident in RIM that I am buying their stock!"

[brianatbb]

Buy at suggested prices above. Due to tremendous build quality, great desktop-like browser, great wi-fi, great cameras, and super cheap accessories. Keep in your glove box as you would an emergency flashlight, if nothing else. It will not become obsolete if RIM does not survive.

Hasn't there already been far too much of this kind of junk? Great desktop-like browser? Well, it's got Flash. But in no other way does it compare to my laptop browser, let alone a desktop computer. Great cameras? You're joking, aren't you? Super cheap accessories? Umm, I don't think so.

Is it worth the price? Yes, if Rim survives. Will Rim survive? Not likely. Buyer beware.

[ITGuy6356]

I doubt that the company, or whoever takes over it, will discontinue their support of the tablet.

Edit: Check my signature

Don't bet on it.

Especially if RIM are taken over by a company that already has a tablet on the market.

HP is not supporting the Touch Pad. And Apple have all but forgotten owners of the first iPad.

One could say RIM, or should I say App Developers, have already stopped supporting the PB. Very few major apps available for it. As with all mobile platforms, there are thousands of totally useless apps available, but just a handful of ones worth using...paid or free.

Add the fact that the e-mail program that finally was added to the OS STILL will not allow messages to remain on the host e-mail server, when deleted from the PB, has not been fixed yet...that reason alone is why I rarely use my PB any more for messaging.

Then, no way easily to mark all messages Read or Unread, this too is an oversight that RIM should never allowed to happen. RIM made its name with messaging. How on earth could the PB developers have been so brain-dead?

There is no excuse for this still not being addressed.

And with BB10 now delayed until sometime in 2013...this does not bode well for the PB...or RIM itself...at all.

I love my PB...but am not expecting it to be the last tablet I purchase.

And as to the OP's question...I would seriously think twice before purchasing a PB now.

[jegs2]

Recommend purchasing one through a retail store, and with a replacement plan. Then if your PB goes tits-up, then you can get it replaced either with a PB or another tablet.

[sjefferson21]

Then if your PB goes tits-up...

lmao!!! is that a thing now?!!!


Sent from my sexy 9900 using Tapatalk

[jegs2]

If RIM closed the doors on everything today, the Playbook would still work as it is and in my case it would likely meet my tablet needs for the next few years.

That, and there are side developers constantly porting Android apps to the Playbook. I can and do run both Kindle and XM on my PB, after having side-loaded them. Also side-loaded a program that allows me to run old Playstation games.

Oh, and installed DOSBox, which allows me to run the cool DOS-based games I remember. My wife's new iPad can't do that without first jailbreaking it.

[BoloMKXXVIII]

That, and there are side developers constantly porting Android apps to the Playbook. I can and do run both Kindle and XM on my PB, after having side-loaded them.

You forget that Adroid is in active deveopment. A lot of apps in the future will be written for Android 4.1 or later versions. Will the Playbook work with those apps??? What will happen to the Playbook appworld when RIM is sold or the Playbook discontinued? Will all Playbooks be able to use messaging at all if the Playbook servers are shut down?
Serious questions to consider when thinking about buying a Playbook.

[torndownunit]

Buy at suggested prices above. Due to tremendous build quality, great desktop-like browser, great wi-fi, great cameras, and super cheap accessories. Keep in your glove box as you would an emergency flashlight, if nothing else. It will not become obsolete if RIM does not survive.

Would you like to tell me where you are getting your super cheap accessories? I sure haven't seen what I consider to be super cheap accessories other than blow out deals on cases.

[kbz1960]

What playbook servers other than for updates? If you're worried about having to reload the OS members already have that covered.

Edit: there is no messaging server, it's a wifi device just like a laptop.

[mkanaman]

Don't get it, especially now that the news of the nexus has been released.

If I hadn't got my pb as a birthday gift I would not have one at the moment

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Afraid this is the kind of thinking that is really going to hurt RIM in the coming months.

No just a few consumers afraid to buy a tablet or a legacy phone, but IT departments that are wondering if they should prepare for the worst buy allowing other platforms or even encouraging their usage. And in so doing cause the worst to happen.

[look_alive]

A many have said, if the Playbook works for your needs NOW, it will continue to work well for you even if the unthinkable happens and RIM is either swallowed up whole by one mega-corp, or if it's sold off in parts and pieces to the lowest bidder like a junk car.

What I wonder, and maybe some of the developers here could chime in, IF the Playbook is 'retired' by RIM or a new owner, does anyone think that RIM would release the source code and hardware drivers for the Playbook hardware so that developers like XDA or others could possibly create a current build of Android for the Playbook? What are those odds?

[ITGuy6356]

Afraid this is the kind of thinking that is really going to hurt RIM in the coming months.

No just a few consumers afraid to buy a tablet or a legacy phone, but IT departments that are wondering if they should prepare for the worst buy allowing other platforms or even encouraging their usage. And in so doing cause the worst to happen.

It is already happening. I work for a large East Coast (US) research university (35k faculty, staff & students), and our BES server is going away within the next 12 months. No university supported RIM devices are available any more.

Users are being moved to iPhones, Android phones, and Win Mobile devices; and the university is in the midst of moving to Google Apps for Education as its sole messaging system. And we are not alone.

Sadly...RIM have done this to themselves.

[nextcity]

Would you like to tell me where you are getting your super cheap accessories? I sure haven't seen what I consider to be super cheap accessories other than blow out deals on cases.

Ebay. $169 shipped for brand new 16gb from buy.com's ebay store (they sold 500 last week). $10 for new oem leather convertible case. $20 for oem rapid charger.

[CHIP72]

The latest financial report from RIM is not a good one. With a loss of approximately 30% in sales, the question that begs to be answered is...

How risky is it to purchase a Playbook that may not have a company supporting it one year from now?

I have been researching tablets and the Playbook by far has received the most accolades of any tablet excluding the iPad. That being said, I decided that the Playbook is the device that best suits my business and personal needs. From its seamless document integration and powerful business tools to "the best" tablet browser on the market, IMHO- this is the best overall value in the tablet market today.

But what is the real value of the device if a year from now RIM files bankruptcy protection and us users don't have anywhere to turn for support or a company backing its product?

I would love to hear thoughts and comments from the community on this issue before i go out and purchase one

Peace,

Slider

Even though I now think, after the latest BB 10 delay announcement, that it is inevitable that RIM will get sold off in parts or exit the hardware business before BB 10 is ever officially launched, I think the PlayBook (16 GB) is a worthwhile purchase at $200 brand new. It is a well-made device with excellent audio, provides pretty good web-browsing, is relatively portable (particularly compared to 10" tablets), and of course has an intuitive, easy-to-use operating system. Even if RIM doesn't support the PlayBook a year from now, it will almost definitely still work fine and serve most of your needs. Also, if the PlayBook isn't what you need, you are only out $200 if you buy one (and of course you could sell it and get some of your money back).

I should note the comments above are coming from a guy who many times has swooped in to buy a "failed" video game system (and some cheap games for that system) selling for dirt-cheap on clearance (oftentimes $50 or less) many times in the past. I've never regretted any of those purchases. (I'll add I purchased a PlayBook back in early February after it dropped to $200 and have been happy with my purchase, even if I don't use the PlayBook on a daily basis.)

[angkorbeer]

What business functions does the Nexus 7 offer, either in installed software or programs I can install? For example, I need the ability to easily and seamlessly read, edit and attach Word type docs to emails and forms within a web browser. Can PBThe Playbook do this? As I stated earlier, my main concern about the Playbook is with RIM and their financial troubles as a company. I dont have doubt about their software or technical concerns aboutnthe product.

Another consideration is the Playbook costs $299 for 64GB while the Nexus is $199 for only 16GB

Thanks

It's the text editing that's very limitted with all the apps currently available. Expect about as many possibilities as you have when writing in a forum like here : ie you can, of course, write text, but otherwise you can only add italics, underline and the likes. Forget about paragraph formatting, inserting tables, comments or footnotes (or even reading footnotes, which don't even show up).

Also, as I've mentionned before, Excel with Docs to Go has been giving me troubles. I think it can't read formulas that use cells from different sheets.

If you don't need more than a very basic text editor for your documents, then I'd say you'll be fine though.

[randomact45]

Glad my pb was a gift. It's now in the magazine basket in the bathroom

[kdeckels]

If I didn't have a PB right now,I'd probably be pre-ordering the Nexus 7. While I use a limited set of apps (that's why I'm happy with the PB), it's super nice that they are available for Android . Besides, one app I really use - Evernote, for business and leisure, is so much nicer for the Droid.

[darkmanx2g]

Very risky. Get a Nexus 7 and never have to worry about if you can video chat with your friends or family. Gtalk is cross platform, Skype, Netflix, HBO Go, Jelly Bean, more than you can ever ask for for 200 dollars. Memory a problem?? Open up to the goodness of the cloud. Dropbox, Google drive, Skydrive, the future is here.

[angkorbeer]

Very risky. Get a Nexus 7 and never have to worry about if you can video chat with your friends or family. Gtalk is cross platform, Skype, Netflix, HBO Go, Jelly Bean, more than you can ever ask for for 200 dollars. Memory a problem?? Open up to the goodness of the cloud. Dropbox, Google drive, Skydrive, the future is here.

Not if you travel a lot, and to places that sometimes have but intermittent electricity, let alone have good wi-fi, let alone have the Internet at all. 64G and long battery life, as well as sturdiness, are definite pluses.

[Old_Mil]

The latest financial report from RIM is not a good one. With a loss of approximately 30% in sales, the question that begs to be answered is...

How risky is it to purchase a Playbook that may not have a company supporting it one year from

Slider

Guess it depends on the price you pay. If you buy it at a price on par with the competition, it may not be the best value. As far as what happens if RIM goes, it takes a while for a platform that has been around for a while to completely disappear (remember palm?)

[jpash549]

Risk is certainly relative. The new Google Nexus 7 looks great with bluetooth keyboard, audio and mouse support but no HDMI. You certainly should be expecting Google to make every effort to support this tablet and be able to use Google cloud and have a good browser. Whether you'll be comfortable being in Googles pocket is up to you. Blackberry has desktop software you can access through the USB port but certainly Google will have adequate arrangements. Lack of storage on the device should not be a problem if you get the 16GB version but you might have to use the cloud a lot. If you have confidential material this might make you uncomfortable. You can store a lot on a 64 GB Playbook.

[FF22]

I don't fully recall:

Didn't Google introduce a cellphone and then UN-introduce a cellphone?

[jegs2]

Guess it depends on the price you pay. If you buy it at a price on par with the competition, it may not be the best value. As far as what happens if RIM goes, it takes a while for a platform that has been around for a while to completely disappear (remember palm?)

Yep. Still using Palm OS (not Web OS) on my Treo 755p, and I have internet and web-capable apps on the phone, most of which were free of charge - since the OS is considered to be dead.