[KermEd]

First, I won't be giving it away.But after many years of being the only tablet I use - I decided yesterday to abandon my PlayBook for a Microsoft Surface Pro 128GB.

I've had some great times with my PlayBook. Long walks. Business trips. Meetings. It got me developing again about two years ago, and now I'm building a software company again.

But today it gets shelved. Put into a dock probably not never leave again. It's a sole purpose in life is to stream music over blue tooth.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Why you might ask?

I choose the Windows Pro model so I can run the development kits (NDK, FB4.7,Unity,etc). I chose 128GB to have room for simulators (PB/BB10/android). I also chose the surface because it has a USB port that let's me debug on my phone.

I picked a tablet that will let me create bb10 apps a little bit longer and a little bit easier every day.

So although I'm now outgrowing my PlayBook, it will always be a part of me. Here's to you little buddy!



Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

I got a laptop for work and my playbook for play.

Sent from my BB10 smartphone.

[susu222]

Why say goodbye to a nice media player.

My main use for my PB now is exactly that. Always have my PB streaming my music to my BT enabled Hi Fi ..

[FF22]

A bit pricy and a bit large? But why the heck can't the keyboard be used as a bluetooth keyboard? It has to be attached to the tablet to function.

[KermEd]

I got a laptop for work and my playbook for play.

Sent from my BB10 smartphone.

My laptop is a 32GB i7 with 3xSSD's in RAID 0. it's a beast.

Not so great for late night development.

I don't really want either for play - tablet + laptop are both work.

Posted via CB10

[KermEd]

A bit pricy and a bit large? But why the heck can't the keyboard be used as a bluetooth keyboard? It has to be attached to the tablet to function.

Absolutely. The Tablet is not perfect at all. But it's the lesser of all evils to be able to keep coding late into the night

Posted via CB10

[joshua_sx1]

I'm still waiting for something like 7" tablet MS Pro... and then, goodbye to my dearest beloved PlayBook... I got two actually... the other one was already given to my brother which still enjoying it because of loaded premium games...

Well, that's life I guess... no matter we like it or not, there will be times that we have to let go someone or something no matter how hard it is... my only regret if that happens is, the PlayBook does not reach its maximum potential functions as competitive tablet indeed...

Posted via Z10

[walt63]

I'm right behind you OP.

[cleonwayne]

It sucks anyway, the future tablets should be much better, the swipe is not good and very unresponsive at times.

[GooberNS]

Future tablets with be wireless screens only.

Posted via CB10

[KermEd]

It sucks anyway, the future tablets should be much better, the swipe is not good and very unresponsive at times.

Yeah. And my PlayBook cost about 600 several years ago now. I can't expect it to hold up to a tablet twice the price and 2 years newer.

I really hope rim continues with the PB family.

Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

Yeah. And my PlayBook cost about 600 several years ago now. I can't expect it to hold up to a tablet twice the price and 2 years newer.

I really hope rim continues with the PB family.

Posted via CB10

I hope so too. Updated hardware cheaper price, dev incentives and bb10 would be awesome.

Sent from my BB10 smartphone.

[rkennedy01]

After nearly two years of continuous use I still prefer my PB for many tasks. The portability is a big draw for me. However, I now supplement my PB use with an HP Envy x2 running Windows 8. Sometimes you just need to get stuff done. And unlike my PB, which may never see the promised BB10, I have a bright future of updates guaranteed to come down the line for my new best friend.

Looking forward to installing the Windows 8.1 preview this Thursday!

RCK

Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk 2

[djenkins6]

I got a helix i7, use that and my z10. Playbook is much underused waiting for bb10 and/or full bridge.

Posted via CB10

[CBCListener]

This is actually a question of using the right tool for the job. No, a tablet, of any kind, is not a suitable tool to do software development, or many other jobs. Using one for this would be foolish. That said, there are many things a tablet does very well, especially if portability is a primary need. I know that, in a pinch, my PlayBook has served me well in production support tasks (because I forgot that I had one to do, and therefore did not take my laptop on vacation, opting for the lighter load that a tablet allows) but I would have preferred the better tool.

That said, use the correct tool for the job. It doesn't require much more thought than that.

[blueberrymerry]

There is that Acer Iconia W3 which is an Atom-based Win8 tablet. That should be able to run Metro and desktop apps but the battery life remains to be seen. If it can top the PB's 8-10 hours, then I'll be the next to say goodbye

[sam299]

I'm still hanging on to my 16 Gb PlayBook, and am still proudly repping Team BlackBerry with it and my lovely new Z10. In fact, I'm typing this on my PlayBook right now. I nabbed it right as soon as the fire sales started, I had been looking for a good budget tablet, and at a sweet $199, the PlayBook fit that role perfectly. It brought me both into the tablet world and the BlackBerry family. It inspired me to start a small time tech blog, and is responsible for my recent (well, Feb 5th, the first day it arrived in Canada) purchase of a lovely new Z10. I am more than aware that it's performance isn't up to par with the latest and greatest anymore, or even most low end tablets nowadays for that matter. However, having just finished rewatching my favorite tv show, Firefly, which was canceled after 14 episodes were filmed, I am reminded that all good things must come to an end at one point or another, some far sooner than they should. However, I have not given up hope. BlackBerry has issued continuing statements that they are working on BB10 for the PlayBook, and I trust that they are doing so. I wish they would be a little more transparent about why it is taking so long, but there are many issues that need to be addressed first, not least of which is the 2+ yr old hardware. I believe BB10 is still coming, probably with OS 10.2 which will arrive in Q3 or Q4, and am cautiously optimistic about the new features and functionality that will come with it. Long live the PlayBook, Long live #TeamBlackBerry

[jpash549]

There is that Acer Iconia W3 which is an Atom-based Win8 tablet. That should be able to run Metro and desktop apps but the battery life remains to be seen. If it can top the PB's 8-10 hours, then I'll be the next to say goodbye

Eight hours with the PB's 5400 milliamp-hour battery is 0.675 amps or 2..5 watts. Hard to get that low unless offline reading. Certainly manufacturers claims on battery life attend to be optimistic but the W3 is claimed to have up to eight hours battery life of 720p video playback. For streaming video believe Tom's had a test showing a little over 4 hours. Battery life would be better with the Haswell processor.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using CB Forums mobile app

[KermEd]

Interesting responses.

Posted via CB10

[blueberrymerry]

For me, a 7-inch device should focus on battery life. I'm a bit skeptical of the Iconia W3's 7-hour battery life figure when playing video - Wi-fi is probably off and screen brightness at the lowest setting. Video decode usually involves only a few GPU parts while shutting down most of the CPU so it's not very power intensive.

We need a figure for working with office documents with Wi-fi on occasionally. The iPad Mini goes for 10 hours or more for this, the PlayBook lasts about 7 hours.

[jpash549]

For me, a 7-inch device should focus on battery life. I'm a bit skeptical of the Iconia W3's 7-hour battery life figure when playing video - Wi-fi is probably off and screen brightness at the lowest setting. Video decode usually involves only a few GPU parts while shutting down most of the CPU so it's not very power intensive.

We need a figure for working with office documents with Wi-fi on occasionally. The iPad Mini goes for 10 hours or more for this, the PlayBook lasts about 7 hours.

Certainly right to be sceptical about battery life on any tab. The w3 has two batteries with each probably rated at 3500 ampere hours which would caculate to 25.9 watt hours as compared to 42.9 for the iPad3, 25 for the iPad2, 16.5 for the iPad min, 19.95 for the PB and 43 for the surface pro. The screen area is about the same as the iPad mini. With the w3 one can work on an office document with wifi off- potentially a big advantage and a real power saver possibly. Incidentally what is the battery life data for working with a microsoft office document in cloud fashion on the iPad mini?

[FF22]

Certainly right to be sceptical about battery life on any tab. The w3 has two batteries with each probably rated at 3500 ampere hours which would caculate to 25.9 watt hours as compared to 42.9 for the iPad3, 25 for the iPad2, 16.5 for the iPad min, 19.95 for the PB and 43 for the surface pro. The screen area is about the same as the iPad mini. With the w3 one can work on an office document with wifi off- potentially a big advantage and a real power saver possibly. Incidentally what is the battery life data for working with a microsoft office document in cloud fashion on the iPad mini?

Is it the HP Envy, W8 tablet has a battery in the tablet and another in the attachable keyboard which provides additional power (the kb must be attached to use/control/type on the tablet).

[Thunderbuck]

While I haven't ditched my PB, I get why OP did.

Still like my PlayBook, still use it almost daily. For many tasks the screen is a perfect size. I have to admit, though, that I've been looking longingly at Windows tablets, though I'm not ready to jump just yet.

The Surface Pro looks awesome (it's a beautifully-crafted piece of hardware). And since I read a lot of magazines the 10" form factor would be ideal for Zinio. It is, however, very expensive and very heavy. And from reports I've come across, hot. Not in a good way.

Going to hold off on a Windows tab for the moment while I see what Haswell tablets start trickling out. Hopefully, in the meantime we'll see the BB10 update for the PlayBook and maybe get a better sense of the direction BB is going.

[Dave Bourque]

If Sony and BlackBerry actually team up. I would love to see a tablet made with sony hardware and BlackBerry 10 software. With play station certification for PS4 coop play. My god would be so awesome.

Sent from my BB10 smartphone.

[JeepBB]

First, I won't be giving it away.

But today it gets shelved. Put into a dock probably not never leave again.

Sadly, my PB has already reached this state. I won't be giving mine away either - or selling it for a pittance.

I did try to keep it active, I really did, but in the end it was the unavailability of that one final App I needed that caused me to buy a cheap (older version) iPad last weekend. The iPad will do me until I decide which tablet to get next. That might be another (new) iPad, but I also like the Surface you've bought (a lot!).

My firm very kindly bought me a subscription to Safari Online so I can read zillions of technical books and watch lots of videos on stuff that I used to understand.

Obviously PB hasn't got a native Safari Online App (who's suprised by that? ) however I discovered that the Android App had been ported to PB, but it's slower than a dog with no legs and frequently crashes or hangs. After the umpteenth frustrating wait for something to happen, I decided to stop being a masochist and called it a day... and got a tablet that has an App for everything.

I reckon my PB is destined to soon become the most expensive alarm clock in the world!