[snqm]

Today what use does a blackberry playbook tablet have for an adult who works with digital documents?

[sebstarr]

sideload moonreader pro, kindle and kobo. pdf viewer works fine. I essentially use it as a heavy eReader

[hangnthere]

any instructions on side-loading?

[TheBirdDog]

any instructions on side-loading?

You should find them around these forums. The Google Chrome extension was the simplest way that I found to do it.

[conite]

any instructions on side-loading?

You're honestly wasting your time.

A $100 Android tablet is better in almost every way.

[G_Unit MVP]

I'm using mine as a music player when I'm on the road, and to view my daily YouTube subscriptions, maybe from time to time to read some pdf or check the weather or light browsing.

Unfortunately the calendar and the contacts apps are almost unusable since Google flag those apps as "non secure", so you have to disable 2 step verification making all your other current devices less secure too.

[TheBirdDog]

You're honestly wasting your time.

A $100 Android tablet is better in almost every way.

Have to disagree. A $100 Android tablet will get you the apps and a better Internet browsing experience. Other than that, I can't think of anything. While I understand that these things are what the majority of consumers are after, it's not what everyone uses a tablet for and I have to speculate that it isn't what the PlayBook was really intended for either.

The PB will not compete with any Android tablet or iPad, there's no point in even going there.

But, for someone who wants to use it as a portable file viewer, it's still worth looking into. I used mine to review documents with clients in the field, mostly architectural drawings and photos of ideas that I had preloaded onto the device's storage. I found it worked well and I liked using it for these purposes. Even in 2017, it still felt like a very professional tool and I had no shame in using it, even if they were showing me things on their iPad right beside me.

Great build quality, great screen, superior sound quality, awesome battery life, HDMI output... you will not find any of these things on a cheap tablet and, even comparing it to 'premium' tablets, the PB is still a contender for these criteria.

If you were using the PB as a companion device to your computer and you mostly just wanted a way to view (as well as perhaps do some light editing) for your files, I think it could still meet some people's use cases.

[Emaderton3]

Have to disagree. A $100 Android tablet will get you the apps and a better Internet browsing experience. Other than that, I can't think of anything. While I understand that these things are what the majority of consumers are after, it's not what everyone uses a tablet for and I have to speculate that it isn't what the PlayBook was really intended for either.

The PB will not compete with any Android tablet or iPad, there's no point in even going there.

But, for someone who wants to use it as a portable file viewer, it's still worth looking into. I used mine to review documents with clients in the field, mostly architectural drawings and photos of ideas that I had preloaded onto the device's storage. I found it worked well and I liked using it for these purposes. Even in 2017, it still felt like a very professional tool and I had no shame in using it, even if they were showing me things on their iPad right beside me.

Great build quality, great screen, superior sound quality, awesome battery life, HDMI output... you will not find any of these things on a cheap tablet and, even comparing it to 'premium' tablets, the PB is still a contender for these criteria.

If you were using the PB as a companion device to your computer and you mostly just wanted a way to view (as well as perhaps do some light editing) for your files, I think it could still meet some people's use cases.

But there is no email client, correct? So you manually have to transfer documents to it?

[conite]

Have to disagree. A $100 Android tablet will get you the apps and a better Internet browsing experience. Other than that, I can't think of anything. While I understand that these things are what the majority of consumers are after, it's not what everyone uses a tablet for and I have to speculate that it isn't what the PlayBook was really intended for either.

The PB will not compete with any Android tablet or iPad, there's no point in even going there.

But, for someone who wants to use it as a portable file viewer, it's still worth looking into. I used mine to review documents with clients in the field, mostly architectural drawings and photos of ideas that I had preloaded onto the device's storage. I found it worked well and I liked using it for these purposes. Even in 2017, it still felt like a very professional tool and I had no shame in using it, even if they were showing me things on their iPad right beside me.

Great build quality, great screen, superior sound quality, awesome battery life, HDMI output... you will not find any of these things on a cheap tablet and, even comparing it to 'premium' tablets, the PB is still a contender for these criteria.

If you were using the PB as a companion device to your computer and you mostly just wanted a way to view (as well as perhaps do some light editing) for your files, I think it could still meet some people's use cases.

What about a Samsung Galaxy Tab E.

$100 brand new, FHD screen, chromecast. SD slot.

Thinner, lighter, and longer battery life too.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[hvacdon]

But there is no email client, correct? So you manually have to transfer documents to it?

There is an email client. The original release did not, but was added shortly thereafter. I used one for business purposes for two or three years on a daily basis until I retired four years ago.

That being said, I am not sure why you would want a device that is well beyond any support from BB, unless you happen to already own a Playbook or someone gives you one. I still use mine for a bedside alarm clock on a charge station.

[Emaderton3]

There is an email client. The original release did not, but was added shortly thereafter. I used one for business purposes for two or three years on a daily basis until I retired four years ago.

That being said, I am not sure why you would want a device that is well beyond any support from BB, unless you happen to already own a Playbook or someone gives you one. I still use mine for a bedside alarm clock on a charge station.

I suppose there would be potential security issues as well.

[hvacdon]

I suppose there would be potential security issues as well.

Do mean with email or by my bedside? haha The Playbook does have a great camera.

[Emaderton3]

Do mean with email or by my bedside? haha The Playbook does have a great camera.

I meant potentially with email and outdated protocols. But, they probably don't even connect correctly now I would imagine.

I have never seen a PlayBook in person.

[TheBirdDog]

What about a Samsung Galaxy Tab E.

$100 brand new, FHD screen, chromecast. SD slot.

Thinner, lighter, and longer battery life too.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well, the OP was asking what use a PB has... I don't feel like "for a $100 you can buy something better!" really answers that question.

But, even to compare it price-wise, you can find mint condition PlayBooks for $30 to $40... so, even $100 is 2-3x more than what you could pay for a PB.

And, yes, it's use will be limited most definitely - there's not even a point in comparing. But, for certain limited uses, it could still be a good bargain option.

Mine is used mainly now for allowing my daughter to watch movies while on roadtrips... if / when it bites the dust, I will probably buy another one for the same purpose because I will not find a better option for that use and at that price.

For everything else, I have my smartphone and my laptop. Tablets in general, don't really fit my needs at all. Now they are just smartphones with bigger screens.

[brookie229]

But, they probably don't even connect correctly now I would imagine.

Yes, they still connect--shockingly

[kbz1960]

Why do people want 7 year old tech? As fast as things change in the computer world that's like decades old.

But whatever. I wouldn't trust it for much.

[Emaderton3]

Yes, they still connect--shockingly

Too current email protocols?

[brookie229]

Too current email protocols?

To all 3 of the accounts that I have on my old PlayBook--I guess they are current. I don't have my gmail account on it, but I've never tried it.

[FF22]

I still have recipes on mine and use it when cooking. Not as regularly as I use to but it is easier to read and control than my KeyOne for following recipes. I still marvel at its screen when viewing that sample video it came with.

[sorinv]

Very nice book reader with Kobo. I still download books on it.
Very nice music player.
Still ok for email and web surfing, although slow.
Good for listening to the radio.
Unfortunately it stopped video chat service on April 1st. 2018.
The quality is still amazing and its battery still lasts 4-5 hours.
Certainly it's in much better shape than my daughter's IPad from the same period: early 2012.

Posted via CB10

[Mauricio Davalos]

como puedo actualizar el navegador de mi playbook ?

[G_Unit MVP]

Actualizarlo no es posible, lo que puedes hacer es utilizar algún otro navegador. Para algunas cosas Origami anda bien. En otros casos (youtube por ejemplo) Maxthon funciona bien también.

En todos los casos, mucha paciencia es fundamental.

Posted vía CB10 with my Passport SE SQW100-4

[EFats]

Well I really liked my PlayBook when I first got it. It was my entry into BlackBerry. I still like it, it's still a very nice device for some things, music, videos...
But my biggest complaints that prevent me from using it more...the browser hardly works on anything any more or it is so slow I can't wait for stuff to render (to be honest, that is usually the web site being poorly designed and moving too much data, ads, etc than needed) and every PDF that I normally read is too slow to render and navigate. Very annoying.
Otherwise I still like the build quality, size, the way the OS works...and the audio is still amazing

[f4ckj4r]

Maybe just mine, still using this badass devices to do precentation to my client, good foor offices thing, watching movies stored on your HDD LAN / NAS becuse got great view screen, or maybe some "geek" stuff like controlling my work PC's through this device, today i'm still use for monitoring my Server PC, it simply show what's going happen on PC's that i remoted to this PB in real time.

And for listening musics to, the sounds is got clarity & faboluos without other devices out there can't compare nowaday.

[Phoenix Downer]

Today what use does a blackberry playbook tablet have for an adult who works with digital documents?

Hello. I know this post was a long time ago, but I've noticed some skepticism. I wanted to explain why I'm getting a Playbook in 2019. I have been doing some writing contracts and pitches. I just need Microsoft Word and a web browser. I've been alternating between the Passport and Classic phones. I think I like the Classic better for text editing, like selecting text. The Passport's screen in nice, but not having the mouse cursor for the Browser like is present on the Classic is a kill joy for small web links and buttons.

I don't have the Playbook yet, but I hope to order one very soon with some outstanding accessories on the cheap. I plan on using it for invoicing, email, writing, and Internet research. YouTube works apparently as long as you click on the skip button when the site says your browser isn't optimized. Gmail users may have problems, but I have a Microsoft Account.

I wanted a distraction free set of devices for mobile productivity with a portable printer that can receive documents via email. I basically want a glorified word processor. If this was 20 years ago, I'd be getting a Smith Corona instead of a Playbook. I can share my experiences when I actually get one. I know I like Docs2Go out of the box on the Passport.

Please note, I've also not linked these devices with a BlackBerry ID Account because I know the store shuts down at the end of the year. Apps I desperately want on there tend to have been around long enough to have an apk or bat file to sideload onto the device. That's primarily Netflix as I don't get distracted by it since I have time set aside for that.