Very new to the Blackberry playbook and am going on holiday, so I need to know a few things

I am sure you will be able to help me. I am a complete novice in the ways of the blackberry playbook.
These questions all relate to the Blackberry playbook, I am going on holiday soon and instead of taking a camera, my kindle, dvd player can the blackberry playbook do all this and if so how;

I need to use my blackberry player as a
phone to get my messenger service,
e-book reader is the screen, if I use the blackberry playbook for this purpose is the screen ok in sunlight?
downloading a dvd's -free system if possible

Can anyone help?:)

the playbook doesn't have phone capabilities, (we're dreaming/wishing for this in a huge way),,, if you are "bridged" to a Blackberry phone you can access memos, contacts, calendar,music,videos,pics,send & recieve sms,etc. via bridge folder or file manager,,, not sure how much of that is available if you tether w/ a non-BB phone,,, i'm reaching when i say i THINK you MAY be able to download dvd's,,, you can definately stream anything from your favorite movie site,,, if you have dvd's in your personal collection you want to put on your playbook i recommend freemake video converter but in only works w/ windows systems,,, Free Video Converter | MP3 MP4 AVI 3GP MKV DVD | FREE Download ,,, i believe there is a ereader available in Appworld,,, i haven't used my PB often in direct sunlight but it's never been an issue seeing the screen in my experience,,, hope this helps,,, have fun, be safe...

I'd agree with SEAWARRIOR above on everything except the direct sunlight issue.

Like all backlit screens, the PB can't really cope with direct sunlight. That's certainly my experience anyway; and I do wonder how the PB battery would cope with a long day/book on the beach?

If it were me, I'd also pack the Kindle for the book-reading side of things... the Kindle battery lasts weeks and the screen is readable under all conditions I've experienced (which is I guess why every Kindle Ad I've ever seen highlights that "reading in bright sunshine" advantage).

the playbook does have phone capabilities i use mine for this alot you even get you own phone number,check out the following (ephone by comwave)

In my experience, I use the PlayBook in direct sunlight while wearing sunglasses with no problem at all. Kindle can be sideloaded and Kobo is a similar native configured app. The camera is very good.

Originally Posted by irrebkcalB

In my experience, I use the PlayBook in direct sunlight while wearing sunglasses with no problem at all. Kindle can be sideloaded and Kobo is a similar native configured app. The camera is very good.

I don't find my PlayBook that easy to read when in direct sunlight and wearing sunglasses. As a heavy reader, I get some eye-strain if I do a lot of PlayBook eBook reading in normal conditions too - maybe this is just a personal thing (one of my friends has the same problem as me for reading on his PB.... he also has a similar problem reading on his Kindle Fire..... which he has now offloaded to his wife!). Do find that my Kindle (fairly old one) is still better for hours and hours of eBook reading (eg sitting on the beach for 3 or 4 hours).

I use both of:

• 'Book Reader for EPUB and Kindle books' (you can read 'classics' using this app, eg from things like the free Project Gutenberg site Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg)
• 'OverDrive Media Console' (the only way to borrow eBooks from your local library in the UK - you can't get books on your Kindle this way in the EU due to copyright/DRM issues)

I frequently put copies of DVDs on my PlayBook (so I can watch them on a bigger screen in hotels) - works perfectly!

Hope you have a great holiday

The pb's camera is good in GOOD lighting as is its video shooting. I would consider it a clumsy camera though if you plan on using it a lot due to its size.

I find the screen harder to read in bright sun and you canNOT adjust its brightness once it thinks you are in very bright light - it goes to full brightness (which uses the battery) and trying to watch videos on it becomes harder - kindle cannot be beat in bright light.

You can rip your own dvd's but it can take a bit of time. But displays terrific video(in non-sunshine). I don't recall if the pb can be affected by polarized sunglasses - some lcd's are polarized.

My wife and I used our PBs for reading poolside on a trip recently with no problems. We both use the reverse screen (black screen and white text), (which in my opinion reduces eye strain and is my favorite reading screen) and have the auto backlighting turned off. If you're reading while facing the sun, the screen isn't in the sun anyway. But even from the other angles it was fine. That being said, I have a Zagg screen protector on my PB and it has somewhat of a non-glare finish, which helps. My wife's doesn't and she still had no problem enjoying her reading.

Whomever up there who wrote playbook has no phone is categorically wrong.
I use Comwave on PB quite a bit. I hear all these people crying about no skype but i have a huge circle of business contacts as well as in my spare time run a hockey league with over 100 players and have never had a killer need for skype. Me thinks it uber hype and just another one of the "reasons" thrown out to trash the PB.

A pic in poor light: (atop Fujisan for honorable greeting of the dawn):

Comwave is only available to those who have a Canadian Address. Once you get it, it will work where ever you go worldwide , no problems.

Originally Posted by Scotter75

Comwave is only available to those who have a Canadian Address. Once you get it, it will work where ever you go worldwide , no problems.

i am in the uk and use it,i have never been to canada (i dont think)

I'm in the UK and once stopped in Gander airport in Newfoundland en route to Orlando. We were allowed off the plane and into the terminal to do some shopping and sample the "famous" ice-cream which was quite splendid. Does this qualify as having been to Canada?

I downloaded Comwave as a mate is Canadian, I simply signed up with RIM as my address lol

I had to wipe and reinstall recently & this time it allowed me to choose UK.

Comwave i am pretty sure I just setup a user name, no address asked for from what I remember.