1. glassofpinot's Avatar
    We're a business, and just bought 10 more Playbooks.
    We're using them for...

    --field input-retrieve platform for web-based services like Salesforce.com (the screen is much better for inputting than a smartphone). This is for salespeople and also field service people. General SFDC use as well as Workflows (automated routing of multi-person actions)

    --General use as companion to BB Bold, Curve and Torch phones for viewing larger email attachments, web access, etc. Some of our emails are just too large, or the attachments are too large, for a smartphone to work really well.

    The first item above is a big part of our customer strategy and field performance improvement.

    Doing this with any other tablet that we considered would cost us much more $$$$, both up front and also in ongoing monthly fees. $30-40 per month in fees saved is $400-500 per year - more than the tablet cost.

    (we welcome any constructive posts to this thread - from any perspective on the tablets. Don't bring attacks or personal criticisms, or you will be shut out).
    Last edited by glassofpinot; 06-20-12 at 01:48 AM. Reason: add 1 word
    06-10-12 12:38 AM
  2. louzer's Avatar
    If it meets your requirements, then it's a good choice z- especially if you use BB phones. The savings and convenience of using Bridge is awesome.
    06-10-12 01:24 AM
  3. jafobabe's Avatar
    That is awesome OP!!! So glad you can incorporate the PB's in the field and in the main office.. The PB is so versatile in all areas.
    06-10-12 01:35 AM
  4. rotorwrench's Avatar
    You say 10 more, so I assume you already have PBs employed and have experience with them in your work environment, feeling they are doing a good job for you.
    Excellent. We have done the exact same thing at my company, but you are ahead of us in quantity. That's okay, we'll be getting more lol.

    I don't know about your situation but we saved enough in increased productivity/time savings using them that all of our PBs have literally payed for themselves, and that was at pre-discounted prices. And due to Bridge, we also were able to cancel our cell network cards that were being used in the Toughbooks the PBs replaced, saving us $240 a month. That's $2880 a year, more than enough to buy 9 more 64g PBs. Win win all around. Thanks for sharing.
    Last edited by rotorwrench; 06-10-12 at 01:57 AM.
    06-10-12 01:52 AM
  5. glassofpinot's Avatar
    You say 10 more, so I assume you already have PBs employed and have experience with them in your work environment, feeling they are doing a good job for you.
    Excellent. We have done the exact same thing at my company, but you are ahead of us in quantity. That's okay, we'll be getting more lol.

    I don't know about your situation but we saved enough in increased productivity/time savings using them that all of our PBs have literally payed for themselves, and that was at pre-discounted prices. And due to Bridge, we also were able to cancel our cell network cards that were being used in the Toughbooks the PBs replaced, saving us $240 a month. That's $2880 a year, more than enough to buy 9 more 64g PBs. Win win all around. Thanks for sharing.
    I'm not sure that we really are ahead of you - quantity is only one measure. You sound like you have a pretty good advantage going. The savings are significant for us, but they are the icing on the cake - we like the underlying advances in service performance that mobility gives us. Its a mobility world and we are there.
    Thanks for sharing your business benefits!
    jafobabe likes this.
    06-10-12 02:03 AM
  6. jafobabe's Avatar
    I may not be in a position to use my PB at work, but I can already realize the savings on data charges with the bridge....I can put my headphones on at work and surf away, or listen to my music instead of listening to office chatter... a total life saver!
    Last edited by jafobabe; 06-10-12 at 02:15 AM.
    06-10-12 02:12 AM
  7. glassofpinot's Avatar
    For those who asked about our uses...
    Salesforce.com is what actually started us thinking about mobile uses 1-1/2 years ago. It made giving-getting field info so easy to organize - it started coming together. We are replacing things that used to be done on paper and then captured on an Excel sheet somewhere. Before we realized it, we had 15+ service topic spreadsheets (e.g. different quality or time metrics) tracking things at multiple branches. Thats a lot of trakcing, and too many Excel sheets to be able to do a good job with the info - and all we could do was analyze. Or post at HQ.

    Now with the data put right into Salesforce.com in the field, we have all the old analysis capability but with two huge advantages...
    --its a lot easier to enter on site and have it collected - compared to fighting to keep up those Excel sheets.
    --the info is tied to the customer site in the records, so we can use it for a lot of benefits with the customer directly - in the field with the customer We coudn't really show customers our Excel sheets - they were just general metrics. But now we can drill down with the customer and talk about their data.

    This works for sales activities, but also for service applications and field inspections. We're moble, we're connected, and we're wowing customers.
    The Playbook helps us do that better, and at a lower monthly cost than other options we considered.
    Last edited by glassofpinot; 06-10-12 at 02:25 AM. Reason: sp
    drmike, bungaboy, jrohland and 2 others like this.
    06-10-12 02:22 AM
  8. rotorwrench's Avatar
    I'm not sure that we really are ahead of you - quantity is only one measure. You sound like you have a pretty good advantage going. The savings are significant for us, but they are the icing on the cake - we like the underlying advances in service performance that mobility gives us. Its a mobility world and we are there.
    Thanks for sharing your business benefits!
    Thanks, but I was joking about the quantities. The savings were just icing for us too. We needed better mobility, convenience, portability and security. Using the Toughbooks and the 10" tablets we tried, we found that most of us were avoiding using them as much as was intended because they were just too awkward for many of the situations we envisioned using them in. Most of our technicians, including myself, preferred the Toughbooks to a 10" tablet because the actual footprint is about the same and the Toughbook has a handle and doesn't need a case. Why lose performance and versatility when the sizes are similar? And with one client/service partner, the decision was made for us: the only phones and tablet they would allow to access their network were BB phones and the PB, for security reasons. They are a very large military service provider and contractor. We already use the BB phones and are BES, so the PB was a no brainer, especially after we tried my personal one first. Bridge sealed the deal. Great for field work. We can send in reports, progress status, photos etc... all from location, where Internet is rarely available. They are now indispensable to us.
    Last edited by rotorwrench; 06-11-12 at 05:31 PM.
    06-10-12 02:59 AM
  9. jgrobertson's Avatar
    I have always thought that being able to bridge to a BB was a plus feature as one did not have to have a second account with telco. Wondered why RIM did not stress that as a marketing feature.
    Toodeurep and rotorwrench like this.
    06-10-12 05:23 AM
  10. Thunderbuck's Avatar
    I have always thought that being able to bridge to a BB was a plus feature as one did not have to have a second account with telco. Wondered why RIM did not stress that as a marketing feature.
    It's possible the carriers weren't thrilled about it. Bridge wouldn't even work on AT&T for a fair while.

    I agree, it might have been a great marketing point, but it was also potentially toxic.
    06-10-12 05:55 AM
  11. glassofpinot's Avatar
    It's possible the carriers weren't thrilled about it. Bridge wouldn't even work on AT&T for a fair while.
    I agree, it might have been a great marketing point, but it was also potentially toxic.
    Yes, carriers got no revenue advantage or addition from the Playbooks on Bridge or wifi, so they didn't even carry them in their stores. When the "also works without wifi or Bridge" Playbook version comes out later this year, we'll have to see if the carriers pick it up.
    06-10-12 11:11 AM
  12. mikeo007's Avatar
    As I said before, I think you're playing right into the strengths of the Playbook. You're employees are already outfitted with Blackberry smartphones and your usage revolves around web apps. In your scenario, the Playbook is a no-brainer.

    Where the Playbook falls flat is in situations where the browser isn't enough, and where Blackberry smartphones are a non-issue.\

    Glad it fit so perfectly into your business though, you are exactly the type of business that RIM was aiming the Playbook at.
    Cracklen likes this.
    06-10-12 11:26 AM
  13. rotorwrench's Avatar
    Another advantage of Bridging our IT advised my boss was that in the course of a year, with the amount of data our company uses amongst all our PBs, we would realize a significant savings in data charges due BES data compression. That works for BIS users also. Not so with other phones and tablets.

    The total savings realized by increased efficiency, productivity and operating expenses just makes good business sense for us, and has already been proven out in the 6 months we've been using PBs. My company is very happy with the PB.
    Last edited by rotorwrench; 06-10-12 at 11:45 AM.
    06-10-12 11:39 AM
  14. neller2000's Avatar
    I have always thought that being able to bridge to a BB was a plus feature as one did not have to have a second account with telco. Wondered why RIM did not stress that as a marketing feature.
    The reason why is because carriers don't see BB phones as a device which can be even remotely measured due to the low sales and bleak future. It won't really endanger their revenue and it will throw BB users a bone.

    Imagine if it was an iPhone or an Android device or even a WP7 device. Never happen. And if RIM by chance gains any traction, poof goes bridge.

    It's great for BB users though.
    06-10-12 05:39 PM
  15. jafobabe's Avatar
    Yes, it is great for BB users.... which is why I like mine..

    The security and the bridging makes the BB/PB combo exactly what *I* wanted.
    06-10-12 06:23 PM
  16. glassofpinot's Avatar
    Yes, it is great for BB users.... which is why I like mine..

    The security and the bridging makes the BB/PB combo exactly what *I* wanted.
    Appreciate your help keeping things on track. For us and the Playbooks, it's all about products that perform.
    06-10-12 06:41 PM
  17. rotorwrench's Avatar
    Yes, and judging from posts and news stories it appears the number of law enforcement agencies adopting the PB is increasing too. Always a good sign
    jafobabe and Sith_Apprentice like this.
    06-10-12 07:11 PM
  18. jafobabe's Avatar
    And more are going in cars too!!..... {{Drool}}

    http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ac-cue-729336/
    rotorwrench and Toodeurep like this.
    06-10-12 07:16 PM
  19. madman0141's Avatar
    Always good to hear some businesses have faith in playbook.
    06-10-12 07:26 PM
  20. jafobabe's Avatar
    To the OP-----
    So how do your sales force like using the PB's?
    Does it save them alot of time out there?
    06-10-12 07:30 PM
  21. Cee134's Avatar
    We are also starting to use Playbook for business. We are a design/build residential construction crew. We are developing our own forms and will use the tablet out on the job sites. The project manager can take a picture of whatever is required and discuss it with the prime builder, which saves time.
    In our showroom, we also use it with HDTV for design presentations and also many photos of past projects. Our firm has been nominated twice for top national awards so it was choosing the best product for our use.

    There's so much more, but we're impressed with the stability and as rotorwrench summed it up...."Portability and mobility".

    Thanks to glassofpinot and rotorwrench. It's interesting to read other business applications.
    06-10-12 09:02 PM
  22. jrohland's Avatar
    And more are going in cars too!!..... {{Drool}}

    http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ac-cue-729336/
    It appears Cue isn't using QNX. It is apparently Linux.
    jafobabe likes this.
    06-10-12 09:17 PM
  23. glassofpinot's Avatar
    To the OP-----
    So how do your sales force like using the PB's?
    Does it save them alot of time out there?
    They have a lot more history using their BB phones for getting field site info, and direct entry - which replaced them going back to home/office and entering and reading lot at night. That was a big hit with the sales people - definitely! They get more done, and have a better tool. (and we get better info than before about the field)

    Now we are adding the Playbook to the mix to allow new "interactive" presentations with customers (not just a presentation; and need the bigger screens). We're leaving testing now and just bought the first wave of Playbooks for deployment. The testers said "wow" - but to be fair that was more about the interactive applications than just the tablet itself. But we need the Playbook to get the interactives - so both get the "wow". I am very excited - we are delivering capabilities that the competition does not have - so it goes way beyond just time saving.
    jafobabe and rotorwrench like this.
    06-10-12 11:33 PM
  24. houshinto#IM's Avatar
    Nice one OP. I hope the initiatives work out for you and you become a Playbook success story.
    Last edited by Houshinto; 06-10-12 at 11:42 PM.
    06-10-12 11:40 PM
  25. glassofpinot's Avatar
    Nice one OP. I hope the initiatives work out for you and you become a Playbook success story.
    Yes. I also have to thank Crackberry and the many dedicated & helpful posters who have inspired and enlightened.

    (And special thanks to those who keep things on the straight & positive - you know who you are!)
    Last edited by glassofpinot; 06-11-12 at 11:30 AM.
    06-10-12 11:48 PM
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