[neller2000]

What happens?

Sent from.....the future.

What happens is in the vast majority of those situations the kid instantly already knows how to use the iPad, knows where and how to get apps, how to sync it and how to set it up to his or her liking.

Dump a PB in front of the same kid. No clue how to work it. No clue where to get apps. If knowing where to apps, frustration because favorite apps not there. No clue how to sync or set it up. Social outcast incoming since friends will laugh and point.

[rotorwrench]

Not really. Put an iPad and a PB in front of a child and watch what happens.

LOL, yeah, when my 6yr old niece comes over the iPad is sitting unused on the end table begging for a little attention and what does she consistently do? Begs and pleads for my wife's PB. She loves the size and swiping

But here is real life factor with kids. My daughter is student teaching and before she sold her iPad, she was taking both tablets to an elementary class. At first most of the kids were fighting over the iPad, going crazy with Angry Birds. Once they realized she had Angry Birds on her PB, it evened out in which one they fought over, with a slight advantage to the PB. She asked some of the kids why they were using the PB instead of the iPad when it was available too. Several commented that it was easier to hold.

From my daughter's experiences actually teaching young children, she believes they could care less about brand or OS, as long as the tablet has games or apps they like to play. Ease of handling and navigation was also a factor when there is a choice as some of the kids made comment on. Further demonstrated by some even choosing to play on an android phone that belonged to my daughter's teaching aide. Most children prefer to hold the device they play on and a 10" tablet was not the choice of many of the kids.

[rcm1301]

Great post OP! As for kids, my 2.5 year old granddaughter has no problem working with my PB or her mother's iPad. She learns from both. She has fun with both. Kids don't need iPads in school. Lazy teachers might need them but kids don't.

LOL. Your 2.5y g/daughter is smarter than polytope's 5y old.

[alnamvet68]

There are plenty of reasons why to pick an iPad over a PB.

App count is far better, especially when it comes to more specialized apps that are built for education.

The iPad has more ways to keep adult sites off the screen for the kids. Android tablets and the PB doesn't.

It is far easier for the children to use the iPad because the majority of the kids already knows how it works, from their iPhones, iPods and own iPads. No one owns a BB phone that they would want to play with. And remember, BB's are tools not toys so that's an easy point.

There are of course numerous more reasons that you obviously know about.

And as far as the guy up top goes, cool, great that you found a use for the PB. If I ran a company I would have switched over to an iPhone/iPad or an Android solution ages ago but that's just me of course. As well as many companies.

...and that's why the OP runs a company, and you don't.

[neller2000]

LOL, yeah, when my 6yr old niece comes over the iPad is sitting unused on the end table begging for a little attention and what does she consistently do? Begs and pleads for my wife's PB. She loves the size and swiping

But here is real life factor with kids. My daughter is student teaching and before she sold her iPad, she was taking both tablets to an elementary class. At first most of the kids were fighting over the iPad, going crazy with Angry Birds. Once they realized she had Angry Birds on her PB, it evened out in which one they fought over, with a slight advantage to the PB. She asked some of the kids why they were using the PB instead of the iPad when it was available too. Several commented that it was easier to hold.

From my daughter's experiences actually teaching young children, she believes they could care less about brand or OS, as long as the tablet has games or apps they like to play. Ease of handling and navigation was also a factor when there is a choice as some of the kids made comment on. Further demonstrated by some even choosing to play on an android phone that belonged to my daughter's teaching aide. Most children prefer to hold the device they play on and a 10" tablet was not the choice of many of the kids.

I find it odd that all the diehard BB users kids all love the outdated in every way PB over a far more useful iPad. Most children do love to hold stuff and they love the iPad.

Your experience and that of your niece is flawed due to your love of BB as opposed to something vastly more useful.

Either that or you're great at making up stories!

[neller2000]

...and that's why the OP runs a company, and you don't.

He must run it pretty poorly letting personal preference be a decisive factor over productivity.

My family runs a company overseas and they're using a mix of iOS and Android devices. Blackberries were dumped years ago.

[kennyliu]

Yeah, who needs 37.5 quadrillion apps when the PB comes standard with a power browser?

By your logic, who needs the PB if Android comes standard with power browsers AND 37.5 quadrillion apps?

[rotorwrench]

I find it odd that all the diehard BB users kids all love the outdated in every way PB over a far more useful iPad. Most children do love to hold stuff and they love the iPad.

Your experience and that of your niece is flawed due to your love of BB as opposed to something vastly more useful.

Either that or you're great at making up stories!

Just because you disagree doesn't change truth or actual events. I see now you have an actual problem with those that disagree with you, to the point of being insulting and even going so far as to infer that someone with a different opinion or different experience is a liar. I'm working on not lowering myself to your level, so I'm stopping here.

[BigAl_BB9900]

What features do you think businesses are really looking for? Other than bang for the buck?

Big businesses will generally use a balanced scorecard approach when sourcing solutions (whether this is done on a formal or informal basis) - one of the big factors will be longevity (eg you do not want to set up a long term solution, which includes training, support, development, licences, capital expenditure when you are not sure if a key component will still be around in 1, 2 or 3 years time)

The businesses will rate the risk of whether the companies/products supplying the parts of the solution will be around for the long haul - when choosing a tablet, iPads are currently seen as being the lowest risk tablet for longevity

Of course, a balanced scorecard will also include other factors such as security & price, for which the PB will almost certainly have a higher score...

[neller2000]

Big businesses will generally use a balanced scorecard approach when sourcing solutions (whether this is done on a formal or informal basis) - one of the big factors will be longevity (eg you do not want to set up a long term solution, which includes training, support, development, licences, capital expenditure when you are not sure if a key component will still be around in 1, 2 or 3 years time)

The businesses will rate the risk of whether the companies/products supplying the parts of the solution will be around for the long haul - when choosing a tablet, iPads are currently seen as being the lowest risk tablet for longevity

Of course, a balanced scorecard will also include other factors such as security & price, for which the PB will almost certainly have a higher score...

So by using the balanced scorecard approach the PB, in general, would score very low?

[BigAl_BB9900]

edited quote

There are plenty of reasons why to pick an iPad over a PB.

App count is far better, especially when it comes to more specialized apps that are built for education.

It is far easier for the children to use the iPad because the majority of the kids already knows how it works, from their iPhones, iPods and own iPads.

From my experience of introducing friend's children to tablets, the children have picked up the basics of how to use BOTH iPads & PBs in less than a couple of minutes (these children are aged 5-9 - note: the 5 year old is an exceptionally intelligent gadget geek)

The younger children seem to prefer the PB because it is easier to hold (size and weight), and the PB has a flip case which makes it easier for watching content and playing multi-player puzzles (hangman, etc)

The thing that surprises me most is that is that after some rather rough handling (the 5 year old has a medical problem where his fingertips are not sensitive, so he presses very hard on the screen), both tablets are still working fine....

[neller2000]

From my experience of introducing friend's children to tablets, the children have picked up the basics of how to use BOTH iPads & PBs in less than a couple of minutes (these children are aged 5-9 - note: the 5 year old is an exceptionally intelligent gadget geek)

The younger children seem to prefer the PB because it is easier to hold (size and weight), and the PB has a flip case which makes it easier for watching content and playing multi-player puzzles (hangman, etc)

The thing that surprises me most is that is that after some rather rough handling (the 5 year old has a medical problem where his fingertips are not sensitive, so he presses very hard on the screen), both tablets are still working fine....

The problem with the PB for educational purposes in schools these days though is the almost complete and total lack of any specialized apps. Not to mention the content filtering is far easier to control on the iPad.

The same goes for almost any business sector of today, enterprise, medical, advisory and so on.

I don't much care for the iPad personally, prefer Android. But pretty much every app I use and need is also available on iOS. A switch for me would be easy.

[BigAl_BB9900]

So by using the balanced scorecard approach the PB, in general, would score very low?

It depends on what the requirements are that feed into the balanced scorecard....

If a company is looking for a minimum three year solution for support and hardware replacement, then a lot of big companies may currently shy away from the PB, as there is less business confidence in RIM's future/roadmap compared to Apple's

If a solution is pretty much hardware independent (eg HTML 5) then companies will be more positive towards PBs because the tablets are so cheap (and you can also mitigate any RIM-longevity-risk by buying an extra 30% devices and storing them in the support cupboard....)

Security of data is a massive plus point for PBs - if there is a need for very high level security, then PBs will either score very highly (or in some cases no other tablet will actually pass the entry criteria)

Does that make sense?

[glassofpinot]

And as far as the guy up top goes, cool, great that you found a use for the PB. If I ran a company I would have switched over to an iPhone/iPad or an Android solution ages ago but that's just me of course. As well as many companies.

Sorry to disappoint you. We didn't "find a use for the PB", we bought Playbooks because they are the best for what we are doing.

[howarmat]

try to keep it civil and leave out the personal attacks. thanks

[neller2000]

Sorry to disappoint you. We didn't "find a find a use for the PB", we bought Playbooks because they are the best for what we are doing.

And which areas specifically made you pick the PB over say an iPad?

[glassofpinot]

He must run it pretty poorly letting personal preference be a decisive factor over productivity.

My family runs a company overseas and they're using a mix of iOS and Android devices. Blackberries were dumped years ago.

Who said anything about personal preference? That would be "you".
Me, we picked the Playbook because it was the best choice for what we wanted to do. And also a great value.

Poorly? That's your word.

[erhan8]

There are plenty of reasons why to pick an iPad over a PB.

App count is far better, especially when it comes to more specialized apps that are built for education.

The iPad has more ways to keep adult sites off the screen for the kids. Android tablets and the PB doesn't.

It is far easier for the children to use the iPad because the majority of the kids already knows how it works, from their iPhones, iPods and own iPads. No one owns a BB phone that they would want to play with. And remember, BB's are tools not toys so that's an easy point.

There are of course numerous more reasons that you obviously know about.

And as far as the guy up top goes, cool, great that you found a use for the PB. If I ran a company I would have switched over to an iPhone/iPad or an Android solution ages ago but that's just me of course. As well as many companies.

But you don't run a company or make decisions that matter, so why air your opinion?

[mikeo007]

The problem with the PB for educational purposes in schools these days though is the almost complete and total lack of any specialized apps. Not to mention the content filtering is far easier to control on the iPad.

The same goes for almost any business sector of today, enterprise, medical, advisory and so on.

I don't much care for the iPad personally, prefer Android. But pretty much every app I use and need is also available on iOS. A switch for me would be easy.

Well said. As a basic tablet for movies or web browsing, it honestly doesn't matter what you use. A $100 Chinese tablet with be more than adequate. If you need any sort of specialized software, you're options become limited very quickly. In terms of App availability, the iPad has no equal.

[neller2000]

Who said anything about personal preference? That would be "you".
Me, we picked the Playbook because it was the best choice for what we wanted to do. And also a great value.

Poorly? That's your word.

I don't own an iPad. So that would not be "me". I would pick the iPad or an Android tablet simply because in any way, for the majority of companies, it is far more productive than picking a PB.

But in which ways though did the PB outperform the iPad? Which apps were present on the PB and not on the iPad?

[glassofpinot]

And which areas specifically made you pick the PB over say an iPad?

1. For the uses that I listed (field sales, field service calls, Salesforce.com entries to our programming, reading large attachments), the iPad did not bring anything that the Playbook didn't have.
2. Each Playbook tablet saves us $30-40 per month ($350-500 per year) in connection charges, since our people just bridge. That adds up fast, and is actually bigger than the tablet cost.
3. Size of the Playbook was fine for what we need.

Maybe in 1-2 years our choice will be different, based on whatever the world looks like then and whatever formats are available (maybe it will be retina-brain implants).
But for now, we are jumping ahead in our service capabilities and the value is there.

[bitek]

Wait until he reaches 12 and discovers his dad is the only one stuck behind the curve and everyone else is using iPads and Android devices.

Your son is also not a good example of the majority of kids in schools today.

7 years from now there might be no Apple or android at all. Technology does not sleep and there are many who would want to be where Apple is today.

[rotorwrench]

Who said anything about personal preference? That would be "you".
Me, we picked the Playbook because it was the best choice for what we wanted to do. And also a great value.

Poorly? That's your word.

glassofpinot, you're wasting your breath. Some people will never accept the fact that others disagree with them and have different experiences . All that matters is that the PB serves your needs and works for you.

Have you guys adopted Fusion or Balance yet? Also an Enterprise marvel that has really made a lot of users of BES phones and tablets very happy.

[mikeo007]

1. For the uses that I listed (field sales, field service calls, Salesforce.com entries to our programming, reading large attachments), the iPad did not bring anything that the Playbook didn't have.
2. Each Playbook tablet saves us $30-40 per month ($350-500 per year) in connection charges, since our people just bridge. That adds up fast, and is actually bigger than the tablet cost.
3. Size of the Playbook was fine for what we need.

Maybe in 1-2 years our choice will be different, based on whatever the world looks like then and whatever formats are available (maybe it will be retina-brain implants).
But for now, we are jumping ahead in our service capabilities and the value is there.

Someone could argue that you HAD to buy Playbooks in order to use bridge. Maybe using Blackberry smartphones was the mistake that lead to requiring Playbooks.

Other phones offer WiFi hotspot capabilities, without requiring you to use a specific type of tablet.

There may have been a good reason for you to use Blackberry handsets, but it really weakens your bridge argument if the Playbook was a bandaid for a bigger problem.

[neller2000]

7 years from now there might be no Apple or android at all. Technology does not sleep and there are many who would want to be where Apple is today.

You are however implying that Google and Apple would be sleeping over those years, which they won't be. RIM is still sleeping. By the time BB10 comes around it will at the very absolute best be at par with iOS and Android.

But how many years ago have anyone seen RIM be on par with the competition?