[torndownunit]

Pardon me for going off-topic but THIS (above) is what I don't understand about the Playbook and RIM with their "enterprise focus" and trying to sell the Playbook as a "business-class device" for "real work." I just don't get it.

Aside from the nice hardware and standard Blackberry security features, there is very little about the Playbook that makes it a "business-class device." What's the point of fantastic hardware and security on a device with lackluster software and applications that can't manage the most basic business tasks?

If I purchased Playbooks today for my employees and business, they would not be able to:

• Read more than one PDF document at a time.
• Read more than one Word document at a time.
• Annotate a PDF document.
• Bookmark a PDF document.
• Search a PDF document.
• Open a password-protected PDF.
• Present a Powerpoint presentation in real-time using transitions and effects.
• Create new Powerpoint slides.
• Edit existing Powerpoint slides.
• Videochat with customers or clients who don't also own Playbooks.
• Sync with Exchange server 2003.
• Sync Notes and To-Dos with ANY version of Exchange.
• Use a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse while still using the internet.
• Print a document from your playbook.
• Edit your internet bookmarks.
• Multitask in the browser. (ie: Listen to internet radio in one tab while browsing in another.)
• Need to "find" something on a webpage - no "find on page" feature. (Ctrl-F)
• Bypass lack of apps by using the browser, because the browser is blocked by Netflix, Hulu, Skype, and many others.
• Add words to your auto-correct dictionary.
• Make basic edits to a spreadsheet, like inserting a new row or copy/paste from one cell to another.
• Use a spreadsheet formula more complex than SUM or AVG.
• Enter dates correctly in a spreadsheet.
• Spell check a Word document.
• Add bullets to a Word document.
• Insert an image into a Word doc.
• Put a header or footer in a Word doc.
• Search a Word doc.
• Save a Word document as a PDF.
• Read or edit a TXT file (.txt)
• Video chat or Instant message with a customer or colleague using Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, iChat, ICQ, or BBM.

These are not obscure things, they are very basic "business" tasks. I like my Playbook, but it is certainly NOT a "Professional-Grade" tablet, a "tool not a toy", a "business-class device" or any of the other enterprise buzzwords that have been bandied about since it was released.

iPad and Android can do every single thing on that list, but overly-zealous RIM/BB fanboys love to call those competing tablets "toys", when the actual reality is that it's the exact opposite. The even sadder fact is that 99% of the items on that list cannot be corrected by third party apps on the Playbook, because there aren't any alternatives now over a year after launch. Since it's inception, the PLAYbook has been far more suited to consumer use than it has for business use. It's like RIM is trying to shoehorn the Playbook into the enterprise world without even BASIC business tools and apps.

I just don't understand how any corporate IT department could test the Playbook today in mid-2012 and decide it is a good fit for business use. What exactly are they doing with them if not editing and parsing documents and communicating with colleagues and customers, both of which the Playbook sucks supremely at?

Great post. No one on this forum will deny the Playbook is a beautiful piece of hardware. I don't see how they weren't off target on pretty much every level with the OS and apps though. This 'built for enterprise' seems to be the latest justification for this, but I find some of the exact same limitations as posted above. I have been able to find workaround to other problems I had with help from people on this forum, but a lot of them have involved sideloading Android apps. So was it meant to be an enterprise device.... after sideloading Android apps? Putting all of that aside, even if it was an 'enterprise' device, is that really a reason for it not to have some of the most basic apps available for tablets?

[ITGuy6356]

Basically, everybody here is wrong, so don't despair.

Really? Seriously?

Let me give you a direct analogy to an automobile company. SAAB.

I have owned SAABs since 1978. Even sold them for a few years back in the late '80s & early '90s. Still own a couple of old ones. In December of 2009, I had to decide to turn in my 2008 car off lease, or purchase it from GMAC Finance. At that time, it was not clear if SAAB would be around as a going concern for much longer. Sales had tanked, the company was bleeding money, people were getting laid off in large numbers, and delaerships were going out of business, because no new cars could be financed, or leased, due the the uncertainness of the future of the company.

Any of this sound vaguely familiar?

I decided not to buy the car, and turned it in. Best move I could have made. For the next year or so, SAAB tried all sorts of things to keep going. Sold off varioous parts if itself to generate cash. Reduced the prices of cars to so far below invoice that it was ridiculous. Still, sales continued to plummet.

Again...any of this sound familiar?

Finally, in either March or April of 2011, SAAB stopped building cars, the production lines were shut down, and the company filed for bankruptcy.

There are very few, if ANY SAAB OEM spare parts available for any cars. People are selling cars for whatever they can get for them, due to the lack of repair parts. And for those folks who have a car new enough to have had a factory warranty...well those folks are presently S.O.L. There are no warranties on those cars, and if parts are available to fix their cars...they have to pay out of pocket for them.

SAAB, or what is left of it, has just been "purchased" out of bankruptcy by a group that plans to build all electric vehicles. We'll see how that turns out, but as of right now, SAAB have yet to resume building cars, and the ones that are out there, new & used, are basically worthless.

RIM are going down the same path. Why would anyone risk money on something that may, or may not, be supported by the company who sold it, if that company has a better than even chance of disappearing?

That is why the resale value of some of RIM's devices is in the toilet.

[pacoman03]

Really? Seriously?

Really Seriously. Did you actually read my post? I was saying that the basic premise of the OP was flawed and that those who tried to explain what he was seeing were explaining what was, again, a flawed premise. The OP stated that the value of the PB has plummeted and as evidence of this he posted a link to a craigslist search for the term "playbook". The results indeed showed some very cheap PBs being offered. The flaw in his evidence was that most of these listings are scam listings, and the people who post them aren't selling anything at all. It's something I've noticed over the past few months on craigslist in my area, and a little research showed that it was happening in other areas, probably nationwide. And it's not just playbooks, I can show you posts for iphones or ipad2s "selling" for $75. This must mean that Apple is in deep trouble, right. No, because these posts are also shams- nothing really for sale. If you've been on craigslist regularly, as I am, and you look through the computer section, as I do, you would have noticed this recent phenomenon. I noticed it, wondered what was going on since things didn't smell right, responded to a few of them, and got the responses that I described in my original post. Like I said, the evidence presented to support the OP's original thesis is flawed, and trying to explain a seeming phenomenon that is backed up by flawed evidence in any way other than "your evidence is flawed" is an exercise in futility.

[Fuzzballz]

^^^^ I know, ITguy wrote a novel of a post that completely missed your point

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

Dude anybody bought a Pontiac Aztek got what they deserved, that was one ugly-assed vehicle.

Not to worry though you can still buy a Nissan Juke ( urk, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit)

Wait....there is a car called the Juke? Where I'm from that's a slang word for male reproductive fluids (wow, word police won't let me use the actual word, how is that offensive or a bad word?) lol (and yeah, I know what the word juke actually means, before anyone feels the need to post its actual definition)

[Fuzzballz]

what word are you trying to say

[ThaSwapMeetPimp]

what word are you trying to say

Seven<-----Replace the v with an m

[amazinglygraceless]

Basically, everybody here is wrong, so don't despair. The reason you see some very cheap prices on Craigslist is because most of the bargain basement listings are in fact sham posts.

While this may be true (I am never surprised by this stuff) my price comparisons were
based on what I have seen in strictly retail or legitimate online vendors.

I do not think you could argue in any way that a Playbook or iPad in any configuration
would / should command a price greater than a phone which can do quite a few things
that tablets simply cannot.

With that I don't think it is proper to say everyone is wrong based on your example.
Basically, we, you included, are all correct.

[pacoman03]

While this may be true (I am never surprised by this stuff) my price comparisons were
based on what I have seen in strictly retail or legitimate online vendors.

I do not think you could argue in any way that a Playbook or iPad in any configuration
would / should command a price greater than a phone which can do quite a few things
that tablets simply cannot.

With that I don't think it is proper to say everyone is wrong based on your example.
Basically, we, you included, are all correct.

Who said this, especially anything about phone vs tablet prices. I was simply pointing out that his original premise was based on faulty evidence, and everyone seemingly was trying to come up with explanations as to why he found what he did. They were working on the assumption that his evidence was legit. If you took a look at this so-called evidence, you would discover that his evidence was in fact bogus. Now it's not that easy too see this- I only knew it because I've been seeing these posts proliferate on craigslists for the past month or two, and I can spot most of them pretty easily now. The point is, if the evidence is bogus, any conclusions you reach from looking at this same "evidence" is suspect. Everybody is wrong in giving the craigslist postings any weight at all.

[mud314]

The reason the resale value went down so much is because BlackBerry lowered the retail prices of the PlayBooks themselves...hence lower resale values. In this case, it has nothing to do with the supply or demand

Just curious, what flavor of Kool-Aid is RIM feeding you?
Seriously? Not an issue of supply and demand?

[brucep1]

As with all things tech, sell it sooner than later. Tech value does not increase with time.

The PlayBook has aged pretty poorly though.

[dfb8085]

I'm trying to sell my 16gb playbook with screen protector and rubber type body case along with the blackberry zippered padded case/pouch and box for $100. I haven't done a security wipe yet. I have a question though since it is updated to OS2.0 if I do a security wipe will that leave it at OS2.0 or take it back to OS1.0?

[pacoman03]

I'm trying to sell my 16gb playbook with screen protector and rubber type body case along with the blackberry zippered padded case/pouch and box for $100. I haven't done a security wipe yet. I have a question though since it is updated to OS2.0 if I do a security wipe will that leave it at OS2.0 or take it back to OS1.0?

2.0..........