[Mux157]

More of a rant / puzzled deer in headlights look...

What's with all the PB hate? With news of discounts coming out everyone and their dog (gizmodo, engadget, etc) seem to be jumping on the bandwagon saying it's the beginning of the end, fire sale and all..

Now, I've used the iPad, iPad2 and recently, the kindle fire and I can honestly say that I feel the PB is actually the best one... for me! What bugs me about all the hating is that most of it seems to be completely troll-based. Nobody seems to realize that QNX has been around for decades and is, unlike other operating systems, a fast, proven uKernel that's been used in the embedded market. I remember they used to distribute an entire desktop system on a single 3.5" floppy :-)

Even if RIM decides to pull the plug on the PB, I still feel I got good value for money. I checked out the Kindle Fire a few days back and I can't say I'm impressed. The use of Android significantly deteriorates performance while it's all too easy to hit the power button when you're in landscape mode. Also, your hands cover the speakers..

Anyway, in the end, it's all about personal preference. If you can't respect that, meh..

-Mux

[barkomatic]

The speculation that the Playbook is dead comes from the experience with the HP Touchpad. That was also sold at a fire sale and HP discontinued the whole platform as we know. People always rush to assume the same will happen with the Playbook.

However, RIM has repeatedly said they are not abandoning the platform--but we'll see. That doesn't mean they won't discontinue the current hardware--of course they will at some point soon.

In any case, just enjoy your PB and let RIM worry about the rumors and tech sites--they have a whole PR and marketing department to handle that for you.

[Silverfern]

i love PB, i never tried that other ones, but i like this one, hope they dont pull the plugs on it

[Mux157]

Even *if* RIM pulls the plug on it or decides to leap-frog (doubtful) to a new PB, it's a solid unit with lots of potential. With the NDK out there anyone can write / port apps. Speaking of which (clears throat), the whole app-addiction/hype is nuts.

Realistically, for those of us (myself included) who own an iPhone / iPad: How many apps do you use on a daily basis? For me, only a handful. Just because there are 4 billion apps out there doesn't mean you get to use them all. Pundits here would be quick to point out that the PB doesn't have most of the 'important' ones. That'll come. At the current price, the unit's a bargain...

-Mux

[blackjack93117]

What bugs me about all the hating is that most of it seems to be completely troll-based.

There's your answer -

Apple fears the playbook. Apple has money. Negative publicity hosted by crackberry is cheap. That does not mean that everyone who hates playbook or objectively discuss its shortcomings is a troll - there are valid criticisms. Know the difference.

[sqa4life]

Even *if* RIM pulls the plug on it or decides to leap-frog (doubtful) to a new PB, it's a solid unit with lots of potential. With the NDK out there anyone can write / port apps. Speaking of which (clears throat), the whole app-addiction/hype is nuts.

Realistically, for those of us (myself included) who own an iPhone / iPad: How many apps do you use on a daily basis? For me, only a handful. Just because there are 4 billion apps out there doesn't mean you get to use them all. Pundits here would be quick to point out that the PB doesn't have most of the 'important' ones. That'll come. At the current price, the unit's a bargain...

-Mux

Exactly.
You either drive own/drive 5 hyundai's or one solid Lexus IS Sport :-)

[barkomatic]

Even *if* RIM pulls the plug on it or decides to leap-frog (doubtful) to a new PB, it's a solid unit with lots of potential. With the NDK out there anyone can write / port apps. Speaking of which (clears throat), the whole app-addiction/hype is nuts.

Realistically, for those of us (myself included) who own an iPhone / iPad: How many apps do you use on a daily basis? For me, only a handful. Just because there are 4 billion apps out there doesn't mean you get to use them all. Pundits here would be quick to point out that the PB doesn't have most of the 'important' ones. That'll come. At the current price, the unit's a bargain...

-Mux

I think RIM saw how quickly the Touchpad sold once it was discounted, and decided that they needed to take a bath on the current PB in order to get enough units in people's hands to give developers a reason to make native apps for it. I think that it's a good bet, but now they've established the PB as a discount tablet in the minds of the consumer so we'll see if they maintain the same level of quality in the next refresh.

You are right in that many of the apps on other platforms are trivial, but there are about 50 or so core apps that are used frequently such as netflix, Kindle etc. Not all of the Android versions of those apps will run on the PB.

[OMGitworks]

There's your answer -

Apple fears the playbook. Apple has money. Negative publicity hosted by crackberry is cheap. That does not mean that everyone who hates playbook or objectively discuss its shortcomings is a troll - there are valid criticisms. Know the difference.

You really think Apple is worried about the PB?? That is a bit delusional. Apple, for better or worse, created and completely dominates the space. PB is a speck of dust #'s wise and I would seriously doubt Apple even considers the PB a serious competitor never mind fearing it. Are you suggesting that Apple pays people to come on to Crackberry to post negative things about the PB? I have no doubt they are smart and woo the press and media into loving their products, but honestly the PB is probably not even on their radar.

[Mux157]

There's your answer -

Apple fears the playbook. Apple has money. Negative publicity hosted by crackberry is cheap. That does not mean that everyone who hates playbook or objectively discuss its shortcomings is a troll - there are valid criticisms. Know the difference.

Sure there are valid criticisms! Most of these seem to be software based though, which is an easy fix but most people don't seem to realize that. I'd argue that the PB hardware is superior to the Kindle's Fire, which makes it, from a hardware point of view, a better deal right now than a Kindle.

-Mux

[_StephenBB81]

You really think Apple is worried about the PB?? That is a bit delusional. Apple, for better or worse, created and completely dominates the space. PB is a speck of dust #'s wise and I would seriously doubt Apple even considers the PB a serious competitor never mind fearing it. Are you suggesting that Apple pays people to come on to Crackberry to post negative things about the PB? I have no doubt they are smart and woo the press and media into loving their products, but honestly the PB is probably not even on their radar.

Apple MOST CERTAINLY pays attention to the PlayBook,
The PlayBook has the highest potential to combat Apple at getting into the Enterprise space, a space they are currently in testing, but few have widely adopted in the same manner they have with BlackBerry smartphones, or Laptop computers.

Apple needs to ensure that they can pass approvals before the PlayBook catches them in Enterprise functionality, since the PlayBook has better controls for BlackBerry centric businesses, and those are Businesses Apple wants iPads in, first the iPad, then the iPhone, then the MacBook.
IF!! Windows can get onto a some quality hardware with quality advertising and backing then Apple would have to fear them too.

Android is their consumer foe,
RIM/MS are their Enterprise foe, and Apple IS looking at both markets. they had high 90% market share in January 2011, they'll end December 2011 with Mid 60% market share...

All that said, I'm not saying I agree Apple is paying people to come to CrackBerry.
I have as hard of time with the negative people as the overly positive people on this forum who do as much damage as the negative people do

[jdsbmw]

RIMM pulling the plug on the PB ? NEVER ! All this GREAT tablet needs is a software update that includes CALENDAR, CONTACTS, EMAIL and NOTES. It is SHOCKING that the MORONS at RIMM have done NOTHING to remedy this issue, despite the fact that the Playbook has been released for over 6 months. I own an iPad 2 and purchased the 16 GB Playbook last week at the fire sale price of $199. Gues what ? I LOVE THE PLAYBOOK ! RIMM would be out of their minds if they decided to abandon the Playbook. They have a GREAT product that unfortunately was released WITHOUT some core features (NATIVE EMAIL, NATIVE CONTACTS, NATIVE CALENDAR, NATIVE NOTES).

[Kekus]

You really think Apple is worried about the PB?? That is a bit delusional. Apple, for better or worse, created and completely dominates the space. PB is a speck of dust #'s wise and I would seriously doubt Apple even considers the PB a serious competitor never mind fearing it. Are you suggesting that Apple pays people to come on to Crackberry to post negative things about the PB? I have no doubt they are smart and woo the press and media into loving their products, but honestly the PB is probably not even on their radar.

Personally, I'm a big fan of RIM, but I also respect Apple as a competitor and would highly doubt they'd stoop to such levels. I personally think Steve Jobs had a hidden respect for RIM. Why such a crazy comment? Two reasons. First, RIM established the smart phone market that helped SJ make a furtune for Apple. Second, his shot at RIM about it being all about the software was spot on. Anyone can make the hardware as all the Android phones are showing, but the software is the differentiator. I think RIM was listening because they now own QNX. Also, with RIM, Apple and Microsoft getting together to outbid Goggle for the Nortel patents, it's a good bet that as fiercely as these companies compete with each other, they also respect each other or would not have done business together (Google and Apple - forget it).

PB goes after a different market than the iPad. I prefer the PB, but I respect that in this case Apple built this market. The PB, given it's size and capabilities can do things the iPad can't, and vice versa. Both good products, but one's likely better for each individuals personal use.

[shootsscores]

RIMM pulling the plug on the PB ? NEVER ! All this GREAT tablet needs is a software update that includes CALENDAR, CONTACTS, EMAIL and NOTES. It is SHOCKING that the MORONS at RIMM have done NOTHING to remedy this issue, despite the fact that the Playbook has been released for over 6 months. I own an iPad 2 and purchased the 16 GB Playbook last week at the fire sale price of $199. Gues what ? I LOVE THE PLAYBOOK ! RIMM would be out of their minds if they decided to abandon the Playbook. They have a GREAT product that unfortunately was released WITHOUT some core features (NATIVE EMAIL, NATIVE CONTACTS, NATIVE CALENDAR, NATIVE NOTES).

Get yourself an OS6 or OS7 phone and you'll see how the the combo is unmatched in the market. An added benefit is that you will also be getting a telephone that actually works.

One of my favorite instances of BB/PB clear functional superiority of the colossal combo occured when in a building with poor cell reception my Bold 9650 was able to pull in a usable signal and stream flash content for a friend whose 3g ifad and ipoortelephone were rendered incommunicado.

[OMGitworks]

Apple MOST CERTAINLY pays attention to the PlayBook,
The PlayBook has the highest potential to combat Apple at getting into the Enterprise space, a space they are currently in testing, but few have widely adopted in the same manner they have with BlackBerry smartphones, or Laptop computers.

Apple needs to ensure that they can pass approvals before the PlayBook catches them in Enterprise functionality, since the PlayBook has better controls for BlackBerry centric businesses, and those are Businesses Apple wants iPads in, first the iPad, then the iPhone, then the MacBook.
IF!! Windows can get onto a some quality hardware with quality advertising and backing then Apple would have to fear them too.

Android is their consumer foe,
RIM/MS are their Enterprise foe, and Apple IS looking at both markets. they had high 90% market share in January 2011, they'll end December 2011 with Mid 60% market share...

All that said, I'm not saying I agree Apple is paying people to come to CrackBerry.
I have as hard of time with the negative people as the overly positive people on this forum who do as much damage as the negative people do

I completely agree. Apple would be foolish not to monitor the PB. They have not been so successful by being foolish and full of hubris. However, BJ posted that "Apple fears the Playbook." Honestly I find that laughable. That Apple pays people to invade and post on Crackberry seems highly unlikely.

Windows, if they could hit the right price point and get a good office suite and other MS products would be a potent foe for any company in the "professional" space. Let's see if they can actually produce software that is efficient and effective without being bloated and subject to relatively frequent attack. Now I could see Apple trying to breach a Windows tablet OS

[anindoc]

Exactly.
You either drive own/drive 5 hyundai's or one solid Lexus IS Sport :-)

Bad comparison Lexus is made by Toyota.... and they have some serious problems, Hyundai is a lot better...... I for one drive a Ford- its kickass....... can't beat the old american muscle car.....

[_StephenBB81]

I completely agree. Apple would be foolish not to monitor the PB. They have not been so successful by being foolish and full of hubris. However, BJ posted that "Apple fears the Playbook." Honestly I find that laughable. That Apple pays people to invade and post on Crackberry seems highly unlikely.

Windows, if they could hit the right price point and get a good office suite and other MS products would be a potent foe for any company in the "professional" space. Let's see if they can actually produce software that is efficient and effective without being bloated and subject to relatively frequent attack. Now I could see Apple trying to breach a Windows tablet OS

I wouldn't put it past apple to pay for review sites to put positive spins on the iPad vs PlayBook, or to put negative spins on anything RIM does in comparison to Apple, people lobby and pay for reviews and "studies" all the time, RIM in 2009 was Apples biggest competitor, only in 2011 did Apple have to shift it's gaze to samsung, RIM still was Apples biggest competition as it prevented them from getting into new markets,

[OMGitworks]

I wouldn't put it past apple to pay for review sites to put positive spins on the iPad vs PlayBook, or to put negative spins on anything RIM does in comparison to Apple, people lobby and pay for reviews and "studies" all the time, RIM in 2009 was Apples biggest competitor, only in 2011 did Apple have to shift it's gaze to samsung, RIM still was Apples biggest competition as it prevented them from getting into new markets,

Again, I agree and noted that in my first post that Apple knows how to manipulate the media. They are very good at it. That is how "smart" corporations act all the time. Almost "free" publicity. First thing I do when I see a survey or read a study is to see who funded it. Drug co's do this all the time. It is considered a good investment in many industries. There are clearly sites which Apple dominates and can do no wrong, I ignore most of what I see on those. I don't think Apple will pay for bad PB reviews, but does do all it can to get positive i-whatever reviews. Maybe they cross that line but that seems like it would be seriously bad PR if that angle was ever exposed. Just my 2 cents.....

[therealjfella]

Well they can hate all they want I just ordered on I should receive it hopefully by this week and I can't wait.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[tearsana]

Why all the Apple hate? Regardless of what you may think, there is a reason Apple products sell well. The experience is simple and polished, and there are lots of apps.
Even my Dad likes to use his iPad 2 and he's technologically illiterate. I gave my Playbook to my Mom to try but the lack of Chinese/Japanese option for an OS killed it for her. So I will be buying her a Galaxy Tab 7 Plus. As for me, I'll stick with using my Kindle Fire for now, until the Playbook becomes more usable. RIM may be commited to the platform, but sure doesn't look like they're committed to the Playbook hardware. My guess is that they're trying to do 1 of 3 things:
1) discount Playbook to build up user base to attract developers.
2) clearing inventory to push out Playbook 2.0
3) firesale to exiting the tablet business altogether and focus on their enterprise/government customers.

RIM needs a new business strategy bad. Their stocks have tanked from $69 to $14 this year. Shareholders and employees are angry and calling for new management. (Look up RIM on Reuters/Bloomberg/WSJ and you'll see what I'm talking about if you don't follow business.) I think the new platform will be good for them, but not in its current form.

[s219]

I'll say it again -- no amount of competitive sabotage from any company would come close to the damage RIM has done to itself. Did RIM's competitors force it to not include native mail/cal/etc? Did competitors make RIM delay the native SDK for 7+ months? Is the lack of developers/apps the fault of the competition? I can trace all of those things back to poor execution on RIM's part when it comes to software technologies and developer support. That kind of *fundamental* stuff is far more damaging to a software-based product than anything else.