Review roundup: BlackBerry PlayBook a promising start, but not quite finished - Page 2

I do not understand that reviewers can call this product "impressive" when it behaves much like a Windows computer, ie:

- it crashes regularly

- the software is buggy

- the battery life is half that of the iPad DESPITE having less than half the screen to power

And have they no shame stealing ideas: "apps can be rearranged and removed by holding down one finger on an app icon until all icons begin to pulse".

Hope Apple sues RIM to hell and gone.

Hmm well I am impressed they actually are shipping something. Better than nothing, I guess.

It's just because everybody is desperately trying to write about and actually champion other products besides Apple. They need to provide something "fresh" in the tech world. In this case the PlayBook is fresh... Like raw meat.

I wonder what RIMs financial future will be if this is a failure or at least less of a success than they hope for. The development costs and marketing of this at a time when their main stay phone market has collapsed plus gong up against iPad 2 must have investors nervous to say the least.

More like raw offal.

Agreed. Can you imagine the reviews on Apple had the iPad 2 any one of these issues? The desire to try to find fault with Apple products and inflate the most tiny thing out of all proportions - which inevitably knocks $10 of AAPL, never ends. Then, as you say, they seem to bend over backwards not to be too harsh on this iPad wannabe.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mattel should enter the tablet market for youngsters with about this level of features. I'm sure a new Toy category wold be fine for the PlayBook too. Heck the name fits well for that too.

... as someone above also mentioned and I've stated in the past here: R.I.P. RIM end of 2011, or latest Q1 2012.

After reading both the Engadget and Anandtech reviews, regardless of whether they, as well as the main-stream reviewers really really want the Playbook to succeed... I see it as a serious "tweener" device... more-so than the iPod Touch or iPad ever was. Which leaves RIM in the exact situation and category of "tweener"... as in: 'tween a rock and a hard place! Nothing more needs to be said as far as I'm concerned, other than: DOA!

I also took a look at the Engadget video here previewing what's up-and-coming with WinMo7... and I must say, it looks pretty darn slick! A real contender to iOS.

As we have seen in the past, it always takes a while for MS to really step up and make up their mind, get through the internal bureaucracy, etc... but when they do, they "can"... and have in the past... made some stellar products and software.

What they're showing off with WinMo7 could be one of those "stellar products", and when it finally comes to light, I see MS once again pulling into the market-share lead just as Gartner reported earlier in the week, which I agreed with. It will be Apple and MS battling for the "Super-Smartphones", and Android at the bottom, with and for, the "free-for-alls".

I'm actually pulling for MS this time around, because they are seriously backing and pushing HTML5 standards (even better than Apple). I'm so hoping for Flash to die soon for various reasons, and I want Adobe and most of all Google, to feel the serious pain of pushing that crap on us as a viable future technology, and actually having the chutzpah to back-talk at Apple/SJ after calling them out for what they are: trash programmers.

No. I have not, nor will I change my general attitude towards MS: it's a pain to deal with their products, and they're simply the best copy-machine operators in the world.

However, they still must be dealt with whether I like it or not as an Apple fan... and going forward, I would much rather deal with their quarks, than that so-called "open platform", or that Canadian "Snoozebox" maker.

Mark my words: when MS gets this working in tablet form, with compatible Office and Live services... it's game over for Android & RIM (for hooking themselves to the Flash-train).... and I dare say WebOS too... as in "too" late = "too" bad.

Apple will be just fine... and most of all... still the most profitable computer and personal gadget maker in the world. No one can stop that train

They should have waited and got it right. This thing is DOA from the reviews I've read.

Did anyone else see the article on Bloomberg West last night about the RIM CEO "meltdown" during a TV interview? Their words not mine. This guy is toast.

I agree with, MS has the services to couple with software. There is biggest problem is scattering the SW to many H/W vendors and having them fight with compromised H/W. If they want to fight Apple they need to fix a vendor otherwise Apple is just so much spread over that no one can deal without being fully integrated.

They should take a cue from Xbox division.

And, as for RIM they don't what they are doing. They are imagining user experience by running flash content inside a webkit based web browser. The OS MS showed is million years ahead of RIM showed/showing. I have to agree with the MS funeral act that it was definitely RIM who will RIP.

You've obviously never gone on vacation with kids.

Inter-continential flights and other area(s) that dont allow for easy access to power outlets. Playing several movies or many TV shows back to back to pass the time. The situations are endless.

I dont think people a device they have to worry about. I wish the iPad was longer, but 10+ hours of actual usage regardless of what you are doing is certainly adequate.

And how will a corp user get access to mail and calendar on a plane with WiFi with this thing? If theire BB has WiFi they can buy it on that device and then Bridge it. If their BB doesnt have WiFi can they buy it on their PlayBook and then still Bridge their BB to it for a pointless circuitous yet secure method of accessing BES?

The reviews say that the numerous missing pieces are supposed to be ready by summer. Why doesnt RIM release the PlayBook in the summer instead? You can ruin a brand with the release of an unfinished product.

Microsoft has conditioned people to expect less.

I predicted that the PB wouldn't ship in any meaningful quantity before June.

I may still be right -- but am surprised that they got this far by mid-late April.

Anyone know what those 3,000 PB apps are -- and where they came from?

Yeah, way to shoot yourself in the foot. I can just see the scene at RIM headquarters ...

"Let's introduce a tablet, but tie it to our rapidly shrinking smartphone share. That way, no one who isn't already a customer of ours can even use one." Brilliant!

They say they are going to add it later, but considering how long it's taken them to cobble together what they already have, it will be a long while *after* it's eventually released before this thing even enters the mainstream market.

All the consumers that manage to find one in a store between the day it finally goes on sale, and the day they finally add email to it, will be told by the customer service person, "That one only works if you've already got a Blackberry." Guaranteed. So we are talking late 2011 or early 2012 and "Playbook 2" (if they ever get that far) before they have any market penetration beyond their own corporate links.

Another thing to watch out for is that the Playbook basically copies the WebOS UI wholesale so all the good things about it are going to look pretty stupid in the summer and fall when HP comes out with newer, slicker hardware running essentially a better looking version (because it's the original) of the RIM OS.

WebOS is still the dark horse in this race and the one to beat IMO.
RIM is still circling the drain AFAICS.

these reviews so totally remind of the initial reviews of the Storm and Torch ... all of which noted some major issues but nonetheless declared them a rival for the iPhone - remember? in fact, they were both fatally flawed, and they flopped.

no one outside the BB cult is going to buy one of these.

How else are you going to move icons? That's basically the same way it works on any computer except the finger is substituted with a mouse cursor. Or is it the fact that the icons pulse that is the issue?

I think it will have the opposite affect which is why I think Apple made so many comments about the competition, albeit negative comments, during their iPad 2 presentation. They want the public to know about these other tablets because they make the iPad look much better in comparison.

I think what were seeing is the start of another iPod, not another iPhone. Meaning were seeing Apple not only take the majority of profits but also take a control percentage of the unit marketshare. That said, i do expect to see a drop in the overall marketshare from 2010 simply because this rebranded market is so new and there is little precedence to keep many consumers from considering non-iPad tablets, but by the 3rd or 4th year it should be on the rise yet again if the iPod corollary happens again.

That is their ecosystem.

I think they know the only people who are likely to buy a PlayBook are the die hard BB phone users. All of the casual former BB users have already switched to iPhone and are now under the influence of the RDF.

Agreed, if I want smaller & more portable best option is an iPod Touch or iPhone, this 7inch size seems sort of in limbo to me.

I hope they checked their patents cause from the sound of it they may have trampled on a lot of interface patents, course stealing patents wouldn't be anything new for BBerry.

Agreed. And yet I think the added portability of this form factor is a real consideration for some people. Apple is struggling merely to make enough iPads to meet demand right now, but once they are past that, they are going to want to produce something that DOES fit in a jacket pocket. The market, I believe, will demonstrate that it wants it, and consumers who want that form factor should not be forced to make a non-Apple choice on size alone.

I know what Steve said about Apple not making iPad devices this size. But he also once said Apple had no interest in making tablets. (Anyway, the device need not be a 'small iPad'. It can be a 'big iPod Touch'.) Circumstances change, you adjust.

It's not poor. But not optimal. I and 2500 students and teachers at my school use them all day, with no time and place to plug them in. Many are running from 7 am to 4 pm. Apps, browsers, videos, text books, probably games. It's an over generalization to say it's not normal use. For many working people where an ultra portable device without the need for constant charging is useful, this could be q problem.

How many people don't own a laptop/desktop and a smart phone? I would say very very few these days. Why would someone then in this case opt for a playbook instead of an ipad to supplement his usage? He's (or she's) got portability covered with a smartphone and he needs a tablet that is fast, robust, with a mature app market and a large screen and battery life? Why would anyone opt for a 7" other than price? If they only aim at reading books, there's also another option in the kindle. The argument is ridiculous in as much as you don't get it, and no the reviews don't say otherwise, unless of course you really do believe someone had been using the playbook for a couple of days and with it's 6 hour bat. life they still have "plenty of juice".



lol, clever & funny post.

Seeing that makes me wonder if Apple have anything up their sleeves to do with search. It really is one of the few obvious cracks in their armour that we don't hear about.

Mapping is another, but I remember they purchased a company to help them with that and I expect we'll see some pretty huge mapping improvements in iOS 5.

Their entire cloud services and syncing strategy is another... but everyone is waiting with baited breath for them to drop a bomb shell onto the market as far as that goes.

But nothing to do with search...

For starters:




iPad 2, iPad & MacBook Air Compatible Clothing




Ipad® Pocket Coat! $31.00




Secret iPad Jacket? Yep, Secret iPad Jacket

I have an innate desire to steal his lunch money.

1) I dont recall Jobs stating they had no interest in building a tablet. I seem to recall his comment on the subject was generalized to the tablet market has failed.

2) Jobs was pretty direct about a 7 tablet not working out well unless you whittled your fingers to points, but note that the iPhone and Touch have ⅛ the display area. That leads me to believe that if we see a 5 to 7 iOS-based iDevice it will be in the iPod category, not the iPad.

Mossberg's review said that you couldn't web bookmarks to the home screen. Is that separate from bookmarks within the internet browser?

In any case, this feels DOA.

1) No appeal to non-Blackberry users
2) Memory gets gobbled up with tethering/Bridge (what is the point of being able to multi-task, if I can't have that many apps open?)
3) lack of apps, and the ability to run non-Honeycomb apps in the future doesn't excite me (the real question though is how many app developers will actually go through the trouble of submitting the apps to RIMM)
4)Lack of basic functions at launch (3G, email, calendar, contacts, video chat, sharing photos, etc.)

One reviewer said buyers may want to compare the Playbook to other smaller tablets (Tab, Streak, etc), but are any of those actually selling? Don't all buyers eventually compare all tablets to the iPad?

1) Id think that bookmarks in the browser are different from bookmarks on the Homescreen, just as they are in iOS. I can see why Mossberg noted it but I dont think that is a deal breaker.

2) The limited scope of its market in current form, poorly executed multi-tasking, and lack of apps does make it feel DOA. I can see quite a few being returned. If you were in the market for an Archos tablet and had a BB maybe the PlayBook will work for you.

3) I wonder if they will eventually get Honeycomb apps. Is Honeycomb offering the display size and resolution of the PlayBook or is it being designed for larger tablets?

I would agree agree with everything you said (WP 7 does looks a lot slicker than any of the also-rans) except.... Microsoft has a long, unbroken history of having their software write checks that no existing hardware can cash, and just expecting the manufacturers to deal with it ("Engines are for servants and menials.")

Those home screen tiles, for example, look like Cover Flow times 12, or whatever it is. I wonder if Microsoft has learned their lesson from the "Vista Ready" fiasco.

Who wanted Flash again? This article is a must read.

•

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-te...dont-touch-838 I hope AI writes an article on this as it will be a very fun forum thread.

That's a good point, but I also thing the average tech writer doesn't really get the user experience thing. Apple is explicitly dedicated to the entire UX, and they're very careful about tradeoffs. Hence, best in class battery life, because Apple feels that long battery life is a priority and they're willing to compromise in some other areas to achieve it.

Whereas tech reviewers tend to focus on standalone features, even when they come at a cost of usability. They never consider the tradeoffs and costs behind the design decisions, they just assume that the funky stuff will presently be resolved and the shiny is worth it. However, the shiny always comes at a cost, and unless you make the entire UX your number one priority, you're going to get devices that do a few things really well but a bunch of other stuff poorly. That's not something that gets fixed in subsequent iterations, that's a design decision.

Agreed with some of above comments - the PlayBook will never be the same as the iPad2! There is just something about the iPad2 that will make it innately more hip and innovative than any of its "competitors."

Well done, great post!

what makes them crap, other than not providing hte results you want?

Sounds more like when i updated my ipod touch 2gen to iOS4 than any experinece i have had on windows...

IT HAS NOOOOOOOO EMAIL APP!

THAT is not better than nothing.

I'm shocked.

[
Those people like their BBs why would they want to intentionally us the phone battery. No more adapted general use test. Someone tether, run the proper email, web, app test and tell us how long the phone stays alive. 3-4 hours would be my guess.


Rims board now needs to fire their 53 CEOs and 411 COOs.

It's appropriate to say that hardware upgrading in all three iPs is going uphill but when it comes to development of iOS then it's not going downhill but unsettlingly straight. Especially in light of Android eating away significant portion of smartphone OS market according to IDC & Gartner. But what I am worried about is RIM Playbook OS.

Apple seriously need to rethink about multitasking now. A year ago they had said "We want to do it right" in terms of consuming minimum amount of battery but variety of burn tests performed on these PPDs show that though the apps are minimized during multitasking, it still drinks up more than little juice from battery. Even I have also observed & measured these on my iPod touch 4G. Plus it's easier & attractive to multi task on RIM OS.

In addition RIM tab has integrated dual core processor with it's first model so most of the apps are designed to take an advantage of dual core. And their Appworld is bustling with 3000 apps. I know that it's significantly less then App store but their OS ecosystem looks promising & rich with support of WebKit, SMP, Posix OS, Open GL, adobe flash and adobe mobile AIR. Remarkably their in-app subscriptions based news & magazine apps are going to take an advantage of Flash support.

With BBM & introducing BlackBerry Bridge it makes life easy for IT and security admins. The Bluetooth tethering between the PlayBook and a BlackBerry smartphone lets users access and view email and other data from the smartphone in a larger format for suited for productivity. Though they need to fix up the sync issue. RIM quickly needs to fix the issues with lack of basic funtions like 3G, Email, Video chat etc at launch in wi-fi tablet.

About those OS bugs & crashes, they will fix it in upcoming updates & battery life can be improved in future models. But with Blackberry enterprise, secure corporate data access & window and ability to give out Power point presentations via HDMI plus 4G LTE, HSPA+ support makes Playbook a solid contender in terms of business incorporation & other vertical markets.

When we evaluate the hardware specifications than with 1 GB RAM, 1080p HD video rec., 3/5 f/r cameras, superior codecs for media playback & Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports are all the positive features which are needed in iPad 3 which I doubt not all will appear. And at least not in 2011 as those early iPad 3 rumors are almost diminished.

Apple needs to be further advanced & to maintain their groundbreaking state-of-the-art iPad status on both Software & Hardware pioneering terms.

Given that you posted this in another thread and it reads like a press release, you will forgive me for assuming RIM is outsourcing their shilling.