The 7" size is not terrible, but it sure won't give you the same user experience as the iPad's larger screen.
7" sucks. At first it's cool and hip and fits everywhere, then you get bored because you can't do much with it, it feels just like an oversized phone. And the plasticky feel. Eww. There's a reason there aren't massive (or any!) queues for the Tab and Xoom and whatever Engadget et al says is the latest and greatest.
We?ve heard about this iPad killer for so long and we still have little real world information on the device that I think those eggs have long since rotted.
Forget Apple's advantage of tight integration of Software and Hardware - Apple's innovation of having dynamic CPU speed on the A5 is going to be tough to replicate quickly for everyone else. And without dynamic CPU speed, there is no way even Apple can boast of the 10-hour battery life - despite the vastly improved CPU specs. Remember, this is an innovation that is not even present in Intel's desktop line, despite the massive R&D effort that goes into this.
I wonder if it is actually possible for Apple to patent this particular technology of the A5. If Apple succeeds in patenting this, then they will be even stronger than they are now! This is the sort of technology that will allow Apple to build quad-core or even faster chips, but still be very energy efficient. I can't wait to see what impact the A5 will have on the Apple TV!
My guess is that if there is some way to run the iPad at a constant 1GHz CPU speed, the battery life would be down to below 5 hours. I am calculating this based on the fact that the old iPad has exact same software, and almost the same capacity battery, and a much slower CPU.
Battery life is going to be the Achilles heel of the Playbook. And this issue is going to be compounded by the fact that the Playbook will tether to the Blackberry - so you could potentially be out of battery on not just your Playbook, but also on your Blackberry. Now, wouldn't that be fun!
Doesn't say anything about swappable batteries, either. I thought that's what made Blackberries so "professional"! So either it doesn't have one, in which case the silence about it will show what hypocrites the whiners always were; or it does, and you get to carry around a 7" tablet and a 7" battery. Good deal!
Once again the press release touts Flash as an advantage over the iPad. At this point they either need to get a real non-beta version of Flash that works well or they need to shutup about it.
Once again the press release touts Flash as an advantage over the iPad. At this point they either need to get a real non-beta version of Flash that works well or they need to shutup about it.
Never happen. They have the best of both worlds now. They get to tout a "feature" that the iPad doesn't have, but nobody has to actually use it, get mad, and throw their Tab or Xoom or PlayBook out the window. Win-win!
3. Distinguish the DroidBerry as the Droid built for business. Make it more secure than all those other droid phones and provide blackberry e-mail (an important distinguisher for a lot of business clients). This is really the market that is being most underserved right now, particularly as MS continues to flounder.
There are probably at least 100,000 Apple hating BB corporate IT DHs that will buy it whether they need a tablet or not. But that won't even come close to breaking even for RIM.
It's not exactly the same thing. Many people who opt for the Wifi only iPad will be using them at home a lot or in a location that has Wifi. This blackberry tablet is small, it's 7", it's meant to be portable and people will most likely be walking around with both their blackberry phone and the blackberry tablet.
As I previously wrote, I think that the blackberry tablet might appeal to some business types who already have blackberry phones. They are already RIM customers. The average consumer will be buying the much larger and more mainstream iPad.
I have a ipad2 2 wifi only and i found a way to use it outside the house without 3g.
"Instapaper" this app has been a life saver and i love how it is fully integrated into all my other devices(imac, iphone, ipad) i save all the articles i want to read and read them later offline on the ipad 2.
iPad has 28% more pixels; 28% more detail when viewing web pages in portrait mode.
Playbook volume: 15.5 cu. in.
iPad volume: 23.6 cu. in. (actually considerably less because of the taper)
Dual mics will be awesome for stereo transmission of a video call, when you have two people in the camera frame (as long as both ends are using video conferencing software that transmits and receives stereo). Because with stereo, and decent headphones, you could hear which person is talking without having to look at the screen OR remember what their voices sound like!*
* Only in landscape, I suppose?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland
No mention of battery life?
I think battery will be fine unless they try to pretend it can run Flash
I have a ipad2 2 wifi only and i found a way to use it outside the house without 3g.
"Instapaper" this app has been a life saver and i love how it is fully integrated into all my other devices(imac, iphone, ipad) i save all the articles i want to read and read them later offline on the ipad 2.
PRICELESS
Instapaper is a great hit. My daughter uses it on her iPod Touch all the time.
They must already be losing money on each of these things. If they weren't, they'd undercut the price of the iPad.
Now, instead of touting the fact that it's cheaper than the iPad, "the same price as" won't have as much of an impact as they'd hope for.
There are so many factors working against PlayBook making any money at all for RIM, but I'll only bring up three. And I'm not even going to use the words "infrastructure" or "mindshare."
First, Apple gets the best component prices due to their high purchase volume. This is because Apple uses many similar or identical components across the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV lines. Thus Apple has the best margins and therefore the best profits.
Some people say that the iPod touch is just an iPhone without the phone. I say it's a profitable way for Apple to further lower their component costs. iPod touch sales roughly equal that of iPhone, Apple benefits from economy of scale. You do the math.
Second, as Steve Jobs said, 7" tablets are tweeners. Too big to fit in a pocket, too small to allow comfortable typing, too big to use as a phone, too small to impress anyone when put next to an iPad 2. It doesn't matter what hot-rod (and I mean literally hot) CPU RIM solders onto the motherboard. 7" is a bad size.
Third, RIM will no doubt fall into the "market share above all else" trap. They will look for any way to inflate the number of units shipped, especially to high-profile clients. And that means giving PlayBooks away to said high-profile clients in large numbers.
RIM would be happy to pay for employee training and other costs incurred by their clients during the trial period. Many computer companies do this, just for bragging rights. All of which cut into any profits RIM would have made.
And don't forget that Dell is also trying to sucker corporate IT into using their Business Tablet. Appropriately running Windows 7, which is completely inappropriate for use on a pad. RIM will be competing against Dell in the "professional" market. And we all know that "professional" is a euphemism for "forced to use what the IT department tells employees to use."
Balsillie is completely giving up on the consumer market. RIM, like Microsoft, will end up milking the corporate market for all it's worth. And they'll use up any goodwill they had left in the process.
Comments
The 7" size is not terrible, but it sure won't give you the same user experience as the iPad's larger screen.
7" sucks. At first it's cool and hip and fits everywhere, then you get bored because you can't do much with it, it feels just like an oversized phone. And the plasticky feel. Eww. There's a reason there aren't massive (or any!) queues for the Tab and Xoom and whatever Engadget et al says is the latest and greatest.
If you're an Apple fan you'll like this news, if you're not an Apple fan you'll like this news.
It's win win.
Competition drives innovation and choice is a good thing.
Good username.
We?ve heard about this iPad killer for so long and we still have little real world information on the device that I think those eggs have long since rotted.
Exactly
I wonder if it is actually possible for Apple to patent this particular technology of the A5. If Apple succeeds in patenting this, then they will be even stronger than they are now! This is the sort of technology that will allow Apple to build quad-core or even faster chips, but still be very energy efficient. I can't wait to see what impact the A5 will have on the Apple TV!
My guess is that if there is some way to run the iPad at a constant 1GHz CPU speed, the battery life would be down to below 5 hours. I am calculating this based on the fact that the old iPad has exact same software, and almost the same capacity battery, and a much slower CPU.
Battery life is going to be the Achilles heel of the Playbook. And this issue is going to be compounded by the fact that the Playbook will tether to the Blackberry - so you could potentially be out of battery on not just your Playbook, but also on your Blackberry. Now, wouldn't that be fun!
The device will be available at all Best Buy stores in the U.S. and Best Buy and Future Shop stores in Canada on April 19.
As "preferred retailers," both companies will begin accepting preorders for the PlayBook starting Tuesday.
That's a smart move, taking preorders. They don't want to frustrate all their buyers with long lines and product shortages.
Once again the press release touts Flash as an advantage over the iPad. At this point they either need to get a real non-beta version of Flash that works well or they need to shutup about it.
Never happen. They have the best of both worlds now. They get to tout a "feature" that the iPad doesn't have, but nobody has to actually use it, get mad, and throw their Tab or Xoom or PlayBook out the window. Win-win!
1. Switch to Android
2. Abandon the consumer market
3. Distinguish the DroidBerry as the Droid built for business. Make it more secure than all those other droid phones and provide blackberry e-mail (an important distinguisher for a lot of business clients). This is really the market that is being most underserved right now, particularly as MS continues to flounder.
Now, instead of touting the fact that it's cheaper than the iPad, "the same price as" won't have as much of an impact as they'd hope for.
It's not exactly the same thing. Many people who opt for the Wifi only iPad will be using them at home a lot or in a location that has Wifi. This blackberry tablet is small, it's 7", it's meant to be portable and people will most likely be walking around with both their blackberry phone and the blackberry tablet.
As I previously wrote, I think that the blackberry tablet might appeal to some business types who already have blackberry phones. They are already RIM customers. The average consumer will be buying the much larger and more mainstream iPad.
I have a ipad2 2 wifi only and i found a way to use it outside the house without 3g.
"Instapaper" this app has been a life saver and i love how it is fully integrated into all my other devices(imac, iphone, ipad) i save all the articles i want to read and read them later offline on the ipad 2.
PRICELESS
Screen area 47% of the iPad.
iPad has 28% more pixels; 28% more detail when viewing web pages in portrait mode.
Playbook volume: 15.5 cu. in.
iPad volume: 23.6 cu. in. (actually considerably less because of the taper)
Dual mics will be awesome for stereo transmission of a video call, when you have two people in the camera frame (as long as both ends are using video conferencing software that transmits and receives stereo). Because with stereo, and decent headphones, you could hear which person is talking without having to look at the screen OR remember what their voices sound like!*
* Only in landscape, I suppose?
No mention of battery life?
I think battery will be fine unless they try to pretend it can run Flash
That's a smart move, taking preorders. They don't want to frustrate all their buyers with long lines and product shortages.
I'm sure sales of the PlayBook will be "smooth."
I'm sure sales of the PlayBook will be "smooth."
Your Korean is excellent
And as long as they market it as the "Worlds first Professional Tablet" it will have some success.
Skip
Success in the 7 inch pad market. Samsung has shown us exactly how big that market is.
"Quite small," plus or minus translation nuances and corporate spin.
I have a ipad2 2 wifi only and i found a way to use it outside the house without 3g.
"Instapaper" this app has been a life saver and i love how it is fully integrated into all my other devices(imac, iphone, ipad) i save all the articles i want to read and read them later offline on the ipad 2.
PRICELESS
Instapaper is a great hit. My daughter uses it on her iPod Touch all the time.
Smaller rarely means cheaper when it comes to technology. Just look at the unsubsidised price of the iPhone.
Smaller screens are cheaper than big ones. If it was radically thiner than the iPad 2 you might have a point, but it is not, so you do not.
They must already be losing money on each of these things. If they weren't, they'd undercut the price of the iPad.
Now, instead of touting the fact that it's cheaper than the iPad, "the same price as" won't have as much of an impact as they'd hope for.
There are so many factors working against PlayBook making any money at all for RIM, but I'll only bring up three. And I'm not even going to use the words "infrastructure" or "mindshare."
First, Apple gets the best component prices due to their high purchase volume. This is because Apple uses many similar or identical components across the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV lines. Thus Apple has the best margins and therefore the best profits.
Some people say that the iPod touch is just an iPhone without the phone. I say it's a profitable way for Apple to further lower their component costs. iPod touch sales roughly equal that of iPhone, Apple benefits from economy of scale. You do the math.
Second, as Steve Jobs said, 7" tablets are tweeners. Too big to fit in a pocket, too small to allow comfortable typing, too big to use as a phone, too small to impress anyone when put next to an iPad 2. It doesn't matter what hot-rod (and I mean literally hot) CPU RIM solders onto the motherboard. 7" is a bad size.
Third, RIM will no doubt fall into the "market share above all else" trap. They will look for any way to inflate the number of units shipped, especially to high-profile clients. And that means giving PlayBooks away to said high-profile clients in large numbers.
RIM would be happy to pay for employee training and other costs incurred by their clients during the trial period. Many computer companies do this, just for bragging rights. All of which cut into any profits RIM would have made.
And don't forget that Dell is also trying to sucker corporate IT into using their Business Tablet. Appropriately running Windows 7, which is completely inappropriate for use on a pad. RIM will be competing against Dell in the "professional" market. And we all know that "professional" is a euphemism for "forced to use what the IT department tells employees to use."
Balsillie is completely giving up on the consumer market. RIM, like Microsoft, will end up milking the corporate market for all it's worth. And they'll use up any goodwill they had left in the process.