RIM PlayBook unlikely to match Apple iPad without larger battery - report

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Research in Motion's forthcoming PlayBook tablet is said to be "unlikely" to match the 10-plus-hour battery life of Apple's iPad, and could even struggle to meet the 6 hours of the Samsung Galaxy Tab without "significant engineering."



Analyst Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. said in a note to investors this week that his industry sources have indicated that RIM continues to experience major issues in developing its forthcoming PlayBook tablet, intended to take on Apple's iPad. He said he would be "very surprised" if the PlayBook manages to match the battery life of the iPad without using a larger battery.



Apple has an advantage over RIM, Wu said, because the iPad maker designs many of its own semiconductors, including the A4 processor that powers the iPad and iPhone 4. In addition, Apple makes its own battery chemistry, and software, allowing for power optimization that competitors like RIM cannot yet compete with.



Another potential problem noted by Wu is Adobe Flash, which he said could be a major factor in the battery life of the PlayBook. He noted that back in November, tests discovered that the new MacBook Air had its battery life significantly reduced when Adobe Flash was installed.



"It should be no surprise to anyone that our checks indicate Adobe is furiously working on reducing Flash's consumption of resources to make it a viable mobile platform vs. HTML5 that both Apple and Google are moving toward," he wrote.



Wu claims his sources indicated the "best" the PlayBook could hope for is to match the six hours of battery life offered by the Samsung Galaxy Tab, an Android-based device that launched last November. And even that would require "significant engineering," he said.



"The reason is that QNX wasn't originally designed for low-powered mobile environments but rather devices plugged into a wall socket (like networking equipment) or a car battery (like automobile control systems and stereos)," he wrote. "At the end of the day, we are glad RIM is working hard on improving battery life as it will be good for both customers and shareholders."



Wu's latest report is a follow-up to one he issued last week, in which he first revealed the alleged battery problems associated with the PlayBook. In that note to investors, he said the PlayBook gets just a "few hours" of uptime, faring worse than both the iPad and the Galaxy Tab.



RIM quickly shot back at Wu's rumors, and said its PlayBook would offer "superior performance with comparable battery life." The device is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.



"Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented," RIM said in a statement. "RIM is on track with its schedule to optimize the BlackBerry PlayBook's battery life and looks forward to providing customers with a professional grade tablet that offers superior performance with comparable battery life."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 55
    You know, AI pays a lot of attention to RIM. It's a dying company. Let it die in peace. Go to the light!
  • Reply 2 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    You know, AI pays a lot of attention to RIM. It's a dying company. Let it die in peace. Go to the light!



    Dying company? Funny.
  • Reply 3 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    You know, AI pays a lot of attention to RIM. It's a dying company. Let it die in peace. Go to the light!



    RIM does have a loyal Blackberry following. With that in mind RIM reminds me of Apple in the 90s... resting on its laurels for too long and then doing its damnedest to try and stay current. The only difference to keep in mind is that RIM has always had a much larger following for their product than Apple had for Macs (percentages etc.).



    That tells me that they are still a viable company... but they need a SJ to pull them out of the toilet...



    (if nothing else RIM's Playbook will most likely be a big incentive for Adobe to get its game on...)
  • Reply 4 of 55
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Better performance and comparable battery life eh? Better performance I can see, it is using a better CPU than the current iPad. Better battery life? I doubt it, no one seems to be able to touch Apple in that respect. I suspect both the performance and battery life bars will be trending upward with the iPad 2 anyway. This is the Pre all over again. So much hype, announced well in advance, and the CEO telling the world how great it is against year old hardware.
  • Reply 5 of 55
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple has an advantage over RIM, Wu said, because the iPad maker designs many of its own semiconductors, including the A4 processor that powers the iPad and iPhone 4. In addition, Apple makes its own battery chemistry, and software, allowing for power optimization that competitors like RIM cannot yet compete with.



    Another potential problem noted by Wu is Adobe Flash.



    I was gonna point out these two things, but I guess this analyst actually knows what he is talking about. I am actually surprised that Galaxy Tab has such a good battery life on, though I guess Samsung does manufacture a lot of Apple's parts and may know a thing or two about making power efficient chips.
  • Reply 6 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HahaHaha321 View Post


    Dying company? Funny.



    Not to funny IMO. All the data I've seen shows RIM on a downward spiral.



    And I personally doubt the Playbook is going to sell significantly. It's already been delayed once and pushed back until after the iPad starts selling in a few months. This fact alone will kill Playbook sales, regardless of the battery issue.
  • Reply 7 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Is Adobe AIR HW accelerated over QNX? If not, then I expect it won?t even match the Samsung Tab for a comparable battery size.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    You know, AI pays a lot of attention to RIM. It's a dying company. Let it die in peace. Go to the light!



    They are stagnating but they have been growing YoY. They certainly need something solid or they will shrink, but saying they are dying sounds hyperbolific to me.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HahaHaha321 View Post


    Dying company? Funny.



    Maybe it?s just me but your username seems like you don?t expect to use it for for very long.
  • Reply 8 of 55
    Assuming Apple announces and releases the iPad 2 in the first half of 2011, I suspect that the Playbook will be outdated and outclassed (even more than it is now) before it's even released.
  • Reply 9 of 55
    bilbo63bilbo63 Posts: 285member
    RIM have been doing a lot of boasting for a while now about a product that isn't even close to shipping. If this goes on much longer people are going to quit listening to them all together.



    Talk is cheap. Quit telling us how great the Playbook is and put out a final shipping product so we can decide for ourselves. This has disaster written all over it.
  • Reply 10 of 55
    dualiedualie Posts: 334member
    I guess someone should start a RIM deathknell counter. I think Apple's reached into the 1000s before success finally stifled the myopic visionaries.
  • Reply 11 of 55
    mknoppmknopp Posts: 257member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmf2 View Post


    This is the Pre all over again. So much hype, announced well in advance, and the CEO telling the world how great it is against year old hardware.



    +++



    That is exactly what I thought when I read what the CEO said. CEOs who are all too happy to compare their not released product against released hardware always make me leery.
  • Reply 12 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    I was gonna point out these two things, but I guess this analyst actually knows what he is talking about. I am actually surprised that Galaxy Tab has such a good battery life on, though I guess Samsung does manufacture a lot of Apple's parts and may know a thing or two about making power efficient chips.



    Well the Tab is only 45% the screen of the iPad, but of course I guess it also has less battery space. As for RIM they are barley on the radar screen now, I'm more interested in seeing what the battery life on the Motorola pad is going to be.
  • Reply 13 of 55
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    This is to be expected as it's the first product to use RIM's new operating system.



    Let's not forget that the first iOS device (the 1st gen iPhone) had to cut vital features like 3G and GPS in order to have an acceptable battery life.



    As iOS matured, so did its power conservation. I'd expect the same from QNX.
  • Reply 14 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


    This is to be expected as it's the first product to use RIM's new operating system.



    Let's not forget that the first iOS device (the 1st gen iPhone) had to cut vital features like 3G and GPS in order to have an acceptable battery life.



    As iOS matured, so did its power conservation. I'd expect the same from QNX.



    I don?t think it was so much an iOS maturing that kept out 3G but 3G HW maturing. But this isn?t really the issue, the issue is if the OS and UI are efficient enough, something that iOS was already years ahead of the industry with version 1.0. Apple came out of the gate running with an entirely new UI called CocoaTouch that isn?t just a Flash overlay. There is a huge difference here. I fully expect RiM to be dropping AIR for a native, homegrown UI within a couple years.
  • Reply 15 of 55
    I can't put my finger on one innovative thing from RIM that I feel has changed mobile devices for the better since the original BB's. Everything still feels like it's from the early 2000's. I think that their phones started losing value in my eyes when they began being sold for a dollar or as a buy one get one free deal. That just doesn't scream quality... I think that they're still a viable company, but they should really re-evaluate what they're trying to do. While Apple is about to crank out iPad 2, and a whole plethora of Android tablets are hitting the floor (for better or worse), RIM is pouring millions into pushing their Torch and touting the godliness of the Playbook. My iPad's battery never ceases to amaze. Sure, you can use Flash and do every waking thing that the web has to offer on the Playbook, but at what cost?
  • Reply 16 of 55
    I wouldn't say RIM is dying... but Apple and Android are perceived as the "it" companies. Also, you don't see nearly as many RIM developers.



    And as we all know:



    Developers developers developers developers developers developers developers developers.



  • Reply 17 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    RIM does have a loyal Blackberry following. With that in mind RIM reminds me of Apple in the 90s... resting on its laurels for too long and then doing its damnedest to try and stay current. The only difference to keep in mind is that RIM has always had a much larger following for their product than Apple had for Macs (percentages etc.).



    That tells me that they are still a viable company... but they need a SJ to pull them out of the toilet...



    (if nothing else RIM's Playbook will most likely be a big incentive for Adobe to get its game on...)



    If not, Microsoft can always buy them out, like they did with Danger, Inc. Look how well that turned out! Oh wait...
  • Reply 18 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by j1h15233 View Post


    Assuming Apple announces and releases the iPad 2 in the first half of 2011, I suspect that the Playbook will be outdated and outclassed (even more than it is now) before it's even released.



    Not necessarily. It sounds like it's going to be a niche product in the emerging mainstream tablet business. A footnote in the history of tablets. Unloved, except by RIM diehards.
  • Reply 19 of 55
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac.World View Post


    Not to funny IMO. All the data I've seen shows RIM on a downward spiral.



    And I personally doubt the Playbook is going to sell significantly. It's already been delayed once and pushed back until after the iPad starts selling in a few months. This fact alone will kill Playbook sales, regardless of the battery issue.



    KInd of reminiscent of Palm. HP will probably buy RIM soon
  • Reply 20 of 55
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


    This is to be expected as it's the first product to use RIM's new operating system.



    Let's not forget that the first iOS device (the 1st gen iPhone) had to cut vital features like 3G and GPS in order to have an acceptable battery life.



    As iOS matured, so did its power conservation. I'd expect the same from QNX.



    I don't think Apple's future hung in the balance at the time of the first iOS release quite as much as RIM's does with this though.
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