I've done a LOT of research in the past few days because I finally decided I wanted a tablet. I looked and looked, and I wanted to take this "Playbook" suggestion, and find reasons to either buy it, or reject the idea. And so I am here writing this, so you can share in the discoveries that I made, and the conclusion I came to, if you are also interested in a tablet.

So most, if not all reviews I've read regarding the Playbook put it's interface and the interaction with it, on par with the supposedly #1 iPad. I say "#1 iPad", referring to the fact that pretty much every site lists the iPad as the best possible tablet you can buy.

The Playbook's touch screen interface just works, and everyone likes it. It's pretty intuitive, once you touch all the bezels once or twice. In fact I went into futureshop to play with some of the tablets for a bit, and the Playbook was the easiest to figure out.

It's hardware is all on par, or else better than that of other tablets (especially the iPad).

The item that most review sites, and consumers, tend to demolish the Playbook for, is Apps. The blackberry app store is pretty deserted. But here is the counterargument to that, as I've discovered:
You can install essentially any Android app on the Blackberry with a harmless hack! It takes some tutorial reading to figure out, but once you do it a couple of times, you will have as many as, or even more Apps available than an Android tablet owner!

Other than that, it seems undisputed that the Playbook has one of the longest lasting batteries in the market, and is noticeable lighter than most, if not all, other tablets!

FINALLY, the kicker. The price. The Playbook is $199 !!! On any Top 10 Tablet list, the Playbook is by far the cheapest. And clearly, as most reviews will acknowledge, it's in the same category as the iPad in terms of quality and satisfaction.

So I bought one. And I'm stoked to use it this school year. PDF's look great, it'll be useful for notes, and it indisputably has the best management system on it (Contacts, Calendars, Messaging, etc.)

To boot, I'm glad to say RIM is Canadian... I just wish they knew how to market better, and I wish people were smarter.

hardware wise it's great and the OS is fluid. However it by no means can be called a success. Why? Lack of developer support is probably the most substantial reason why. The app store pales in comparison to the iPad.

there are 3 playbooks in my household. it's a great device. but it has as many apps as the ps3 has games. none.

why the playbook will be destroyed:

Google (asus) nexus 7 inch tablet:
-Expected to be announced this month with following specs
-1.3Ghz Quad core +1 tegra3 processor
-Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
-Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU
-Asus quality (good on tablets)
-$199

The playbook came out too expensive resulting in very poor sales. RIM then discounted it to its current price, which put on the idea that the playbook was a failure. While it is a good device it has such a bad reputation that most people wont touch it. Also most industry people feel that RIM will not survive very long, or at the least will be acquired by another company.

Originally Posted by qwerty91

why the playbook will be destroyed:

Google (asus) nexus 7 inch tablet:
-Expected to be announced this month with following specs
-1.3Ghz Quad core +1 tegra3 processor
-Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
-Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU
-Asus quality (good on tablets)
-$199

The playbook came out too expensive resulting in very poor sales. RIM then discounted it to its current price, which put on the idea that the playbook was a failure. While it is a good device it has such a bad reputation that most people wont touch it. Also most industry people feel that RIM will not survive very long, or at the least will be acquired by another company.

I sincerely hope google get's it's operating system right this time. It's upsetting that a company with brilliant minds created such a mediocre OS. My experience with ICS/Honeycomb on a tablet has been a complete nightmare. Lag galore

Originally Posted by mike_302

I've done a LOT of research in the past few days because I finally decided I wanted a tablet. I looked and looked, and I wanted to take this "Playbook" suggestion, and find reasons to either buy it, or reject the idea. And so I am here writing this, so you can share in the discoveries that I made, and the conclusion I came to, if you are also interested in a tablet.

So most, if not all reviews I've read regarding the Playbook put it's interface and the interaction with it, on par with the supposedly #1 iPad. I say "#1 iPad", referring to the fact that pretty much every site lists the iPad as the best possible tablet you can buy.

The Playbook's touch screen interface just works, and everyone likes it. It's pretty intuitive, once you touch all the bezels once or twice. In fact I went into futureshop to play with some of the tablets for a bit, and the Playbook was the easiest to figure out.

It's hardware is all on par, or else better than that of other tablets (especially the iPad).

The item that most review sites, and consumers, tend to demolish the Playbook for, is Apps. The blackberry app store is pretty deserted. But here is the counterargument to that, as I've discovered:
You can install essentially any Android app on the Blackberry with a harmless hack! It takes some tutorial reading to figure out, but once you do it a couple of times, you will have as many as, or even more Apps available than an Android tablet owner!

Other than that, it seems undisputed that the Playbook has one of the longest lasting batteries in the market, and is noticeable lighter than most, if not all, other tablets!

FINALLY, the kicker. The price. The Playbook is $199 !!! On any Top 10 Tablet list, the Playbook is by far the cheapest. And clearly, as most reviews will acknowledge, it's in the same category as the iPad in terms of quality and satisfaction.

So I bought one. And I'm stoked to use it this school year. PDF's look great, it'll be useful for notes, and it indisputably has the best management system on it (Contacts, Calendars, Messaging, etc.)

To boot, I'm glad to say RIM is Canadian... I just wish they knew how to market better, and I wish people were smarter.

So how much did RIM pay you?

Originally Posted by mike_302

I've done a LOT of research in the past few days because I finally decided I wanted a tablet. I looked and looked, and I wanted to take this "Playbook" suggestion, and find reasons to either buy it, or reject the idea. And so I am here writing this, so you can share in the discoveries that I made, and the conclusion I came to, if you are also interested in a tablet.

So most, if not all reviews I've read regarding the Playbook put it's interface and the interaction with it, on par with the supposedly #1 iPad. I say "#1 iPad", referring to the fact that pretty much every site lists the iPad as the best possible tablet you can buy.

The Playbook's touch screen interface just works, and everyone likes it. It's pretty intuitive, once you touch all the bezels once or twice. In fact I went into futureshop to play with some of the tablets for a bit, and the Playbook was the easiest to figure out.

It's hardware is all on par, or else better than that of other tablets (especially the iPad).

The item that most review sites, and consumers, tend to demolish the Playbook for, is Apps. The blackberry app store is pretty deserted. But here is the counterargument to that, as I've discovered:
You can install essentially any Android app on the Blackberry with a harmless hack! It takes some tutorial reading to figure out, but once you do it a couple of times, you will have as many as, or even more Apps available than an Android tablet owner!

Other than that, it seems undisputed that the Playbook has one of the longest lasting batteries in the market, and is noticeable lighter than most, if not all, other tablets!

FINALLY, the kicker. The price. The Playbook is $199 !!! On any Top 10 Tablet list, the Playbook is by far the cheapest. And clearly, as most reviews will acknowledge, it's in the same category as the iPad in terms of quality and satisfaction.

So I bought one. And I'm stoked to use it this school year. PDF's look great, it'll be useful for notes, and it indisputably has the best management system on it (Contacts, Calendars, Messaging, etc.)

To boot, I'm glad to say RIM is Canadian... I just wish they knew how to market better, and I wish people were smarter.

What is this hack that lets you run "essentially any Android app" on the Playbook? I know with OS 2.0 RIM put in that sort of functionality - from what I understand it's similar to using WINE in Linux to run Windows applications, both in the method in which it works, and in its actual success rate (ie, dismally low).

Also, the 3rd generation iPad has a nicer screen than the Playbook in contrast, colours, and pixel density, I'm pretty sure.

It's also probably lighter because it has a 7" screen on it whereas most other tablets, or at least most of the worthwhile ones, are ~10".

You mention Contacts and Calendars... those are two reasons the Playbook was initially considered a flop, actually. Those two (very basic) features were not even available on the Playbook for several months, unless you used BlackBerry Bridge to sync it with your BB handheld.

You also mention the $199 pricetag. That too was a reason it was initially a flop. It launched at $499 for the 16GB model. $499 for a 7" tablet without even Contacts and Calendars and a barren app ecosystem? That was a pretty big mistake to make, and that's why retailers are now dumping units at less than half the launch price less than a year and a half after the product's announcement.

Sure, maybe now it's a decent product, when the pricetag has dropped 60% and after a year the software base is finally at a point where you don't need to tether the device to your cellphone to view your calendar...

Calling the Playbook a win now is like calling the HP Touchpad a win. Yes, the Touchpad sold like hotcakes - after it utterly died and every retailer wanted to dump inventory as fast as possible. It's not that it's the best tablet around, although it certainly isn't bad, it's that it does a decent job, and it got forced into a much lower price bracket due to liquidation than it was initially targeted for. To me that sounds way more like the result of a massive marketing failure than the result of any sort of "win."

actually agree. Playbook is a solid machine, but there's a lack of support in the market (apps, even things like screen protectors), making it underrated.

Originally Posted by fasailuddin

It's upsetting that a company with brilliant minds created such a mediocre OS. My experience with ICS/Honeycomb a tablet has been a complete nightmare. Lag galore

I honestly never understood this -- Went through Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and then to Ice Cream Sandwich all on my Samsung Galaxy S 1. Éclair was alright, but I never had any lag issues since Froyo. Maybe its a hardware issue? Could anyone with more experience give an insight on this?

With respect to any upcoming Android tablets: All the Android tablets have at least a noticeable percentage of reviews complaining about the interface and interactivity. So I'm not ready to jump on some ASUS machine...

Google this: Install Android Apps on Playbook OS2.0
There's the answer to the hack.

I am not talking about the original version of the Playbook OS. That's a loss. Congrats for identifying an unrelated item.

Value for Money Winner: Most DEFINITELY, the Playbook. Hands down. Bar none. By a longshot.

Originally Posted by mike_302

With respect to any upcoming Android tablets: All the Android tablets have at least a noticeable percentage of reviews complaining about the interface and interactivity. So I'm not ready to jump on some ASUS machine...

Google this: Install Android Apps on Playbook OS2.0
There's the answer to the hack.

I am not talking about the original version of the Playbook OS. That's a loss. Congrats for identifying an unrelated item.

Value for Money Winner: Most DEFINITELY, the Playbook. Hands down. Bar none. By a longshot.

The fact that the the Playbook's original OS at release was such a loss is the reason for the current pricing and its ensuing "win." You don't believe the cause is related to the effect?

My parents got a playbook for free (came with my mom's phone, she paid $49 for her new phone and got a playbook thrown in). It drives them insane. They hate it. It takes literally 2.5 minutes to start up, it tends to freeze, it only connects to the internet half the time, etc.

They like our iPad much better.

The only issue is the random errors that it has. My friends tablet either has battery charging issues (battery completely drains) or the os is messed up

My 6 year old niece has a blackberry playbook and knows how to use it better than I do. What has the world come to?

Originally Posted by nerual

My parents got a playbook for free (came with my mom's phone, she paid $49 for her new phone and got a playbook thrown in). It drives them insane. They hate it. It takes literally 2.5 minutes to start up, it tends to freeze, it only connects to the internet half the time, etc.

They like our iPad much better.

Agreed. While we don't have an iPad, both my parents and my uncle and aunt have a Playbook and I constantly hear them cursing it out every time they use it because it freezes so much.