One week ago, around January 15th, BlackBerry reduced the price of their PlayBook tablet to $299 for all three models, 16, 32 and 64 GB. I had gotten a “free” iPad 16GB, AT&T 3G (first generation) through an online promotion (cost me about $250 total, most of that money I would have spent anyway so was a great deal), taking delivery in October, 2010. I liked the iPad overall, never had any problems with it whatsoever, and was impressed with it.
My major beefs with the iPad are the following:
1) Having to connect through the proprietary Apple cable and iTunes.
2) Inability to run flash online.
3) The size. Now this is a 50/50 proposition. For reading and other activities, the 9.7″ diagonal screen is great. But I am not of the “bigger is better” mindset. My favorite computer of all time (that I’ve owned) was a 12″ Powerbook. I also loved the old 10.4″ IBM ThinkPad I had in the mid-90s. I am typing this on a 13.3″ MacBook Air, which I love and is as large of a screen as I like. The beauty, to me, of portable computing is just that: it most be portable! The iPad is a little large in my opinion, though I know I am probably of the minority opinion in this regard, and Apple has sold millions of them without asking for my opinion! I suspect, from watching the evolution of the MacBook Air adding the 11.6″ smaller model, that a smaller iPad may be in the works.
With all that being said, what about the BlackBerry PlayBook?
To sum up concisely what I’d say, it is simply this: it is a great device but not for everyone! It’s pluses:
1) Its size – 7″ with a footprint just about half the size of the iPad.
2) Its computing power – 1 GHz dual core CPU, 1 GB RAM. Storage options the same with either iPad or PlayBook.
3) Its more robust interface, both hardware and software.
Yes, Steve Jobs was a minimalist and the iPad reflects that. One main push button, volume up and down, mute/orientation button, main power bar. No ports other than the iTunes interface, also used for charging. The playbook uses a standard micro-USB port for charging and data, but also has mechanical play/pause button, plus volume +/-, a power button, a dock charging interface and a HDMI port. It also has two speakers for stereo playback and two microphones for stereo recording.
The Blackberry Playbook
The GUI is nicely done with many more options than the iPad. The frame around the screen is actually “hot” and part of the gestures to bring up the home menu, or for the various options within apps (from the top). It is a beautiful screen! Of course the iPad’s screen is tremendous also. So it boils down to what one wants – 9.7″ or 7.0″. And being able to connect to a HDTV with a cable.
4) The current cost. A 64GB iPad from Apple with 3G capabilities is $829! So for $530 less, the PlayBook can be a steal of a deal! CLICK HERE TO GET ONE!
The PlayBook’s negatives:
1) The user must have a BlackBerry device as a bridge for cellular use and for POP email. Now any email that can be accessed via the web can be accessed on the PlayBook. But to use a mail app with all your email addresses in a common inbox, it must be bridged to a BlackBerry phone. I have a BlackBerry Bold, so this is not a problem for me. In fact it is a PLUS as using the BlackBerry Bridge and tethering with the BlackBerry Bold is free for me, instead of extra costs $15 t0 $80 for limited data transfer with AT&T or Verizon. So if you are not a BlackBerry smartphone user, the current PlayBook OS 1.0 is not for you.
2) Limited Apps available. Very few of the big boys are supporting the PlayBook at this time. To add another layer of complexity, the BlackBerry phone apps DO NOT work on the PlayBook. The plus side is that the PlayBook comes with Documents to Go installed, which read/edit/save MS Office docs. Very nice. However, for the most part the web browser must be used rather than specific apps – Twitter, LinkedIn, chat clients (rather than IRC), financial institutions (AMEX, DISCOVER, etc.) and most games are not available. Angry Birds it, but there is no free version! (That is some must have information)
3) No email app, nor are there contacts, calendar, tasks or BlackBerry Messaging native apps on the Playbook.
Now the good news is that the BlackBerry Tablet 2.0 Operating System is coming out soon and will fix some of these issues, and it is being floated that at least some of the Android apps will be able to run on the PlayBook. This will be very helpful.
So, as stated in the introduction, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a great device if you have a BlackBerry smartphone that can be bridged with it. If your email is from Gmail, Yahoo! or another web based provider, you’ll be fine. If you use email that is not web based, you’ll have a problem, ditto for the contacts and calendar.
The PlayBook is a nice piece of technology, looks and feels great and works quickly and well. If you have a BlackBerry smartphone, I’d give the PlayBook a grade of “B.” If you don’t have a BlackBerry smartphone, I’d give it a “D” for now, but with the hope that the major OS upgrade will solve most of these problems.
