RIM Playbook Tablet

[Frisco]

RIM makes bold play for the tablet market - CNN.com

Hmmm...

"The PlayBook is aimed at people who do more work than play -- RIM's calling it "the first professional tablet" -- but the company is certainly not ignoring the world outside of the office."

 

[OfTheDamned]

After reading the article it looks like it will be a BlackBerry with a 7" screen that won't make phone calls. What is the point of having an oversizes smartphone that doesn't make calls? Is anyone saying, "I really want a BlackBerry, but I would prefer something that is a little more challenging to carry around. It would also be great if I had to carry that and a phone too."

Wasn't the ability to merge a cell phone and a PDA/computer together the whole reason that smart phones were created?

 

[Martimus]

After reading the article it looks like it will be a BlackBerry with a 7" screen that won't make phone calls. What is the point of having an oversizes smartphone that doesn't make calls? Is anyone saying, "I really want a BlackBerry, but I would prefer something that is a little more challenging to carry around. It would also be great if I had to carry that and a phone too."

Look at it this way, the iPod Touch and iPad are basically iPhone's without the phone. The current generation of Android tablets are Android phones without phones. The new HP WebOS tablets will most likely be Palm Pre's without phones.

Till this industry matures a bit that's basically all any of these tablets are...

 

[Thefoodman52]

Lol... a blackberry tablet would be boring as all get out! Blackberry on a whole has nothing really exiting or ground breaking. I know from a working point of view, having little to no eye candy isn't really an issue. However, I think that in today's market, having a good bit of it as well as a fair level of polish has a good bit of weigh in on whether something is successful with the general public. A lack of good looks won't effect it's use in the business world, because all they look for is raw functionality.

All I have to say on this one, is RIM had best do some radical changes to their OS for this one, or it's a flop before it can even get up.

 

[Frisco]

All I have to say on this one, is RIM had best do some radical changes to their OS for this one, or it's a flop before it can even get up.

"RIM is making a play for potential Apple customers by adding features the iPad (which has become the industry's de facto standard for building a tablet) doesn't yet have. That includes HDMI out and cameras."

".. the company has also created a brand-new tablet OS for the PlayBook. It's called BlackBerry Tablet OS, and it's designed by QNX Software, a company purchased by RIM earlier this year."

 

[TheGoatLantern]

"RIM is making a play for potential Apple customers by adding features the iPad (which has become the industry's de facto standard for building a tablet) doesn't yet have. That includes HDMI out and cameras."

".. the company has also created a brand-new tablet OS for the PlayBook. It's called BlackBerry Tablet OS, and it's designed by QNX Software, a company purchased by RIM earlier this year."

I was waiting for someone to quote this article! The OS is new and IS OPEN sourced. Just wait this'll be a nice piece of kit. And I get to test a few

 

[mpw]

...What is the point of having an oversizes smartphone that doesn't make calls?...

The iPad's doing pretty well without being a phone.

At least with RIM's offering you can by the BBPB & pair/tether with your BB, you can't do that with an iPad/iPhone. (I know Android's a winner here because some Android handsets will are able to tether either tablets, but for those who like matching collars & cuffs, the BB beats Apple)

There will be a 3/4G version too it's been announced.

I'm actually quite impressed on first impression with the BBPB; can't wait to try one out for typing on.

Another upside for me personally, is it'll be a lot easier to sell my boss on the idea of providing a PB than an iPad or Android tablet.

..."I really want a BlackBerry, but I would prefer something that is a little more challenging to carry around. It would also be great if I had to carry that and a phone too."...

What I'd really like is for RIM to now produce a really small BB handset, with an e-ink touchscreen, just for making calls and receiving SMS/emails to stay in touch, maybe 2-3". This would make a great partner to the BBPB

 

[jroc]

It looks nice. Its on my list of Tablets to take a closer look at...

 

[TozyJay]

I'm still perplexed by the whole tablet thing. These devices don't seem any more useful then the average smartphone these days, despite the larger screen. If I'm going to use a tablet, I might as well take some more space and use a laptop.

My opinion may change in the future, but for now I'm not feeling any need to track down a tablet.

...and if I did, I wouldn't buy a Blackberry one!

 

[mpw]

The BBPB's price is being rumoured to be $300-$350, that's as much as 40% lower than the iPad!

 

[Frisco]

The OS in this device is the one that will be in new Blackberries starting in a year or so.. maybe two years.

Big surprise: RIM’s PlayBook tablet QNX OS will replace BlackBerry OS in phones | VentureBeat

I don't know.. RIM still seems to operate behind the trends by years, and now they're mimicking other technology to try to keep up, it appears (that is the way I felt about the Storm, and now the Torch as well).

Googling "RIM Playbook" we're seeing more and more articles. I get the feeling from them all (so far) that even the more complimentary ones are seeing this as just more "too little too late" by RIM. .. could be wrong.. just my take for now.

 

[Frisco]

After reading the article it looks like it will be a BlackBerry with a 7" screen that won't make phone calls. What is the point of having an oversizes smartphone that doesn't make calls? Is anyone saying, "I really want a BlackBerry, but I would prefer something that is a little more challenging to carry around. It would also be great if I had to carry that and a phone too."

Wasn't the ability to merge a cell phone and a PDA/computer together the whole reason that smart phones were created?

Those are my initial reactions to this sort of device, as well.

But then I think about it from another standpoint: specialization.

The digital camera market is alive and well, despite cell phones having them for quite some time now. The reason is that a dedicated device for the purpose of taking pictures will exceed those in a cell phone in quality by a quantum leap.

The same with music players, dedicated GPS/Navigation equipment (in cars) and hand held/portable GPS devices.

Indeed, it's the cell phones with all that stuff in it that seems more the strange animal, not the individual devices such as these tablets, etc.

Separating out the PDA/Computer from the phone is what we all do when we use our laptops and analog contact/address gadgets, etc. Sometimes the phone is not in the game, during our day.

 

[pantlesspenguin]

I'm not in the market for a tablet at all. I have my Vibrant & I have a great laptop & I love both & don't need anything else. But I would LOVE to see this QNX OS on a Blackberry device eventually. Hate on BB all you want...but you have to admit those PB specs are pretty impressive.

 

[Thefoodman52]

Wait, so the Evo and the Droid X.... aren't tablets? What lies have I been living in...

 

[Frisco]

Wait, so the Evo and the Droid X.... aren't tablets? What lies have I been living in...

The Lies of the Invading Tablets?

 

[SoFLO]

The software is meh but the hardware is nice. 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 1080p HD video, 3MP front facing camera mmm. Still not a fan of tablets though.

 

[Frisco]

A friend handed me his iPad a while back.

I got to thinking that if that thing had come around prior to all the smart phone innovations, say.. about the time just before the Blackberries (I know, impossible), it would have seemed like a dream device.

But.. they're here now.. as many others express, I have mixed feelings about them. I'm thinking that they would have begun to die out by now, pushed out by our Galaxies and Droid Xs, etc.