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The BlackBerry Playbook is better than OK. It's operating speed is decent. Picture quality is okay. It will play MOV and MP4 files nicely. About two hours to give a full charge. It still navigates most webpages okay. It is built solid, actually far tougher than newer tablets. Take it from me, a true BlackBerry fan, compared to other tablets the Playbook is pretty good, BUT cheap. Holy cow it's cheap!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The screen is excellent, one of the best and at least equal to IPAD's and better than the Galaxy. The virtual keyboard is better, faster and more precise than any other tablet, incl, IPAD's. Memory access is very good, but enlarging a foto with pinch etc movement will get the processor to get sticky. As a large "external screen for your BB this is fantastic, everything you struggle to do on your BB becomes a real joy on the Playbook. Everything that's on your BB can show up on your Playbook, emails, messenger, etc. And there is good browising on a decent size screen through your BB internet access package, at no extra cost, something most mobile service providers have already decided to hate. BUT: the number of APPs is seriously limited, and few are for free. Important APPs simply don't come as BB, for instance foreign language dictonaries, good task outliners, foreign language utilities such as litigation cost calculators, etc, etc. And the promised Android interface for the Playbook will not be "open" but limited to what some arrogantly wise guys at BB will consider good or useful for their customers. So BB is continuing its irritating and misguided view of the customer as some kind of minor who can't decide for him or herself. Unfortunately, with that their marketshare will continue to fall, and already everyone is speculating that the Playbook will soon be abanoned as a product. What a pity, because there is some outstanding hardware in it!Read full review
The Playbook was potentially going to be refurbished – really big discount- but it worked out to be a brand new item (though in a slightly shop soiled box). It needed immediate upgrading to OS 2.0 but that didn’t take long. Very few instructions in the box but it had the charger, a cable and a small carry bag. All of the instructions were on line but very few were needed. Build: It is build like any other Blackberry - solid. It is a very well constructed bit of tech, nothing loose or shoddy about it everything fits together perfectly, no give clearly built to tight tolerances with quality parts. My only gripe is the on/off/sleep button is difficult to press with the pad of your finger and I need to resort to a finger nail. Performance: All of the ‘native’ apps work well and fast, although there isn’t anywhere near too many of them. No crashing, reasonable range within the home network. I found it hard to reconcile that the touch screen on the Playbook was a similar technology to my smart phone - it was that much more responsive and accurate. The secret to the user interface it to imagine that RIM wanted a bigger screen, the operating functions are all stored off screen and you need to drag them down to access them, they aren’t just sitting there taking up limited screen space while they aren’t being used. Functionality: It is bigger and more ‘viewable’ than a smart phone but smaller and more portable than the usual 10 inch tablet. It is about the size of an A5 diary and weighs a noticeable amount more than one but still not much anyway. There are some basic apps but real functionality needs to be downloaded onto it. The wifi is responsive to my home system and gets decent reception where my smart phone is marginal. Android: I have mentioned that there are not too many apps. The number is increasing every day, due to the Android emulator/player built in with OS2.0. Unfortunately lots of it is just dumpware, quickly converted and shovelled onto App World with little or no testing. Converting your own android apps is pretty simple but if you have a favourite widget or it requires specific android only functions, then you are probably out of luck. There are still plenty of decent apps out there either on BB App work or Good ereader, they take time to find. Summary: I really like the Playbook. I have never had a blackberry or a tablet before but the form is ideal, it feels solid and competent, the OS is solid and competent, it is quick and more and more functionality is becoming available through more apps. Some of the larger concerns are not supporting Playbook, the most obvious being Kindle but the current available ported over Kindle app is an old one and works so much better than the latest iteration I have on my smart phone. Skype’s ported version does not work at all and amazingly there is neither a decent alarm clock built in or one available as an app nor is there a decent backgammon game. I can watch movies in various flavours, listen to most types music and audio books, I can read most near anything I want AND play Angry Birds on a big screen. The browser is reasonably good but I’d really like a version of chrome and whilst the soft keyboard is accurate and responsive, to do work on it will require a Bluetooth keyboard. I realise now a big draw back is the lack of mobile phone internet connection, and the lack of ‘big’ support is a worry but on the whole I really do like my Playbook.Read full review
I got this tablet as a second Playbook due to a dead pixel problem on the first. But that didn't help. I got one pixel seemed to have a dirt particle underneath the clear screen (brand new, sealed box). Too tired and afraid to run into a similar/worse problem with a third one/replacement. I can't imagine how RIM got this quality control thing slipped. A lot of ppl seemed to share some sort of screen pixel problem (~30%). Besides the 'pixel' issue, this little table is great for internet, emailing, e-reading, gaming, productivity. Love the intuitive touch interface, very smart! Speakers and the audio are the best. Battery life is good, 6 hrs on full app gaming. The ability to run Android apps is a great move for this tablet! But the Android player seemed to hiccup here and there, need to restart once in a while (I assume that will be corrected in software update). Sideloading apps using DDBB is the way to go. Got it for 50% discount off the initial retail so it's a great value. But it's hard for me to recommend this to a non-tech person. I love to tinker with gadget so it's a fun toy, not a must have item.Read full review
I have the 32GB version and absolutely love it. As an early iPad adopter (still have an iPad2) I was a little leery of getting the PlayBook (PB) but am happy I did. Each has it's strengths and weaknesses but I am very pleased how few weaknesses the PB has. The biggest drawback is reading books and documents. While comfortable on the PB, it is better on the iPad due to the larger screen. This doesn't mean you can't read on the PB. The screen is sharp and vivid like it's iPad counterpart. It's just more comfortable on the iPad. Aside from that albeit major point, the PB is a joy to use. The QNX OS (Version 2.0) is smooth, intuitive and rock solid. Very rarely does it ever exhibit lag. Scrolling is smooth and responsive. Apps load quickly and run as well as on the iPad. What's even better is that the newest version of the OS allows you to run Android apps as smoothly as on an Android device. This opens up a whole new universe of apps one can install on their PB. Continuing the comparison, reading emails on the PB is more stable (never once having crashed) than on my iPad2. Instead, my iPad2 email app crashes at least twice a week with the very same email load. I also find the PB's email app more intuitive (with a far better layout of the email app's buttons - on the right hand side). The browser is also superior to that of the iPad because not only is it rock solid it also plays flash content like a champ. Alas, not everyone has moved to html5 so browsing with the PB's native, flash capable browser is nowhere near as frustrating as surfing with an iPad. The last thing I want to touch on is the practicality of my PlayBook's size. I take it with me everywhere because it is not a nuisance and fit's anywhere. The screen is large enough to do anything you can do on the iPad and the use of the bezel area for certain functions works well. I would like to conclude that the PB is a tablet every bit as capable as an iPad and at the new prices it is an excellent purchase! Try it and see for yourself.Read full review
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