BlackBerry PRD-38548-003 Playbook 7" Tablet, 64GB

First off, I would like to say that this Tablet is everything I've ever hoped for and then some, I have absolutly NO complaints what-so-ever with this baby, and after the price drop for only $379 you cannot beat it! With that said... There are so many reviews on here for the Playbook (all the bad reviews seem to complain about one thing, the amount of APPS, just craziness!), there is not much to be said that has not been said already, so I'll keep this simple, basically give the reasoning behind my decission to go with the Playbook over other Tablets/laptops... About 4 months back my "Acer ONE" laptop crapped out on me, and I've been saving for a new laptop ever since. It's been a hard 4 months, as I have been stuck using my Ipod Touch 1st generation to surf the net while at home, which BTW has NO Youtube or Flash on it (it had Youtube but no longer works on it anymore!)! Well, about 3 weeks back I finally saved enough and began surfing the net for the best laptop/netbooks on the market. When I started my search for a new laptop, the only thing I was looking for was a laptop, thats all I had on my mind. The main things I was looking for was a fast browser, the laptop/netbook must be small (9 to 10-inch screen or so) for potability, a decent amount of memory, a nice camera, and must be powerful enough to play movies and stream content without glitching up on me. While researching a couple weeks back, I decided to take a look at Tablets, thinking to myself that something like my Ipod but with a bigger screen would be absolutly perfect for what I was looking for! I must have looked at every Tablet on the market before deciding on the Playbook (The Acer Iconia, Moto Xoom, Ipad 2, etc), I even went to Best Buy just to test them all out, and in the end it was a no-brainer, the Blackberry was the Tablet for me. While there are some good Tablets at a cheaper price then the Blackberry, the main advantage the Blackberry has over them is Power, the camera/video (1080p video recording), the OS interface, browser speed, the size (portability), and more Power! I was amazed at the OS on this tablet, it is AMAZING!!! My favorit feature of this is to wake up the Blackberry, you simply swipe from the top edge down, and it turns on the Playbook! While there is a button to press inorder to turn off/on, you do NOT need it, a simple swipe of the screen does everything now (watch some of the Blackberry Interface video's on Youtube, you will see the beauty of the OS in it's full glory!)! I can now record video's in full 1080p and watch them on my TV with micro HDMI connection (only $5 bucks for a micro HDMI cord here on Amazon), when I am at home I surf the web on my 46-inch Samsung HD LCD Screen through my Blackberry Playbook, I watch movies, etc, all on my TV! :) I can now take wonderful Pics where ever I am without my Samsung Camera on me, the Playbook does it all! This Tablet is tiny, but the screen is sooo perfect in size, it is bigger then I expected! I was thinking that the screen was gonna be just a tad bigger then my Ipod Touch screen, NO SO! It looks more like 4 Ipod Touch screens put together, just the perfect size to read and watch movie's without having to squint. I am not a big app freak (never been), so the apps that this Playbook does have suit me just fine (Although RIM has stated they are adding apps daily, this is there first Tablet, so I do give RIM the benifit here). My goal now is to get me a Blackberry phone with a Internet plan, this way I will be able to "Bridge" the phone to the Playbook "at NO cost" and go on the internet on my Playbook anywhere there is a Cell Phone signal, so my fiance can be driving down the highway and I can be surfing the web sitting right next to her! : The awesome thing about this is you do not have to pay for a seperate plan for the Playbook, you simply buy the plan for your phone and Bridge the connection to your Playbook, and BINGO, internet everywhere! :D I also bought a "Defender Case" for my Blackberry Playbook, this case protects like you would not believe! If you decide to get this awesome Playbook, the Defender case is the only way to go! This case is sooo tuff, You can run over the Playbook with a car and there won't be a sctratch on it! Look up "Defender case for Blackberry Playbook" here on Amazon, and check the reviews. There are also video's on Youtube which shows the strenght of this case. There is nothing better then this case to protect your investment. With all this said, I am beyond happy with my Playbook, I could not be happier! If you are looking for what I was, just get this baby, you can thank me later. :) :)

So far, so great. I never wanted a tablet before. And I am one of the people Blackberry doesn't even think about: the completely nontechnical type. People like us learn how to use whatever we are interested in, but we have no innate flair for it. We just slog slowly and carefully through directions until we understand each part of How To. So I bought this with a fairly good idea of my inevitable learning curve for a new ecosystem, as well as the rewards for my efforts later on. So far, I am extremely pleased. Between the tutorials on the Blackberry site and the generous enthusiasts at Crackberry.com, I was able to find out all the little steps I could not have guessed. (Patience at the beginning is the prerequisite virtue for those who have no idea how anything from Blackberry works. It is not that hard to learn. But if you have no knowledge, and no patience for learning either, then you have nothing to work with at all. In that case, buy an Apple.) The Playbook hardware is very well-constructed, and a real pleasure to use. The screen and the sound quality are exceptional, and 64GB is fine for my purposes. This combination is why I bought the Blackberry Playbook, and why I am glad I did: it has wonderful visual clarity, great sound and decent storage at a very good price. The app aspect is obviously extremely important: you have to know exactly what you want this tablet for, and what the available apps will and won't do. So far, my basic software needs have been easily satisfied. In this, I am in a minority. I wanted a simple browser, decent audio and video software, a good file manager, and an epub reader. And in particular, I wanted to be able to play my personal audio and video files from different sources- which is working well so far. Then I added a few extras, as everyone does, according to interests. I'm all set. But before buying this lovely little device, make sure you can use it according to your needs. I am delighted, rather than disappointed, because I knew what I wanted before I bought it. I read about the screen, but that didn't prepare me for just how clear and beautiful it really is. I knew the sound quality was very good too, but I was still surprised at just how good. Battery life is excellent so far. WiFi has been painless, and browsing has been easy. My desktop installed the device drivers and set up the Playbook without any problem. The included charger works just fine, and I ordered a separate rapid charger too, along with a good case. I know I have barely touched the surface of what this device is capable of, but I'm not in a hurry. I enjoy leisurely meandering around in the world of possibilities. All in all, I find this device somewhat astonishing: the sheer quality of it has exceeded my expectations by quite a bit. Having said that, I will add that if anything goes badly wrong, I will come back here and report it. Stars will fall. Meanwhile though, I am enjoying this as much as I have ever enjoyed any gadget, and then some. Update- nearly 2 years later: Tablets come and go, sometimes bringing frustration and dissatisfaction in their wake. (I still can't finesse my relatively new Dell Venue 8 Pro to function properly, no matter what. It exists as a permanent annoyance, neither mercifully dying nor ever working very well. Ugh.) But meanwhile, the Blackberry Playbook is humming along as beautifully as ever. It has never given me a moment's trouble in all this time. Even the battery still charges well. When I use it always I feel a little surge of gratitude, as you might feel for an older car that has always been a peach rather than a lemon. It shows no degradation from use, and that of course is the mark of exceptionally well-made technology. I wish now I had bought another one when it was on sale for 100$, since I see that it is currently selling for nearly twice the price it was 2 years ago! And I am very glad I bought the rapid charger and a good case too- for extremely low prices. I am sorry though that all this personal happiness (great device, relatively very small cost) is at the expense of Blackberry. They built the world's most well-constructed tablet I know of so far, and for their trouble received terrible publicity. But as I wrote in my original review, I knew exactly what it would and would not do before I bought it, and it remains a champion of enjoyable reliability. Update: 3 years later. I still enjoy this tablet every day. No aspect of what I loved about it in the first place has diminished over time. The battery is still great, the sound remains better than any other tablet I have, and its excellent peripherals are still working as well as ever. It has still never given me any trouble of any kind. The same cannot be said for my experience with other tablets. After a year or so of constant tinkering and tweaking my Dell Venue 8 Pro, it is finally working well. For now. But although I finally like it, the high price I paid in time and vexation left a very bad taste. Worse yet, users are having trouble upgrading it to Win 10. So if I want to do that, I probably have more misery to look forward to. And as for the original Nexus 7, there are many things I liked about it, and still enjoy. But its cheap construction means if I want to go on using it, I'll have to crack the case and install new parts. I might try that, but then it never worked perfectly in the first place either. So it too has left a bad taste despite many great features. The early failure of otherwise promising tablets from poor software or too-cheap parts is an ongoing problem in the tablet world. I know it all depends on the person and the tablet, and no two experiences are the same. But so far, this has been mine.

Its a shame to see Research In Motion's lack of innovation in support, marketing & advertising, and business dominance cause the company to take a backseat to other phone and tablet companies. At one point RIM was on top of the world. Everyone had a BlackBerry. They were a great company with a fantastic and functional smartphone. The trackball was cool. Brickbreaker and BBM were all the rage. Now, they are a company that's lost 80% of its value, has continued to see declining sales in the US and worldwide, and it rapidly losing its kung-fu grip on the business enterprise consumer. Its a shame. But this is what happens when a company fails to adapt to change, fails to recognize the threat of competition, and fails to innovate and keep its once loyal consumer base happy. That all being said, the PlayBook is a near Home Run. But likely few will be left to realize it. Enough with my RIM rant, on to the device. As for the PlayBook, if you are looking for a 7" ultra-portable tablet that has bulletproof construction, an incredibly simple and user friendly interface and OS yet CPU-like accessibility, fantastic web browsing with Flash support, and the added ability to Bridge up to your BlackBerry smartphone for a fraction of what other tablets cost...then the PlayBook is the tablet for you. PROS: By now I think a good number of people out there have or at least know the basic benefits and functions of what tablets can do. I will only go over the Pros and Cons that set the BlackBerry PlayBook apart from the competition. -Size: you are either a 7" tablet person or a 10" tablet person. At first I told myself I would wait for RIM to release a bigger version. After the realization that could be years (and doesn't look like its going to happen until late 2013 or 2014 if at all) I decided to buy the 16gig PB. I fell in love with the size. Small enough to fit in just about any bag comfortable, use inconspicuously, and hold and type smoothly using both thumbs when holding in hand. Size is going to be a personal preference in the end but I think the 7" size is a pro in my book. -Web Browsing: Hands down the best out there. Full Flash enabled websites make internet surfing almost identical to being on a desktop/laptop. Bill paying, media playing, online shopping, or just surfing is incredible. This is probably the main reason I bought one in the beginning. I almost never go anywhere in my house without my PlayBook because of this. At the dinner table and realize you need to pay that credit card bill (assuming you aren't stuck in the stone age and paying by check)...no problem. Want to quickly change your Fantasy Football team and watch that video snip about the latest injury report while watching the game...no problem. Reading outside on your deck and come across a word you don't recognize and want to lookup...no problem. No longer do you have to wait an hour and a half for the laptop to boot up. -Freedom from Ecosystem: some may consider this a downfall but I see it as a major positive. BlackBerry doesn't force you to become part of their ecosystem. There is no iTunes that is forcing you to use their system to download songs in a weird, unlockable format that may cause issues for other non-Apple devices. Loading songs or documents onto the device is and has always been as simple as plug the device in and drag-and-drop what you want to the folder on the device just like an external storage device. The charger slot is a mini-USB. The HDMI slot is a mini-HDMI. There are no $100 Apple-to-USB or HDMI adapters required. Its the $3 universal adapter on Amazon. If you want to use Amazon's Cloud player for your streaming music, you can...unlike Apple. -Guts and Multi-Tasking: without boring the non-techie geeks out there, the guts and OS of this tablet are phenomenal. I will just say that the processing speed, ability to multi-task between applications, screen clarity and resolution are top-notch. I have never once had a complaint about speed or the tablet functioning slow. And right now my 16gig is almost completely full with music and files. The OS which will soon be coming in an adapted version to BB's new phones in 2013 as BB10 is an OS-killer in my opinion. Its their last chance but all early indications is that they nailed it. The PB has the ability to multi-task between multiple applications unlike any other tablet. Think about having the ability of swiping between the video player, Internet Browser, Map, Weather app, Game app, an Excel spreadsheet, Calendar, PDF file, and Slacker Radio app all at once with each app running in the background and not causing a slowdown to processing. Incredible. Makes doing multiple functions at once on the PB a breeze. -BB Bridge: this is a bonus Pro for those with BB phones. The ability to Bridge the phone to the PlayBook over bluetooth is really cool. You can access all files through the PB and also add/delete/change things in the contacts, calendar, memos, and tasks on the phone. So if you are in an airplane and want a bigger screen to work in your calendar for example, its a nifty function. You can also use your phone's internet connection to tether to the PB to allow internet when outside of a wi-fi zone. Another big bonus since there isn't a 3g/4g version of the PlayBook in the states. (They just launched a 4G/LTE in Canada) CONS: -Lack of App Support: this is lone elephant in the room and its a big one. BlackBerry just doesn't offer the apps on the PlayBook that are available on Droid or Apple. It has gotten much better and there have constantly been talks of bringing Droid apps into the system but I'm still holding my breath. This is shocking also because some of the "no-brainer" apps are not available on PB. No Pandora app...really? Ok so use Slacker Radio...it is basically the same thing. No Bloomberg app...really? As someone in financial services I use that one everyday on my phone. Now granted, the PlayBook's internet experience is so spot on that many apps are unnecessary but that's not an excuse. Sure I can go to full website but sometimes I want the App only. -Lack of Sales and adoption: this isn't a huge con but its worth pointing out. Because of the lack of app support above and a variety of other reasons, there aren't very many PlayBooks floating around out there in circulation. I remember the 2nd quarter the PlayBook was available they SHIPPED less than 250,000 of them to retailers like Best Buy when Apple's iPad SOLD 12 million that same quarter. This means good luck trying to use some of the apps that are for PlayBook only. Video Chat...I bet it works great since there are two high quality camera eyes on both sides of the device but I will never know because I'm the only person I know on the planet who owns one. (truth be told, I actually did see someone walk by me in the airport with one...only time I have ever seen another one and I thought I should have said something or went to high five the random stranger as weird as that sounds. That's how "un-trendy" they are and how few are out there.) Bottom line is the PlayBook is a near home run. If they had more sales success and adoption from the consumer base therefore having the app support, this device would be as perfect as any tablet could be right now. They could nail it on their next one but that's an uphill battle. For now, I am sticking with my PB and actually just bought my 2nd one. My 16gig I bought 6 months ago will go to a family member and I am keeping the 64gig for myself. I liked the tablet at full launch price but I love it at half off. It is basically a steal. I just hope RIM as a company is still around in the next few years so they don't stop supporting the device, I don't know if I can live without it.

I got the Playbook several days before the release of OS 2.0, thinking that if the new OS was successful the price might go back up. I've now installed OS 2.0 and, while it did add some nice features, including many that people had been clamoring for, I'm not sure it's really much better. That may change as more Android apps become available for it but that's what it'll take. That said, even with the original OS it's a very nice tablet. I use a number of tablets so I'm able to compare them. This is certainly among the nicer ones in many ways. The biggest advantage it has over the rest are the really fine and loud speakers. It's the only tablet I've seen that's louder than an Ipad and it's a lot louder. And the sound is a bit clearer and cleaner as well. This is with the speakers. I haven't used the earphones yet. I haven't felt any need. The screen is excellent. It's not the kind of pop-out color saturation the Samsung tablets have but it's a bright, natural looking screen that's as good as any tablet I've used and better than most. And it's the only screen I've used that's actually okay to use outdoors. Some can be seen outside, sort of, if you don't mind it looking a bit washed out. This one, even on a bright sunny day, is easy to read a book on. They did the screen right. The OS is simple and intuitive and everything you need is always right there and never in your way. It's easier to learn than IOS and easier to use, once learned, than Android. The problem with the OS is that it's not very customizable. You can change the wallpaper and put icons where you want them and that's about it. Even IOS is a bit more customizable. With OS 2.0 they did add folders but they're large and clumsy while IOS's folders are graceful and the same size as other icons. I think the changes in OS 2.0 made the interface a little less intuitive than it was, but it's still much more straightforward and easier to use than the rest. For the non-technical person who doesn't want to spend much time learning the ins and outs of a tablet, this is certainly the best choice. For the tinkerer (like me) it's still easy to use and I have to be content with that. They already did a lot of the things I might do, so it might be said to be pre-tinkered. :) One pleasant surprise is that it plays every video I've tried to play so far, and I've tried a lot of formats. it hasn't failed yet. I was expecting that to be a problem since I use a lot of formats for various things and I thought that until a good Android video player became available it would require me to convert videos. So far I haven't had to. It plays them all. The quality of the apps has been very good, as have the prices. Most of the Android and IOS apps aren't available but it's easy enough to find replacements and they've all been just fine. Installing OS 2.0 caused a few problems with apps but updates have already become available for all the ones I've had problems with and they're all working fine now. There aren't all that many apps but so far everything I've needed has been there, usually with a few to choose from, and they've all been good. Hopefully now that Android apps are appearing there won't be any exceptions to that down the road. One thing they didn't do and should have with respect to Android apps was make them easy to install from sources other than the Blackberry App world. The way it works is that developers have to convert them to be run on the Playbook and then upload them to the Blackberry app store for vetting. That makes it all nice and safe and cozy but the fact is that a lot of my favorite Android apps have been converted by people on the internet and are available for download but there's no simple way to install them. There is a way that I haven't tried yet but I will, that requires doing things that a lot of non-techie people won't be willing to do. They should have made it easy to just copy over and install these apps. The risk, doing this through legitimate sources such as xda-developers, is small. Transferring content to the Playbook is possible via Wifi from any Windows PC (and probably Mac and Linux as well). You just turn on the Playbook sharing mode, give it a password if you choose, make note of it's IP address and then open a Windows Explorer window to that IP. The Explorer window opens on the Playbook and you can simply drag and drop files to it. This is the easiest way to transfer files that I've seen on any tablet. It also works in the background. No special mode is needed for the Playbook. I've transferred videos while playing a game or watching a video on the Playbook. This is the first tablet I've seen that takes multi-tasking seriously. The web browser is excellent, but so are those on IOS and Android. Which is the best of those is just a matter of taste. They're all very good and any advantage one might have is always temporary. They're really all pretty much the same. If anything, IOS is a bit behind without Flash but even that's temporary since Flash is going away. After saying all that good stuff about the Playbook I think I'm still faced with the fact that it's kind of in a world of it's own. It doesn't really mesh with the rest of the world in the many little ways that Android and IOS do. For the working person who isn't already using a Blackberry phone and working in a Blackberry environment and wants a tablet for utility purposes, this might not be the best choice. For someone like me who wants it for consuming media and playing an occasional game and browsing the web it's an excellent choice. I'm retired and a gadget lover and I play with these things and this is certainly going to be among my favorite toys. If I was still working and I wanted the most useful tablet I think I'd go with IOS or Android. Barry

I first bought the 32 gb model from Best Buy, and it had a dead pixel on the screen. I spent about 90 minutes with blackberry's customer service on the phone, and they offered to replace it but first had me reinstall the software, twice. They thought that somehow this would fix a dead pixel. Anyway, who has hours to waste on the phone? I don't. Then I couldn't get any laptop in the house to recognize the device properly. No issues with any other USB devices. Anyway they had me delete and reinstall the same version of their blackberry desktop software, which took another hour or so. No dice, still can't recognize it properly. It could be my laptop, but again I've had no problems with other devices. I was able to install 1 movie on it, and although the quality was very good on my laptop it wasn't that clear on the blackberry. Not sure why because the preinstalled sample 3 minute movie is super clear with very high resolution. After this movie was installed, nothing else would install, and my laptop wouldn't recognize it again. It was sort of a fluke that it worked. I returned it to Best Buy and got my money back. They were sold out due the deep price reduction. Then I bought the 64 gb model off Amazon, no dead pixels but still can't get it to work with my laptop, maybe the issue is with my laptop. As far as the device is concerned it has a lightning fast internet browser, probably as fast as my laptop for most sites. The camera was okay, but I used it indoors: may work better outdoors in sunlight. The preinstalled car racing game wasn't very good, in my opinion. If you are curious about the sound I thought the speakers worked really well for the size of this tablet. Unfortunately, and I knew this going in it doesn't do Netflix or Skype and there are very few apps that you can get right now. If I could get my own movies to load on this, I might consider keeping it. But I'd rather spend a few hundred more and get something that does what I want it to do. If you don't care about Netflix or Skype and you can get it to work with your computer then it might be right for you. Pretty good price, very nice screen and fast internet over wifi. Last thing as noted by many other reviewers is the power button. It didn't seem too bad on the 32 gb model, but on this 64 gb it's really difficult to turn it off and on with the power button. Yes you can swipe to wake up the tablet, but there will be times you will be forced to power on or off with the button, and it's annoying. I thought others were just whining about silly things, but this is quite a pain. By the way I bought the "used" model from Amazon's Warehouse deals and I'm pretty sure it's brand new. No signs that the box had ever been opened. So if you are going to buy one, be confident in Amazon's "like new" warehouse deal, as it may actually be brand new, and you get some good savings.

***UPDATE*** I could not in good conscience leave my review as it was. It was bad enough that to acquire and use the most basic and universally popular apps, I had to spend hours standing on my head, tweaking my PC, and researching Java info (I am NOT a techie) to put it all together; it was worse when the only market for buying and viewing movies and shows was the ridiculous Roxio market and its antiquated, user-hostile site. But when, less than 5 months after purchase, my Playbook went the way of countless others, refusing to take a charge and eventually dying for the last time, I had it. I can't even it sell for someone else to use for spare parts, etc., since I can't power it on to remove all my personal info. I tried so hard to support Blackberry, defending them to every mocking clerk at Best Buy or Radio Shack who saw my Torch 9810, jumping through the above referenced hoops to make it remotely useful to me, and my patience is rewarded with a $180 paperweight. It is inexcusable that with so many users having this issue RIM did not support the problem in a proactive way. My 7" Samsung Galaxy 2.0 and I are just fine together, thank you. P.S. Shortly after its first anniversary, my Torch began to have issues with locking up constantly, requiring battery removal to resolve. The day after it locked up four times in one morning when I was only reviewing my pictures, I became the happy owner of a Galaxy S3. I hope the new platform and devices work out better for Blackberry, but for now, I am done. --------------------------------- ... because 4 stars is a mite generous, but 3 too harsh in my opinion. Have had this for five days now and used it extensively. Blackberry did a lot of things right with this, as compared to other 7" tablets out there. I should explain that I bought the Playbook as a replacement for my Kindle Fire for several reasons. (And yes, I do recognize that Amazon never officially marketed the Fire as a "tablet".) 1) I LOVE my Blackberry phone and based on its quality and intuitiveness, had some faith ahead of time in the Playbook's craftsmanship and usefulness. 2) The Kindle Fire's limited device memory makes me crazy, and don't tell me about Cloud storage. That is of greatly diminished value without 3G service. No, Amazon could not have afforded to offer this for free with the Fire, but they could have made it an option which I would gladly have paid for, much as I do on my iPad. In any event, the Playbook I selected (32GB) offers quadruple the device memory as the Kindle for only 25% more money. 3) No camera on the Fire; front and rear-facing on the Playbook. You DO need good lighting for a decent shot, however. My phone takes a much better picture and compensates with a flash for darker scenes. 4) The Blackberry Bridge option which synced in a wink all the data on my Torch 9810, and the option to tether the tablet to my phone for 3G service (yes, at an additional charge.) So far I have decided the Fire is going up on eBay, but the jury is still out on whether or not I'll return the Playbook. PROS -Much larger memory than the Fire -Terrific graphics -Icons laid out on desktop in the usual manner. Sorry, I find the Fire's carousel approach silly and unwieldy, and have the impression it was used for the sole purpose of doing something different (whether it was a better idea or not.) -Menus and page minimization super easy to manipulate. -File manager from which I can access .pdfs, pictures, music, etc. Nice to have it centralized and files of all types neatly listed. -True stereo output, with speakers on BOTH sides (unlike the Fire). Sound quality is impressive. -Option for use with a separate keyboard, though RIM severely underproduced the most reliable keyboard out there. Cheaper versions seem to have mixed reviews. Regardless, a reliable external keyboard could effectively turn the Playbook into a respectable netbook IMO. -Reasonably priced -USB cable makes loading music, documents, etc. from both my office PC and home iMac a breeze. CONS (and why it might go back) -NO KINDLE APP!! Seriously?? For the first time, Amazon has managed to majorly disappoint me. The company shot off its mouth over a year ago that one would be available for the Playbook, but no. Interesting how the tune changed after the Fire came out, and all indications are that they have no interest in doing so now. Earlier Playbook users were able to sideload various Android apps including Kindle, but it appears RIM has since made it impossible to do this with the newer OS. Can I read my large Kindle library via the Playbook's browser/Cloud reader? Yes. But it is slow, and again dependent on wi-fi. -No Skype app. Video chat is an option, but not via Skype, the best known and used app/program out there for the purpose. -No Netflix app. -Come to think of it... WHY are there so few apps? Adding my voice to the huge chorus regarding this limitation, but what I find especially ridiculous are all the apps available to my phone that are not for the Playbook. How dumb is that? -Shorter battery life than the Fire. Significantly. -Often slow to connect to wi-fi when I have switched locations, even when the new hotspot has already been saved. My phone, iPad, and Kindle Fire all seamlessly switch over, but so far, not the Playbook. In general, the Playbook has a lot going for it over and above the Fire. If it included a Kindle app, there would be no question of keeping it. I have looked at other 7" tablets, and found them lacking across the board at the Playbook's price point. The Galaxy offers more but obviously you pay for it. At that MSRP, I'd just as soon sit tight and wait for Apple's (rumored) smaller iPad in the works.

I bought the Playbook since it seemed to be a good fit for my use. I carry a BB Bold (AT&T service) for work and thought this would be my best option for productivity and as a useful 'toy' when traveling. I read the reviews and was slightly worried that it was too early to buy, but I went for it. So far, after a week of use I am very pleased with the PB. Some of the issues mentioned in reviews here do exist but they are either minimal impact or can be worked around. Positives: The size and weight are perfect for me. I added a leather case and find it the right size. It seems slightly heavier than I expected, but I think this makes it feel solid. The touch screen and responsiveness of the OS is great, better than I expected from the reviews that called it sluggish. This is the first time I've used a touchscreen beyond demos at Apple, etc and I found it very easy to use. The video quality is great, the demo videos and a few downloaded videos look great. The collection of loaded apps and those available on the app store are pretty good for a device that just came out a few months ago. There is little I have looked for that is not available. Bridging to my BB is wonderful. I read reviews that this was difficult to establish and that the links drop constantly and so far that is not true, expect for the initial loading which I describe below. The bridge browser connects very well to my company's intranet and is already proving very useful. The BB browser was always hit or miss and extremely slow, so I rarely attempted to use it. The PB bridge browser works very well for looking up intranet websites. It also works perfectly for external websites when I am not connected to a wifi network. The internet tethering is something I didn't expect. I must have missed the description of that as I was concentrating on the BB bridge connections. I had assumed that I could use my BB to access email, calendar, and the bridge browser but I thought I would be out of luck when using applications on the PB that use wifi when I was not in range of a wifi network. By tethering the PB to the internet through the BB (a separate connection setting than BB bridge) all of the applications work perfectly. This is a great feature since I have an unlimited domestic tethering feature on my corporate cell phone plan. If you don't have this feature, then it would incur additional fees, which is clearly stated when you set up the connection. I understand this may not be great for many people, but compared to a 3G version of competing tablets I think this is no worse and with the BB bridge option it is quite a bit better. Some issues: As mentioned in other reviews and on the BB support forums, AT&T does not `support' the BB bridge. If you attempt to load the software via the PB's barcode it will state that and leave you `unbridged.' It is not difficult to load the bridge software from links in the BB support websites, and once I loaded it manually on my BB the application worked perfectly. I expected a bit more work to get everything to synch up, but it worked on the first try. The app store is not as extensive as other tablets seem, but there is a plan to add android apps this summer. There are also a large number of apps that are available for the BB that are not ready for the PB yet, but I imagine that will also come in time. There is no support for Bluetooth audio at this time. I found this out by trying to pair a BT stereo headset and failing repeatedly. I found out on the support forums that this is a "known" lack of support. For me, this is a minor annoyance at best since there is a headset jack and I just used that for now. If you plan to link to BT speakers or stereo headsets this might be a reason to wait. Regular BT earpieces seem to pair fine but I typically pair mine to my phone so not sure what I would use the earpiece for on the PB. Overall I am very happy with the Playbook, especially as I believe it is early in its lifecycle. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who does not have a BB, as that was one of the biggest draws for me, but if you do it is a great alternative to the other pads.

UPDATE: It is now June 2016 and I still love my PlayBook. Many people shoot them down for a lack of apps but since I am an old fashioned person that is more concerned with security than the newest bells and whistles, then, I'm good. I have a laptop for whatever my tablet can't do which is not that much. Some people complain about the native browser but there are several other browsers on the BlackBerry app site that can be installed. I prefer OrigamiBrowser because it has a desktop mode and is very fast. I did purchase a new case that comes with a wireless keyboard and that made things even better. I'll stick with this tablet until some other "reasonably priced" operating system such as Windows 10 is proven more reliable and comes on a well-made tablet. I don't trust anything to do with the android system because it is too easy to be hacked or for apps to run amuck in the background, have access to all of your personal information and be able to copy and or remove it without you even being aware...I even had one app on an android turn itself on, connect to the internet and back up a copy of all my stuff even though I had it set not to do that. Unlike Android, BlackBerry products are more secure because you can limit the access that apps can have to your tablet/cell. Now some apps won't work if you limit their access but I've found that there are enough ported Android apps configured just for this tablet on BlackBerry App World that I can usually find one to purchase at a very low price ($2 - $4) and sometimes for free that will accept the restrictions that I put in place for it. I purchased two of these, one for myself and one as a gift for a relative that's in college. She says that she loves hers, especially since it came with such a large hard drive (64GB) and she doesn't have to be concerned with flash drives, sd cards and such. We both like the built in Video Chat that allows us to talk face to face over wifi without using a phone or using up minutes or requiring 4G and I love the fact that I was able to purchase each tablet for only $188 a piece! I'm somewhat familiar with this system because I've owned BlackBerry phones for the last several years and can do all kinds of neat things between my phone and tablet such as linking them and sharing files between them and or my PC by bluetooth and wifi because the phone files show up right on the tablet and vice versa and I can use the print to file app to send files from my PC to the tablet over wifi/bluetooth and vise versa. I can also use my phone as a remote control for the tablet. There have been two upgrades since we've had these. The first was immediate and was an upgrade to the newest OS and the second was back in September and was for stability and performance of an app...I believe it was something to do with Adobe Reader. Now I just need to get one of the new BlackBerry Q10 phones and it'll all be gravy. To sum things up, we're pleased with performance, security and price!

BlackBerry PlayBook - Tablet - 16 GB - 7" TFT ( 1024 x 600 ) - rear camera + front camera - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth I bought this item after much research. I already have a blackberry phone, and wanted a larger screen to view emails etc. The good things: Beautiful screen Easy to set up Excellent for watching BBC iplayer and videos Easy reading The Guardian though it insists on the mobile version Good camera and video Easy data input from PC I have bought a bluetooth mouse (Logitech) which works well. I had more problems with a keyboard, the Logitech ipad keyboard did not work but I noticed online that somebody was using the Apple bluetooth keyboard and it worked brilliantly for me, installed first time. A stand is also essential but there are cheap plastic ones on Amazon. I use it for work, as a mobile worker it is very good for taking notes or writing short reports though I do miss MS Word. It is possible to create word documents on a PC or laptop and transfer them across and use them as 'templates'. I plan to transfer 2 or 3 of the most used documents. I have now tried to use it 3 times doing interviews, all very easy and after a few seconds interest did not present as a distraction. After I had completed the interviews, the files easily transferred via USB cable to my PC (though I had to switch off the firewall for the PC to see the playbook. Partner is disabled but finds swipe quite easy to use. The cut down Excel programme I am not impressed with, I have tried to transfer a file with formulae (simple ones) but it did not work, file went across minus formulae, I would like to use the playbook to record mileage and expenses as I go but the apps available do not inspire confidence, hence the need for a useable version of Excel. I tried to log in to online versions of Word and Excel but could not get in. The BBC iplayer works really well. The sound is excellent and it rarely drops out. I want Kindle (where is it Amazon?) and pocket Office (where is it Microsoft?) WiFi is not as good as a conventional laptop and in places where I can get a signal with the laptop, nothing on the playbook, this is a bit puzzling because places where a cheap netbook can get a signal, the playbook cannot. Internet tethering does work well. I have a blackberry package and I use tethering sparingly but no impact on my mobile phone bill. The Blackberry Bridge can sometimes drop out and be difficult to get going again although I do not know if it is the battered blackberry or the playbook which is the problem. Overall though I think it is excellent and I look forward to filling the missing areas in 2012, courtesy of Microsoft and Amazon.

Camera dmage

Ich war auf der Suche nach einem bezahlbaren Tablet mit großem Speicher. Bin auf das Blackberry gestoßen. Dieses Tablet ist perfekt verarbeitet, gestochen scharfes, kristallklares Display und einen supertollen Sound. Ich habe sehr viel Musik und eine Menge Videos auf dem Playbook, die Performance ist perfekt, es ruckelt nichts, nichts hängst sich auf, die Reaktionen von Display bei Berührung sind promt und genau. Das einrichten geht denkbar einfach, die Bedienung ebenfalls. Es gibt 2 Kameras, vorne und hinten, die hinten ist doch hochauflösende zum fotografieren, vorne die zum Videochatten. Skype geht zwar noch nicht, aber laut Medienberichten kommz sehr bald, auch für das Playbook, kostenlos, das neue Betriebssystem OS 10. Dann wird dieses Playbook wohl mit Links auch das I-Pad oder das Samsung Tablet überholen. Ich muss gestehen das ich am Anfang etwas irritiert war da mir nicht bewusst war das Blackberry ein eigenes Betriebssystem hat. Das ist aber kein Problem, es ist sehr klar und verständlich aufgebaut, Ich habe das Playbook an mein Win 7 und Win 8 Laptop angeschlossen, es gab bei beiden nicht das geringste Problem, das Daten übertragen oder vom Playbook löschen funktioniert einwandfrei. Es gibt eine kostenlose Software die man sich und den Laptops laden laden um damit ins Playbook zu gehen, die nutze ich nicht, ich mach das direkt über den Explorer, das reicht mir voll und ganz. Der momentane Preis für dieses Tablet ist unschlagbar. Die Ausstattung stimmt, die Qualität erst recht.

Pros: Manejable. Muy buena resolución de pantalla. Fluidez en los vídeos, no se percibe ningún tirón. Cogiendo buena oferta como fue mi caso, no le hace competencia alguna a su competidor directo -samsung galaxy tabla 7"-, salvando las diferencia de los sistemas operativos. Curiosamente a pesar de no ser un Android, para el uso ke le doy, cumple perfectamente mis expectativas. Siempre hay la posibilidad de poner un simulador de Android.Buena nitidez de los vídeos vistos a través de la pantalla de tv. Responde muy bien al tacto. Contras: Algo pesado con respecto a la competencia. No permite conectar ningún dispositivo a través de la toma USB.No tiene ranura para tarjetas. Conclusiones: si no eres exigente con las limitaciones del sistema operativo blackberry, cumple perfectamente, y sobre todo para gestionar el correo y los textos ke keramos redactar.

What a great piece of kit.... This is from someone who uses Apple and has always looked down on the dark fruit! Bought this for my son to go with his 9900. Within seconds of switching it on, the latest update was on its way and all his contacts and diary entries were perfectly and faultlessly synched. It's small enough to fit in his coat pocket when he goes out . Big enough to watch tv and YouTube videos. It's multi tasking capabilities seem perfect and the user interface options look to be endless. I'd better stop now as I'm rapidly talking my self into becoming a RIM user!