Playbook OS 2.0 available now

[MRU]

Just a heads up...

Like many here I bought the playbook whilst it was on sale, it was never going to challenge my iPad 2 & I'm still getting the iPad 3, but just for those with playbooks, the eagerly waited OS 2.0 update is now available via software updater.

400mb download, mine seems to be taking its sweet time downloading though.


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Calendar and Mail application are excellent and long over due. The new RSS client is very good also. Only thing I still think is missing is a native Twitter application from Twitter themselves. App Store still kind of barren.

 

[barkomatic]

I got the update myself. It brings the Playbook one step closer to being on par (software wise) with iOS and Android. However, it's not quite there yet and needs some basic apps like Kindle and Netflix. For $299 at 64GB its a good deal and the smaller size makes it easier to haul around. It's kinda nice to use a different OS for a change and there is plenty I like about it.

Nevertheless, I'm looking to pick up the iPad 3 when its released.

 

[powderblue17]

I updated this morning. I'll probably get flamed on here for this but QNX is just so much better then iOS/Android and I've been a blackberry hater forever up until now.

The gestures and interface are great and no stupid home or sleep button is needed.

 

[4DThinker]

I got the update too. Exchange email/contacts/calendar for my business so far hasn't worked, but just having an email app (Messages) is refreshing. Adds facebook and Linked-in messages into the same app as well. Heard something about printing, but haven't figured that out yet. For the discounted price it's a much better value now, but still needs far more app support.

 

[rm2092]

I bought the Playbook day one and got screwd by Rim with there it will all be here by summer crap and then all the retailers cut the price in halph because of all the bad stunts and I was lucky to get halph of my money back when I sold it what a loss that was. I went from the iPad 1 to Playbook and back to the iPad 2 and soon iPad 3 as soon as its out. I do believe the iPad is the best tablet out there look at how the work place is taking over with it. These are just my 2 cents, thank you.

 

[jca24]

rim is dead

 

[Stealthipad]

Do not know about RIM being dead but the Playbook is. RIM will be glad to put it behind them and never look back!

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I updated this morning. I'll probably get flamed on here for this but QNX is just so much better then iOS/Android and I've been a blackberry hater forever up until now.

The gestures and interface are great and no stupid home or sleep button is needed.

Many are not near as happy as you are in the PB forums.

 

[aneftp]

Qnx is rim'snext gen o's. I own a PlayBook also. Got it in September at super discount. $199 32GB.

Anyways RIM is just using the playbook as a guinea Pig because future blackberry phones will be based on Qnx/bbx/bb10 or whatever rim wants to call it without getting sued.

QNX is very nice. Fluid.

But RIM may be too late to save the playbook. Ridiculous to make early adopters pay a $500/600/700 price and not have native apps for 10 months.

But at its current price $199/249/299 up may want to consider picking one up as a spare or more portable 7 inch model.

 

[deeddawg]

But RIM may be too late to save the playbook

Sadly, RIM may be too late to save RIM.

Stock price 22 Feb 2011: $67.42
as of 21 Feb 2012: $14.88

 

[ch02ce]

I'm not sold on all the doom and gloom for RIM. Much of it seems repetitive at this point.

I eagerly await my purchase of an iPad 3, but I got to say that 2.0 looks like an interesting update and I commend them on it.

A year late? Definitely, but the price is right. As a lover of gadgets in general I was considering picking one up to play with. As much as some people like to take sides in these types of debates, the more companies competing against each other the better I say.

Despite their missteps, it would be a shame to lose RIM, so I do find myself rooting for them in the underdog type of way sometimes, though I don't currently own any of their products.

 

[Stealthipad]

I'm not sold on all the doom and gloom for RIM. Much of it seems repetitive at this point.

I eagerly await my purchase of an iPad 3, but I got to say that 2.0 looks like an interesting update and I commend them on it.

A year late? Definitely, but the price is right. As a lover of gadgets in general I was considering picking one up to play with. As much as some people like to take sides in these types of debates, the more companies competing against each other the better I say.

Despite their missteps, it would be a shame to lose RIM, so I do find myself rooting for them in the underdog type of way sometimes, though I don't currently own any of their products.

The problem with the Playbook is RIM had to lower the prices way below any profit level just to get them out the door. 2.0 does not matter when you did not make profit on your hardware. RIM's stock continues to tumble.

 

[4DThinker]

The problem with the Playbook is RIM had to lower the prices way below any profit level just to get them out the door. 2.0 does not matter when you did not make profit on your hardware. RIM's stock continues to tumble.

"Way below any profit" is conjecture, and why most don't understand the value of them updating the Playbook. Kindle Fire sells for $199. Nook Tablet 8gb now does too. Trust me there is profit at those prices or they wouldn't bother either. Even at the discounted price RIM makes money for every Playbook it is still selling. Just not as much. Showing that they still support it, and following through with their original promises means the ones still for sale are more likely to sell now. The true loss leader was the HP Touchpad at $99/$149.

 

[ch02ce]

The problem with the Playbook is RIM had to lower the prices way below any profit level just to get them out the door. 2.0 does not matter when you did not make profit on your hardware. RIM's stock continues to tumble.

Haha fair enough. This is true. I guess the strategy now is to use it as a loss-leader like Sony and the PS3 to install a user base/generate developer interest and hopefully the second iteration of the PB will be sold at a profit.

Just goes to show you how hard it is to compete with Apple in this space.

I wonder if there are more PlayBooks out there than Android tablets... Anyone know who is in second place? I remember seeing that their marketshare had jumped from 5-15% of the Canadian tablet market but haven't seen anything beyond that.

 

[poloponies]

"Way below any profit" is conjecture, and why most don't understand the value of them updating the Playbook. Kindle Fire sells for $199. Nook Tablet 8gb now does too. Trust me there is profit at those prices or they wouldn't bother either.

Most knowledgeable people believe that the profit in those devices lies solely in content. Recent projections estimate that Amazon will reap about $136 in profit over the life of the device based on sales of content. There's next to no profitability in the hardware itself.

 

[Stealthipad]

"Way below any profit" is conjecture, and why most don't understand the value of them updating the Playbook. Kindle Fire sells for $199. Nook Tablet 8gb now does too. Trust me there is profit at those prices or they wouldn't bother either. Even at the discounted price RIM makes money for every Playbook it is still selling. Just not as much. Showing that they still support it, and following through with their original promises means the ones still for sale are more likely to sell now. The true loss leader was the HP Touchpad at $99/$149.

You know little about how it works. You said above "there is profit at those prices or they wouldn't bother either". LOL! So you think they would toss them in the toilet? I own a company and if you can't make a profit on an item you do what ever you can to reduce your losses and move on. They still got a butt load of these to sell not to mention the thousands that were returned. 2.0 still leave the PB lack from what they originally promised and it took FOR EVER to get it out. People are still complaining. If RIM made a profit, their stock would be going up and has done nothing but go down! The PB has been a disaster for RIM and it does not take most to figure that out!

Haha fair enough. This is true. I guess the strategy now is to use it as a loss-leader like Sony and the PS3 to install a user base/generate developer interest and hopefully the second iteration of the PB will be sold at a profit.

Just goes to show you how hard it is to compete with Apple in this space.

I wonder if there are more PlayBooks out there than Android tablets... Anyone know who is in second place? I remember seeing that their marketshare had jumped from 5-15% of the Canadian tablet market but haven't seen anything beyond that.

The people I know that work for RIM says there will be no new PB to replace the original. They are in survival mode and so many of their co-workers are out of a job! Lots of hardware problems with their new Bold series has compounded their hardship and as usual, RIM is denying there is a problem just like the stuttering keyboard.

Apple is first when it comes to tablet with Android next. The Playbook is . . . well it is WAY down there.

I used Blackberry for years and years, all the way back to the 950 series that used a track wheel. I purchased 6 Blackberry 9900 units for my top employees and not one work this date. Can you say BRICKED?

All are on iPhones and iPads with out a single defect

 

[Fernandez21]

Loving the update on my PlayBook, the browser is amazing fast and flash compatible too. Really looking forward to BB10 phones coming out at the end year, I really like the concept of the QNX os better than iOS, though iOs has a lot more features and tons more support. It'll be nice at the end of the year carrying an iphome 5 and BB10 phone.

 

[barkomatic]

Loving the update on my PlayBook, the browser is amazing fast and flash compatible too. Really looking forward to BB10 phones coming out at the end year, I really like the concept of the QNX os better than iOS, though iOs has a lot more features and tons more support. It'll be nice at the end of the year carrying an iphome 5 and BB10 phone.

Yes, the flash playback on the Playbook is the best on any tablet I've ever used. Almost (but not quite) as good as on a laptop in fact. I still use a few video sites that are holdouts against HTML5 so this is a factor for me.

Anyway, it's still anyone's guess if RIM will ever release another tablet. I'll likely be picking up an iPad 3 when its released as I love the idea of a true HD screen and LTE data. The Playbook was a stopgap measure as I didn't want to get an iPad2 just prior to the iPad3.