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Tried out a blackberry playbook at best buy today and...

I

iPadThai

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 25, 2010
547
0
(prepare to say I couldn't possibly be for real):

I tried out the new playbook at best buy. Let's skip to the conclusion:

There's no way this thing will even beat an iPad 1 running iOS 4.3 in terms of overall UI fluidness. The iPad 2 is king.

The thing was a bit confusing considering the button placement and I had to search since the iOS devices come with a simple home button I'm accustomed to on this new playbook it was already a turn off.

I tried the browser out first and last. The speed is pretty decent but I believe subjectively the ipad2 is still faster. I just loaded up CNN and engadget. I tried to pinch to zoom and it's fast but hell no even the iPad 1 is superior. Ipad2 is just icing smooth. The playbook like the android devices just don't have the "feel" of smoothness down at all. Of course I am comparing to the iOS.

I left because after having an ipad1 and now the iPad 2 I really know. There's nothing on the market close to getting my money like the iPad. Sorry haters but if you can't hold my interest at a kiosk for more than 3 minutes you lose.

Forget the lack of apps. Even the feel of the device is meh at best. Now I know why the iPad sells extremely well. Lastly the screen was not impressive enough for me. iPads larger screen is definitely more pleasing.
 
That's great, I'll still be buying one :p. An iPod touch is all the iOS I need. Always good to expand your horizons beyond the same boring stuff.
 
iPadThai said:
(prepare to say I couldn't possibly be for real):

I tried out the new playbook at best buy. Let's skip to the conclusion:

There's no way this thing will even beat an iPad 1 running iOS 4.3 in terms of overall UI fluidness. The iPad 2 is king.

The thing was a bit confusing considering the button placement and I had to search since the iOS devices come with a simple home button I'm accustomed to on this new playbook it was already a turn off.

I tried the browser out first and last. The speed is pretty decent but I believe subjectively the ipad2 is still faster. I just loaded up CNN and engadget. I tried to pinch to zoom and it's fast but hell no even the iPad 1 is superior. Ipad2 is just icing smooth. The playbook like the android devices just don't have the "feel" of smoothness down at all. Of course I am comparing to the iOS.

I left because after having an ipad1 and now the iPad 2 I really know. There's nothing on the market close to getting my money like the iPad. Sorry haters but if you can't hold my interest at a kiosk for more than 3 minutes you lose.

Forget the lack of apps. Even the feel of the device is meh at best. Now I know why the iPad sells extremely well. Lastly the screen was not impressive enough for me. iPads larger screen is definitely more pleasing.
Click to expand...
Not everyone wants a dummed down device like the iPad anymore honestly. The screen quality is better on the PB so I don't know where you got that from. I'm an iPad 1 owner and wasn't impressed enough to buy an iPad 2.
 
QNX is an amazing OS.

Give the market time to develop key quality apps.

The current 7" form factor results in a hard to read screen, looking forward to a bigger Playbook.
 
Still unsure why companies are heading forward with 7" 'tablets'... They aren't a phone, and they aren't a tablet. Too small for particularly good typing, browsing, etc, and too big for a phone. I don't get it.
 
I have to agree with the OP.
Our IS department purchased one for testing.
It's not intuitive, the screen size limits it's functionality and it's clumsy. I don't know how anyone could thing the display is superior to iPad.

The people actually testing the PB were also unimpressed and preferred the iPad 1 they have also been testing.

It's got zero chance to put a dent in iPad demand!
 
62tele said:
It's not intuitive.
Click to expand...
No iOS device is intuitive to anyone who has never used one before. After playing with several android devices, and swapping between them and my Touch and iPad2 I yearn for the android back/home/menu buttons as a more efficient UI strategy. The single Home button is certainly simpler. It is also limited. Many android devices let the control buttons rotate with the screen. Always on the bottom no matter how the screen is rotated. I'm betting Apple will move to a capacative button on the bezel that can light-up/activate on any side that is down when you rotate your iDevice.
 
Bluemeanie1976 said:
Still unsure why companies are heading forward with 7" 'tablets'... They aren't a phone, and they aren't a tablet. Too small for particularly good typing, browsing, etc, and too big for a phone. I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Because there are times and situations where it would be better to fully hold a device in one hand, fingers either side of the screen, and have the other hand free, perhaps to sorting through papers, holding a pen in that hand, or moving something, counting stock perhaps.

iPad size is great, and personally I want a larger one for home use, but I can also see for on the move/business uses, a 9.7" screen device can be a bit big and clumsy.

Does not mean the iPad is wrong, it just means there are times and situations where a easy to hold in one hand would be better, and a phone the device would be a bit small.

7" seems to sweet spot/max size that's practical for safe single handed holding.

I think there are places for both 7" and 10" devices to exist along side each other.

As I said, for me, for games/entertainment use at home, I'd like say a 12" or 13" model.
 
I think Android will get there eventually but it`s just not quite there yet.
I love the idea of self-updating widgets on the home screen and more customization options but it still feels a little flakey.

I`m very on the fence at the moment, I have and love, an original iPad but I also use Android phones so I would be prepared to jump ship if Android really offers me something better but, on a tablet at least, it`s not for me...yet.

Time will tell.
 
4DThinker said:
No iOS device is intuitive to anyone who has never used one before. After playing with several android devices, and swapping between them and my Touch and iPad2 I yearn for the android back/home/menu buttons as a more efficient UI strategy. The single Home button is certainly simpler. It is also limited. Many android devices let the control buttons rotate with the screen. Always on the bottom no matter how the screen is rotated. I'm betting Apple will move to a capacative button on the bezel that can light-up/activate on any side that is down when you rotate your iDevice.
Click to expand...

I have enabled Multi Touch gestures on my IPad 2 and I never use the home button now. It should be standard - 5 finger pinch for Home. Awesome.
 
Fubar1977 said:
I think Android will get there eventually but it`s just not quite there yet.
I love the idea of self-updating widgets on the home screen and more customization options but it still feels a little flakey.

I`m very on the fence at the moment, I have and love, an original iPad but I also use Android phones so I would be prepared to jump ship if Android really offers me something better but, on a tablet at least, it`s not for me...yet.

Time will tell.
Click to expand...

I actually agree with you, but it depends more on Apple I think.

Apple is cool, iPad is cool, It's a gimmic product for most, there is a lot of "of the moment" hype and excitement" about it and the whole tablet thing as it's new, hip and trendy.

PC's, Mac's, Laptops don't have that.

The iPad is the new toy you just got this Christmas and it's your favourite.

There is a LOT of this in the mix at the moment............................

I've no doubt, non Apple people who are all excited at the moment, over time are going to start finding little annoyances with what they can and can't do. Or things made deliberately difficult.

If in time other products come along that seem more able, less restricted, more versatile, then there's no reason why people may think let's try something else, at least it will do XYZ easier than what I have right now.

This of course is totally in Apple's hands.

As was said with other issues, Apple have been able to get away with things due to their small size, that companies such as Msoft would never be allowed to get away with.

Perhaps this will in the long term be Apple's downfall.
Perhaps when Steve Jobs is no longer around, the company will "chill out" a bit and relax a little on their products.

Allow you to select which web browser your default one is.
Allow your video app to play back other formats.
Allow you to connect your iDevice to your PC at home and at work.

Things such as this and many more.

Only time will tell.
 
I think the biggest issue for me with switching platforms is the amount of money I currently have invested in iPad apps and the Apple infrastucture generally.
I don`t relish having to re-buy all my apps on a new platform.
That said, if Android blows me away in the future I would take the loss and switch but a lot a people almost become "prisoners" of their OS choice simply because they don`t want to replace a couple of hundred dollars worth of Apps.

I currently have around £100 or so invested in ipad apps.
 
Playbook could have identical specs, looks...and it still wouldn't compete.

It wont ever have iOS (Airplay is awesome btw) or as many apps available as Apple has.

I'm sure Blackberry fans will buy it, but there's no way it has the mass appeal (or mass functionality) that he iPad enjoys thanks to the App store offerings.
 
I have no particular allegiance to any technological platform.

There is a lot to like about the PlayBook. The QNX kernel is very impressive. Multi-tasking is handled very well. You can have a web page or PDF open and take notes with Word-to-Go by quickly switch between the apps with a swipe of your finger. The screen is gorgeous, but a little cramped. The cameras are quite good in good light. Being able to sync files with your home computer without a cable is very nice. It definitely does not feel like a completed product (e.g., no autocorrection) but this thing has some serious potential.

I've used the iPad quite a bit. I like the screen size but it's also too large for me to carry around on a daily basis. To say that there's 1 right size for a tablet is like saying there's 1 right size for books or paper. Multitasking isn't handled well and the cameras blow chunks. The app list, however, is very impressive. I'm waiting to see how Apple approaches iOs5. If they move in more of a consumer direction, I am ditching Apple. If they start offering some truly integrated services (like bluetooth syncing between iPhone and iPad), then I'll be impressed.
 
Interesting...I just went to check out the Playbook at best buy yesterday without high expectations as reviews online weren't completely satisfied, but the UI is very intuitive. I have no idea how you were confused actually, swiping from the sides became second nature after 10 seconds of using he thing. Gestures similar to the Playbook will be the way to go, similar to even the iPad's new gestures. I only use the home button once on my jailbroken iPhone 4 to turn it on, but after that it's all gestures with Activator. It makes the experience a lot more fluid.

Another thing that I find strange is how you thought the UI itself was worse off than iOS in speed and fluidity. I have always been critical of android for not having a hardware accelerated UI which makes ios so much nicer to use, but I couldn't find fault in the PB, I think they have it down, nothing was lagging and pinch to zoom was near perfect.

That said, I don't believe we were both looking at the Playbook.
 
There are only a couple of things that iOS lacks, that Android has. 1 is active widgets and the other is notifications. I hope both get resolved with iOS 5.

But for anyone that thinks the iPad or iPhone can't be customized, have never jailbroken aka 'rooted' their iDevice. (Although iPad 2 with the latest iOS can't be jb yet.) My iPhone 3GS uses the Nexus active homescreens just for fun, I fit 5 icons across onto the screen and dock and utilize different images for icons at will. Customizing your iDevice is easy.

As for syncing without cables... this is easy with Dropbox. I upload documents, pdf's, movies, tv shows or whatever with Dropbox and no wires or syncing to a computer needed.

For all the bs about Apple being closed, Steve Jobs doesn't allow this or that, is all crap. If you leave an iDevice standard, it's closed and not very customizable, but the same can be said for any Android phone that isn't rooted.

As for the Playbook... I give RIM 5 more months before they start discounted it for lack of sales and high return rates.
 
Bluemeanie1976 said:
Still unsure why companies are heading forward with 7" 'tablets'... They aren't a phone, and they aren't a tablet. Too small for particularly good typing, browsing, etc, and too big for a phone. I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Try buying 10" 4:3 touch screens right now to mass produce your own tablet brand.

Psychmike said:
If they start offering some truly integrated services (like bluetooth syncing between iPhone and iPad), then I'll be impressed.
Click to expand...

Bluetooth syncing? Too much trouble. MobileMe. Keeps my email, contacts, bookmarks, calendars, and notes in sync with my iPad, Winders laptop, and iMac. Includes iDisk for online file storage. I can also goto ANY computer, regardless of OS, and access everything. (Except bookmarks). This is done without any extra effort on my part. Bluetooth is soooo 1990s.
 
The flaws of the playbook are most definately not its intuitive OS or its screen quality.

Its the lack of Apps and the Power Button. Its still a top quality tablet.
 
Its crazy how much the "feel" matters. It could have 10X more features than an ipad, but if it isn't as smooth I'll take the ipad any day.
 
Mr Bigs said:
Not everyone wants a dummed down device like the iPad anymore honestly. The screen quality is better on the PB so I don't know where you got that from. I'm an iPad 1 owner and wasn't impressed enough to buy an iPad 2.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you can get much more dumbed down than not even having a mail app, among other things. I'll let you guess which tablet that is.
 
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