Blackberry Playbook 64GB - £129!!

cabsy83

We got a playbook in feb and returned it the next day as we couldnt access internet without a bb phone which we werent told at the time of purchase. We were also sold it as a way of getting skype which we couldnt get! Also angry birds download was £5!!! PC World did say that this may be changing soon when we returned it but i wasnt going to hang on to a tablet 'just in case' i could use it in the future. Like I say, it may have changed since feb but that was my experience!

jimboban

cabsy83 wrote: »

We got a playbook in feb and returned it the next day as we couldnt access internet without a bb phone which we werent told at the time of purchase. We were also sold it as a way of getting skype which we couldnt get! Also angry birds download was £5!!! PC World did say that this may be changing soon when we returned it but i wasnt going to hang on to a tablet 'just in case' i could use it in the future. Like I say, it may have changed since feb but that was my experience!

I think PC World probably provided some bad advice in Feb! (Nothing new there!) - Playbook has ALWAYS been able to access the web without a BB handset (via WiFi).

Will now run the majority of android apps - so I suspect Angry Birds will be a rather different price (free on android last time I checked!)

There certainly are some differences between the PlayBook and say an iPad - but at this price, the Playbook is just amazing value!

(Note, you can buy 'tablets' for silly money everywhere - £40 and up - but in the main, to get a "good quality tablet" with acceptable build quality and "grunt" (think iPad, Galaxy Tab, Xoom, Nexus, etc) you're looking at £200+ and thats with 8 or 16gb of flash - the PlayBook has fantastic build quality and is a genuine competitor with the other leading tablets - but at this price is just fantastic)

And now back in stock for home delivery!!

Syman

what "office" type software is available for the playbook?

ravylesley

I cant understand why you couldnt access the internet on a Playbook at home as it just finds wifi networks and you log in.Yes you have to tether it to a mobile to obtain internet away from home but this is no great problem and easily achieved

jimboban

Syman wrote: »

what "office" type software is available for the playbook?

Comes preloaded with docs-to-go (many others available from the app store!) - see below link for further info.

http://helpblog.blackberry.com/2012/02/getting-started-with-documents-to-go-in-blackberry-playbook-os-2-0/

C_Mababejive

My partner bought a BB playbook a while back. Having played with it myself i wasnt impressed. I found it difficult to use and it is eternally hamstrung by its operating system and the restrictive software on it. Thats why they are cheap(er). Some may find it suits their purposes/needs.

jimboban

ravylesley wrote: »

I cant understand why you couldnt access the internet on a Playbook at home as it just finds wifi networks and you log in.Yes you have to tether it to a mobile to obtain internet away from home but this is no great problem and easily achieved

And to take this further, you could tether with any device (iPhone, Galaxy S3, etc) capable of offering wi-fi tethering - you're not stuck with BB being the only option (although that does have some nice value-adds)

prowla

As I see it, there are a number of problems with the BB:

1. It is a dead end product - the hardware isn't being developed and the OS may not be.
2. The screen is small.
3. The need to tether with a BB phone for mobile internet (silly design!).
4. Questions about apps availability.

On the plus side, it does feel like a quality machine.


I guess £129 is getting near to a fair price though.

jimboban

prowla wrote: »

As I see it, there are a number of problems with the BB:

1. It is a dead end product - the hardware isn't being developed and the OS may not be.
2. The screen is small.
3. The need to tether with a BB phone for mobile internet (silly design!).
4. Questions about apps availability.

On the plus side, it does feel like a quality machine.


I guess £129 is getting near to a fair price though.

Couple of thoughts on this

1. Not true - new PlayBook (LTE) will be released later this year - hence the discounts to the current line
2. It's a 7" tablet - so providing you don't want a 10" tablet, its comparable to other 7" models on the market.
3. Not true - you can tether with any device that's capable of acting as a wi-fi access point (common functionality on many modern phones)
4. With the release of OS 2.0 earlier this year, you can run the majority of android applications - greatly improving app availability.

(And no, I don't work for RIM! Just think the PB is a fantastic bit of kit - at this price - and when you dig a little, you can see it's a solid option - unlike the perception (as above) that it's not capable of doing many simple things)

Best

JB

NiftyDigits

jimboban wrote: »

Couple of thoughts on this

1. Not true - new PlayBook (LTE) will be released later this year - hence the discounts to the current line
2. It's a 7" tablet - so providing you don't want a 10" tablet, its comparable to other 7" models on the market.
3. Not true - you can tether with any device that's capable of acting as a wi-fi access point (common functionality on many modern phones)
4. With the release of OS 2.0 earlier this year, you can run the majority of android applications - greatly improving app availability.

(And no, I don't work for RIM! Just think the PB is a fantastic bit of kit - at this price - and when you dig a little, you can see it's a solid option - unlike the perception (as above) that it's not capable of doing many simple things)

Best

JB

OS 2.1 has been released to Developers. It will improve the application of Android Apps.