The BlackBerry PlayBook is RIM's latest foray into the tablet market, going for a practical business look rather than focusing on fun. It comes packed with some of the fastest hardware available in a tablet and features a very sleek and smooth design.
The biggest strength of the PlayBook is its ability to handle corporate and enterprise tasks. It is by far the most complete tablet on the market today if your primary need is for business. The keyboard is slick to use and the touchscreen is responsive. It displays Powerpoint presentations in all their glory and has enhanced security features to keep your sensitive data safe.
BlackBerry did not compromise when choosing hardware for the PlayBook. It features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and three levels of storage to choose from (16, 32, or 64GB). This leads to an enjoyable experience as apps load nearly instantly and multitasking does not slow the PlayBook down much at all. Battery life is good overall, but not the best. Expect around seven hours between charges compared to ten hours on the iPad 2. Unfortunately, memory management issues come up every now and again and need a reboot to fix them.
The controls on the outside of the device are a low point. The power button is the only way to disable the screen and it is in a rather annoying place and requires too much pressure to activate. The PlayBook is also missing many apps that are available on Apple and Android tablets. If you are buying a tablet for fun and not for business, you might want to look elsewhere.
Need to Know: BlackBerry PlayBook
1. Second to none when it comes to business and enterprise work. RIM has this part of the market well in hand. (The Good)
2. Impressive hardware specs make for an enjoyable user experience. (The Good)
3. Lacks apps that Apple and Android users take for granted. (The Bad)
4. Memory management issues can slow the device to a crawl at times. (The Bad)
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Martyn Casserly, Tech AdvisorRIM's revised BlackBerry PlayBook addresses all the original tablet's shortcomings.
- Chris Martin, V3The much needed software upgrade for the PlayBook tablet does make it a lot better in a number of ways. The three main apps significantly improve the PlayBook and RIM has done a great job of including good features and making them work well.However, we can't bypass the fact that these should have be...
- Jamison Cush, TabletPCReviewWithout a doubt, every Tablet OS 2.0 change and addition makes the PlayBook a better tablet. The email app and its calendar, contacts and social media integration may have arrived too late for iPad owners to ditch Apple’s tablet for a PlayBook, but the new clients are certainly not too little....
- David Pierce, The VergeIt may be labeled version 2.0, but this is the operating system the Playbook should have shipped with. It’s relatively complete, mostly bug-free, and though it’s filled with plenty of oddities, quirks, and issues none are hugely problematic. The additions are smart ones, the new apps are...
- Stuart Miles, Pocket-lintUltimately, it’s early days for the PlayBook, if RIM can live up to their promises this is one tablet that could be the main set for businesses everywhere. But if those promises aren’t kept and the apps fail to materialise you’ll be left with something that’s really only good...
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