Blackberry Playbook Review
PrintPretty impressive—if you don't like email, apps, or games
For the record, the Maximum PC Lab keeps both feet planted squarely in the present tense. We don’t believe anyone should buy hardware based solely on its future potential. So what then to make of RIM’s nascent and decidedly half-baked Blackberry Playbook? Unless you’re 1) a Blackberry owner, 2) don’t care about apps or games, or 3) a devoted BB fanboy, the answer is: not much.
By the time you read this, it’s possible that the Playbook might be more complete via OS updates. The release version, however, omitts some basic functions. It has no native email client and no native calendar app. To access either, you need to bridge your existing Blackberry to the Playbook. What’s that? You don’t have a Blackberry phone? Or your Blackberry isn’t near your tablet? Well then you get no email. RIM says a pending update will deliver stand-alone email.
Among the Playbook’s few redeeming features is its gorgeous—albeit smaller—screen.
What else is missing? There’s no 3G or 4G wireless connectivity. There is a dearth of apps, including no Amazon Kindle, no Netflix, no Hulu, and no audio/video marketplace. (In Kindle’s place is the surprisingly excellent Kobo Books app and store.) There are poorly designed buttons, including an oddly placed power switch. There is buggy, crash-prone desktop client software. And the OS is, well, it exhibits the kinds of bugs any 1.0 release does: flickering screens, unreliable syncing, and so forth.
It’s not all bad, however. Given RIM’s propensity for building underpowered smartphones, we were surprised to discover that the hardware itself exceeded our expectations. The 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A-9 CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU offer impressive heavyweight performance that the OS actually appears to take advantage of. Almost everything—downloads, web browsing, and the ability to multitask music, movies, camera functions, and even games—feels snappy.
The 1024x600 capacitive touch screen LCD is a gem. It’s spectacular enough that we deem it king of all tablet displays—including the iPad 2. And the Playbook’s battery life holds up fairly well, easily going several days in a row before needing a charge when performing basic functions. This may prove to be an illusion, however, once we see more CPU-intensive games and apps.
Finally, we found ourselves appreciating the OS interface the more we used it. It’s a significant departure from Android and Apple in that it relies entirely on gestures instead of buttons to navigate between apps and the home screen. It’s simple and we like it. And truth be told, even the email client is solidly functional—provided you can get into it.
But this is the big problem with the Playbook. For now, it’s all if, then, and when. Awesome HD video viewing? Great, but there’s no streaming content. Multitasking? What are we going to multitask? Front-facing camera? That’s cool, but no apps make use of it.
Unless and until RIM finishes fleshing out the Playbook, there’s no reason to buy it. After that, this tablet might be onto something.
$500 (16GB); $600 (32GB); $700 (64GB), www.blackberry.com/playbook
Blackberry Playbook
RIM SHOT
Awesome screen, snappy performance, great
RIM'S OUT
No email/calendar/contacts without bridge; no app support.
5
SPECIFICATIONS
| Blackberry Playbook | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 |
| System Memory | 1GB |
| Storage Capacity | 16, 32, or 64GB |
| Screen | 7-inch, 1024 x 600 LCD capacitive multitouch display |
| Cameras | 5MP rear-facing; 3MP front-facing |
| GPU | PowerVR SGX540 |
| Dimensions | 5.1 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches |
| Weight | 0.9 pounds |
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8
Comments
big_montana
June 03, 2011 at 12:54pm
I could care less about the lack of an email/calendar app, if it had a Citirx client so I could access my work desktop, and email. But, alas it does not. Also, my firm only alows one device to sync email, so the lack of an email client is not a deal breaker, everything else is though. This is supposed to be a productiviy device, and it is far from it, though better at it then the iPad. I will wait on the HP Touchpad, or the Lenovo U1
Holly Golightly
June 03, 2011 at 12:09pm
Hmm, I feel that 5 is too low of a number. It hands like a dream when you switch apps, and runs perfectly fine for games. Granted there is no native calendar... But I do not know many people who actually use that. I just use the basic alarm function. Webpages load very fast, and the browser performs rather smoothly. I really do not care where the power button is located, as long as it works. I do wish they had a pink option. I would say 7 is a more fair grade.
Caboose
June 03, 2011 at 2:17pm
7 is way too high though. Maybe a 6. There are still far too many shortcomings for this to be warranted a 7.
(What's your XBL? add 447 to the end of my name and that's mine)
Holly Golightly
June 04, 2011 at 12:35am
Heeeey, I added you. It is cool that we have a good anount of games in common. At least we agreed on the fact that 5 is too low. I do hope that the BlackBerry Playbook 2 has a pink option. I remember falling in love with the pink concept of the PlayBook. It was just the rubberized back plate that was in a nice soft, baby pink. The PlayBook, I admit, does carry it's fair share of flaws. But a lot of the stuff listed I really do not use on any device I own. Not even on my phone. I see tablets are the perfect video viewer on the go, and great for web browsing. The games are fun, but I think they are best enjoyed on a slightly bigger screen as 7" is a little too small in my opinion. Maybe the next one will be the standard 10" with more colors.
Caboose
June 05, 2011 at 8:32am
I have an Eee Pad Transformer, and the 10.1" screen, I think is perfect. Does get a little heavy when using it laying down, but its alright.
As for the colours, I'm not sure... RIM is marketing it as a business tool, and most business people usually like everything to be a uniform black or grey.
Holly Golightly
June 05, 2011 at 2:06pm
RIM has always been about business. But I have seen Pink Blackberry Pearls, and Pink Blackberry Curves. I have even seen one in purple. Even though white is a unisex color, I still say a white phone is more for girls in my opinion. At least, I have only seen girls with the white Blackberry Bold, and the white iPhone. But back to RIM, they have shown that they are not afraid to market their products to women. The back of the concept PlayBook came in all sorts of colors. But they decided to release it in boring old black. Not that it looks ugly, but sometimes I would like something that is not black. Argh!!!
Neufeldt2002
June 03, 2011 at 11:36am
It would appear that RIM is taking a page from Apple and releasing an unfinished product so that they can release more features later. However, it would seem that only Apple has the lemmings to buy products that are unfinished, and to give them high review scores for the lack of features.
Hg Dragon
June 03, 2011 at 1:59pm
In my experience, Blackberry's fanatics are even more rabid and die-hard than Apple's. They're just less smug and smarmy about it that the Fruit Crew.
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