BlackBerry PlayBook Review

I've been wanting a non-iOS tablet for a while now. I had purchased a Nook Color and rooted it to install Android Froyo and Honeycomb on it. But after using it for a while I got bored and decided to sell it. In fact I managed to make a few bucks by selling it. There have been a lot of Android tablets that have been introduced over the last few weeks. The Asus Transformer looks like a good buy for $399 with hardware configurations similar to the Motorola Xoom.

On a recent visit to Best Buy I got a chance to see a RIM BlackBerry PlayBook
on display. At first sight it looked very appealing. At 7 inches it was the right size for portability and the screen resolution looked spectacular. Plus it has WebOS, which is touted to be a true iOS competitor. HP is expected to launch a WebOS tablet this summer, the TouchPad. The PlayBook is priced at $499 for 16GB memory (a little too expensive) but I decided to give it a try knowing I could return it for a full refund if I didn't like it.

BlackBerry PlayBook

The PlayBook comes with a soft carrying case/pouch along with a charger and a USB cable. Technical specifications are available on the PlayBook webpage. In short it has 16GB internal memory, wi-fi and bluetooth connectivity, a 7-inch capacitative touch screen, 3.0 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5.0 megapixel rear camera and a micro-USB port. It also has the less-popular micro-HDMI port to connect to an HDTV.

So here are the things I really liked about the PlayBook.

The Good:
1. The Screen: With a 1024x600 resolution packed in a 7-inch screen, the PlayBook really comes to life when you turn it on. It's capable of playing 1080p video and the watching such HD videos from YouTube looks great.
2. WebOS: True multitasking here. You can flip through open apps with ease and the user interface of the operating system is fun to use. Gestures are easy to learn and get used to. You can be watching a movie and check you email or a webpage while the movie plays in the background.
3. Speakers: The speakers are front-facing and sound great. Unlike the iPad or Xoom, these speakers direct the sound towards the user making it easy to hear.
4. Design: The tablet feels compact and sturdy. The back has a grippy finish while the front of the tablet looks classy with speakers at the side.

The packaging

The Bad:
1. Apps: There are not enough apps in the marketplace and at the moment there is no support for the Android or Amazon store apps. Most of the apps that come preinstalled on the device are useless and even the small number of apps that are available for download are tailored for Canadian users.
2. Power button: The power button sits flush on the top edge of the tablet and is hard to access. It is barely tactile and I often found myself pressing it more than once to get a response.
3. Recall/Update: There were reports that RIM recalled about 1000 PlayBooks last week because they were shipped with the wrong OS! What!? RIM stocks fell in response to this disaster. Also, the latest software update claimed to have reduced the battery-life (advertized battery-life is 7 hours).
4. Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB connections: Why not keep it simple and go with the traditional connectors? I had to go out and buy a micro-HDMI cable just to try the mirroring feature.
5. No Memory Card slot: Need I say more?
6. Price: Priced like the iPad 2 but doesn't have the plethora of apps that the iOS app store does.
7. Cameras: The cameras aren't the best and I found it hard to get good video or picture quality in low light.

Soft carrying case included

The PlayBook is supposed to work well with a BlackBerry smartphone using the BlackBerry Bridge feature. I don't have a BlackBerry so I couldn't avail of these features. I did see the sales rep at Best Buy use his BlackBerry with the PlayBook though. The more I used the PlayBook the more I started to believe that this isn't an iPad competitor. It lacks in most areas. The biggest one for me was the lack of apps. Unless you own a BlackBerry (and probably even if you do) the BlackBerry PlayBook won't yield much use to the average user. I didn't mention Flash support in the pros because I think having flash support is no longer a necessity as alternatives are available.

After using the PlayBook for a couple of weeks I decided to return it to the store and invest that money in an Asus Transformer. I managed to buy a 16GB Transformer on eBay (one of the only places you can get one at the moment) for $440 which is about what I would pay with tax and CA recycling fee. I used a 10% OFF coupon on eBay I had (original price $490 which is $90 more than the official price of $399). I'm still waiting to receive the Transformer in the mail.

Here are some more pictures of the BlackBerry PlayBook (click pictures to enlarge).