Thread: Rim Blackberry Playbook First Look

RIM wants the PlayBook to appeal to its smartphone customers as a standalone tablet, and an addition to their existing Blackberry handsets using bridging software to link the two platforms. While most of the market has gone with the lOin tablet design Apple's iPad has made popular, RIM has been one of the few companies to start building around a smaller form factor. The PlayBook is 130mmx 194mmx 10mmand weighs 425g, making it very portable. The downside is that the 7in screen gives you a limited desktop, and this becomes noticeable the more you use the device. PlayBooks are currently available with l6GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi only at present. The tablet can set up a bridge with RIM smartphones running version five and above of the mobile operating system to allow the device to piggyback on cellular connections. The PlayBook runs a dual-core l GHz processor and has 1 GB of RAM, GPS built in, stereo speakers and a microphone.

The tablet has a 1,024 x 600 WSVGALCD touch screen, which is sensitive across the whole front surface of the tablet, not just the viewing screen. This allows finger commands to open the main applications screen and software menus by dragging a finger. This keeps them off the screen, freeing up valuable space. Connectivity is good with 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth built in. It has an HDMI port as standard, with a micro*USB slot for charging and transferring data, but no removable storage ports. The PlayBook also has a port to allow the use of a docking station which holds it upright like a display screen.
Cameras are positioned on the front and the back - 3-megapixel for the forward facing and 5-megapixel for the screen. Both are capable of reasonable quality video, and tests showed perfectly acceptable output, although some colours can look grainy.



Overall, the PlayBook, although small, has a very robust feel and the small form factor makes it possible to carry the device in the pocket. The format is a little limiting, but it's an interesting trade-off in comparison to larger tablets. Battery life in early testing was reasonable at eight hours. One of the biggest differences between the iPad and the PlayBook comes in setup. The iPad is ready to go once the box is opened and the power button pressed. The PlayBook has to receive a software update and then restart, a process that crashed the tablet initially. Once up and running the PlayBook requests to be bridged to a BlackBerry smartphone. As mentioned you'll need at least version five of the operating system, and having a camera with a barcode scanner helps considerably. Otherwise you can simply download the software, with a similar software package to enable bridging with PCs. Otherwise the PlayBook can only use a Wi-Fi connection.

The PlayBook uses RIM's own operating system that has been designed for the tablet and it's very smooth indeed in operation. One huge plus is genuine multi-tasking and, with a single swipe of the fmger, you can see what applications are running and access them easily. The PlayBook screen shifts feel slightly laggy when rotating between landscape and portrait modes, and fast scrolling through long web documents occasionally produces a checkerboard effect while the graphics engine catches up, but these are minor quibbles. Overall the applications are easy to use and the whole system runs smoothly. The tablet comes with a selection of applications for business, including a word proce.ssor, spreadsheet and presentation suite. The word processing package is excellent, the best we've seen so far on tablets, and the other office software is of similar quality. The only problem is the small screen, making touch-typing impossible. The BlackBerry application store is, however, less impressive. The range of applications is severely limited and consists mainly of games and small media software, with very little for the business community. RIM is addressing this with more developer support, but there's a mountain to climb. One big point in the PlayBook's favour, however, is native Flash support. Flash files online play smoothly and cleanly, something Apple users cannot manage.