Blackberry Playbook thoughts

[padholdr]

I'm trying to decide if we want to start manufacturing a Blackberry Playbook holder or stand, so I have been reading reviews and watching videos. I am actually pretty impressed with how easy it looks to navigate through apps. I like the idea that you can sync your phone to the Playbook also, so you get text messages on the tablet. I really don't like they only make it in a 7". That is the worst part about the Playbook, didn't they learn from the horrible sales with the Galaxy Tab that people want larger tablets?

Has anyone here played with a Playbook yet? Any thoughts if the Playbook will take off like the XOOM?

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[dvdcatalyst]

I'm trying to decide if we want to start manufacturing a Blackberry Playbook holder or stand, so I have been reading reviews and watching videos. I am actually pretty impressed with how easy it looks to navigate through apps. I like the idea that you can sync your phone to the Playbook also, so you get text messages on the tablet. I really don't like they only make it in a 7". That is the worst part about the Playbook, didn't they learn from the horrible sales with the Galaxy Tab that people want larger tablets?

Has anyone here played with a Playbook yet? Any thoughts if the Playbook will take off like the XOOM?

Actually 7" isn't that bad. I haven't played with the playbook, but before the Xoom, I was using a Nookcolor as my main device, and comparing both, the 7" format is actually something I prefer more. It's easier to grab & go.
If you are considering to create something for it, I would most certainly make use of that aspect in the design of your holders. Walk past a wallmount at home, grab the playbook, tug it under your arm while walking out, and then snap it in the cardock and drive off.
The Xoom (and the iPad) is slightly too large for comfort to me. I love the large screen of the Xoom, especially because for years I used iPod Touches, but the 7" size is just "friendlier"

[zuiko]

Don't you need to have a BB phone to get your mail and calender on the device? Seems like a major shortcoming if that is indeed the case. People will certainly buy it though. There are some die hard BB shops out there that do nothing but BB. And most of the people who have one will be using their expense accounts to buy accessories for it, so might be a good bet there.

[Keiichi25]

Well, to be honest, RIM will have a hard time unless they literally bothered to treat Playbook completely different from their Blackberry devices. I haven't really paid a lot of attention to it or the nuiances, and I used to frequent the Storm forums when I was a Storm user.

The thing I learned was that Storm was a hacked version of the BBOS to work with the Touch screen, but obviously did not squeeze out as much as they could from the hardware and the OS implementation had issues. On the same network, using a Droid, I found the browser to be more responsive and easier to work with, even without Flash working than I did working with the Blackberry. I think what has also hurt Blackberry was their lack of a good app market/store to get more applications on there. Of course, at the time, BB was more a business than consumer user oriented group. While it had some consumers, it wasn't as consumer centric and more business centric.

The iPhone and Android based devices lend well more for the consumer than the business, but did dip into business. I am not so sure if Playbook would work that well as a mix market device, but I have to wait and see and actually play with the device before I start putting nails in its coffin.

For the OP, I say trial run for now. There are some who still sort of try and push the 7" models, I know Dell is still trying to do the Streak. I would error more for a generic type holder, but I know that you might not like the idea.

[dvdcatalyst]

Has anyone here played with a Playbook yet? Any thoughts if the Playbook will take off like the XOOM?

I just wrote a quick review based on my first experiences with it:

Playbook vs Xoom

[feverhost]

I don't think the Playbook will sell well... far slower sales than the Xoom. RIM is still known as a "business" company, and I don't see them selling a ton of these tablets. They need to break into the "consumer" market more.

[Keiichi25]

Well, I believe there is an article or rant about RIM and the belief that at the moment, RIM has no idea what to do for the consumer market. Or at least, how they are aiming for it.

Unfortunately, I think RIM might be depending too much on their Laurels as being the first Smartphone that businesses really liked and their consumer market plan is non-existent. They tried with the Storm, but the touchscreen click was a bit too awkward and their lack of actual apps, at least, easy to find apps, is what is killing it for the most part. I haven't seriously looked at the more recent blackberries, but feel that the ones who are using it on a consumer level are also ones who just prefer the Blackberry in general, but as an over all consumer device, it is severely lacking and falling behind compared to the iProducts and Android based devices. MS's Mobile phone and W7Phone OS falling behind with it.