Blackberry 64gb playbook only £129 (1 Viewer)

[GJH]

Most IPad owners choose the model without 3G. It's not needed, especially if you have dongles or phones you can connect to. I use either my phone or a dongle setup as a hotspot mifi and connect with the 'none 3G'iPad. 3G setups involve yet another data contract

Yes. Same with our Samsung Galaxy Tabs. We both connect via the same MiFi, no need for extra data contracts.

 

[Langtoftlad]

As I understand it, since V2 of Playbook OS you can run android apps.
Isn't skype available for Android either?

Update: http://www.qtness.com/blog/?p=113

Indeed the majority of Android apps can be used on the Playbook but...
it is not as straightforward as downloading a Blackberry App directly from their App Store...

The forums ("Crackberry is an excellent resource) talk about "sideloading" the dot bar files.
TBH, I've yet to want an Android App more than the available Blackberry Apps to try to find out how to do this, how complicated or easy it might be.

I might try soon, just as an "intellectual" exercise rather than being driven by necessity .

As for the "lack" of 3g;
The Playbook is designed to be "bridged" to a Blackberry phone, I don't have one but I understand this works pretty seamlessly.
What I do have is a HTC running Android and switching on Hotspot allows the Playbook to connect to the Internet via wifi without issues.
You can also (apparently) connect to your mobile via Bluetooth if your phone's data contract allows this - but again, because of the ease of doing the above, I've had no need to do it.
I reckon in the years I've had my non 3G iPad and my Playbook, I've'tethered' maybe half a dozen times.

 

[joner8888]

I have ordered one. At that price I couldn't resist....

Ordered one too!
I`ve read the debate and the specs on it,looks like it will do all i (or my daughter) will need.
For what it will be used for, i can`t see that a extra £300 for a apple badge would make much difference for what we need.
Less to loose when it`s becomes obsolete.:thumb:

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[Gromett]

I have been reading the crackberry forum for hints and tips about the device which doesn't arrive till tomorrow.

This is a handy reference thread for new owners. (Note it includes tips early in the thread from bbos1)

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackb...wbie-tips-tricks-things-you-must-know-671764/

 

[Langtoftlad]

Less to loose when it`s becomes obsolete.:thumb:

Consumers tend to forget that obsolete gadgets still continue to work even when superseded by new improved recipe ones .

IMHO "Must Have" Playbook accessories:

1. Case - these seem to fit the bill for a £5 note
Link Removed
Seems he's put the price up by a quid since I bought one last week !

2. Micro HDMI to HDMI cable £3
Link Removed
Perfect for connecting your Playbook to bigger screens - in your van or house.

3. Err ???

I must admit, being a gadget freak, I've just purchased (on a whim) a Logitech Mini Boombox
(£40 Amazon/PCWorld etc). It connects via bluetooth to your phone (or Playbook). For the size, the sound is awesome.
Currently blasting out AC/DC as I type :thumb:.

It's LOUD !

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Mini-Wireless-Boombox-Black/dp/B005TPEXTK"]Logitech Mini Boombox[/ame]

Broken Link Removed

 

[Langtoftlad]

Does it have a slot for a micro chip card to expand it's memory?
JJ :Cool:

As before - no.
But now there is a BUT...

Seagate do an external hard disk which connects to your tablet/phone wirelessly. Note it creates it's own hotspot, you do not need to be connected to the internet.

At £128 for the 500Gb version from [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-STBF500200-Satellite-Wireless-Storage/dp/B0058FQAF6"]Amazon[/ame] it's nearly as expensive as the Playbook - but still, both together save £120+ over the cheapest 16gb iPad!

Users on Crackberry have confirmed it works - and from reading the bumpf, it seems that several different users can access different files at the same time from different gadgets! Clever.

Is it worth it - depends on whether swapping files on/off your tablet is a major hassle I guess.

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[hilldweller]

Yes. Same with our Samsung Galaxy Tabs. We both connect via the same MiFi, no need for extra data contracts.

Saw a Samsung Note in a shop today, that looks a cracking size. Big as a phone but good screen size as a tablet. Probably a very good compromise.

Hey, I'm getting quite good on this Motorola Defy. Waterproof good for bikers.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

I'm not really a techie person but having read this thread I went out and bought one. (The last one at PC world in Sheffield, neither their Meadowhell or Rotherham stores had any left). Any way all I want is to be able to read my e-mails and do a bit of browsing, nothing else, and at this price it seems OK for my needs. Set it up relatively easily and have been doing a bit of playing today and the quality of the display and speed etc looks fine to me. And if I don't get on with it, it's only £129 down the pan.

 

[Gromett]

RIM have recently announced a $10,000 reward for people developing Apps.

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[656]

I looked at these a few weeks ago. I decided that I would stay the iPad route as I have had mine since day 1. Looked at the iPad 3 and thought the new retina display and increased processor speed looked good, especially for displaying the photos I take for clients. Eddi now has my iPad 1 - 3G 64 gig and I have the iPad 3 4G 64 gig. I have a Samba mobile sim in mine and Eddi is getting one for hers. Free internet cant be bad. Down side you have to "watch" adverts to get the data allowance.:thumb:

 

[Langtoftlad]

I looked at these a few weeks ago. I decided that I would stay the iPad route as I have had mine since day 1....and I have the iPad 3 4G 64 gig.

So you're comparing a £129 tablet against a £659 one
Dare I say - different market?

 

[656]

So you're comparing a £129 tablet against a £659 one
Dare I say - different market?

I guess so, being all Apple - laptop, phone etc it was odds on I wouldn't buy one but you never know till you look. There are a couple of new BB play books due out that will give the iPad a run for its money, and if the rumours are true a mini iPad.

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[Gromett]

I ordered mine on Tuesday. I paid an extra £3.99 to choose my delivery date (yesterday). It didn't arrive. I phone them up and after some too ing and fro ing they admitted there was a mess up and it hadn't been despatched until too late on wed night. They are refunding my £3.99 and promised it would be with me today.

I have gone onto the couriers site and it is still showing as an invalid consignment number. I have a funny feeling it won't arrive again today...

This is yet another example of why I refuse to deal with PC world/Dixons/curry's. They are a bunch of incompetent fwits.:Angry::Angry::Angry:

I started boycotting them about 10 years ago and refuse to buy from them. I do occasionally break that and 50% of the times I deal with them I have problems.

Amazon on the other hand have been amazing to deal with....

 

[Gromett]

Thought I would post this here. Rant: thread seems a bit OT now.

YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's arrived :thumb::thumb::thumb:

Initial impression is that it feels like a really expensive bit of kit. It feels very fast and responsive making both my phone and laptop seem sluggish by comparison.

The screen is amazing and watching HD video is a pleasure.

The sound is good but not fantastic.

Took a picture and a video and really surprised at the quality.

The size is perfect. It will fit in my pocket but has enough screen real estate to view all my favorite websites full screen.

It comes with all the apps I need for normal use. Although I am looking for some server admin apps.

It is really easy to use. I haven't looked at the manual and got on with it straight away. The intro tutorial which only covers 2 things was a bit tedious though and you can't skip it or speed it up.

Only one irritation found so far. The battery state icon tells you the charge level and the fact it is on charge but doesn't give any indication of how long left to run/charge.

At £129 for a Quality 64GB tablet I absolutely cannot fault it... This is amazing value for money...

I will post more later after it has charged and I have played.

 

[Gromett]

Found an App I want...

Formula 1 Live timings/news etc... :thumb:

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[GJH]

Had a look at one in PC World this morning. Not bad but not significantly different enough from the Samsung Galaxy Tabs we have already so won't be buying.

 

[hilldweller]

Formula 1 Live timings/news etc... :thumb:

But will the battery last long enough to record any activity

 

[Gromett]

But will the battery last long enough to record any activity

:moon::moon::moon::moon::moon:

Battery life is 8-10 hours according to all reviews I have seen. There is always the option to leave it plugged in oh:

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[Jim]

Just bought one for Katies Birthday, that's not till Oct, so I will have a little play before I wrap it

 

[scotjimland]

Thought I would post this here. Rant: thread seems a bit OT now.

YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's arrived :thumb::thumb::thumb:

Initial impression is that it feels like a really expensive bit of kit. It feels very fast and responsive making both my phone and laptop seem sluggish by comparison.

The screen is amazing and watching HD video is a pleasure.

The sound is good but not fantastic.

Took a picture and a video and really surprised at the quality.

The size is perfect. It will fit in my pocket but has enough screen real estate to view all my favorite websites full screen.

It comes with all the apps I need for normal use. Although I am looking for some server admin apps.

It is really easy to use. I haven't looked at the manual and got on with it straight away. The intro tutorial which only covers 2 things was a bit tedious though and you can't skip it or speed it up.

Only one irritation found so far. The battery state icon tells you the charge level and the fact it is on charge but doesn't give any indication of how long left to run/charge.

At £129 for a Quality 64GB tablet I absolutely cannot fault it... This is amazing value for money...

I will post more later after it has charged and I have played.

I'm also very pleased with it .. as is Jan with hers..

I've added quite a few useful apps including 'Magellan Compass' which is a voice guidance sat nav software .
Had a drive with it today and quite impressed.. although the PB did lose the GPS signal and seemed to drift off route occasionally, probably better if mounted on the windscreen.. I had it sitting in the passenger seat .. .
It uses Map Quest mapping, before setting off and while connected to the wifi, it downloads the maps needed for the route which you then save to cache .. It can also do live mapping if tethered to a phone.. neat bit of software for £5.

Another good one that is free is Nobex Radio ...

PS
touch the battery icon to see what % is left

 

[Gromett]

I'm also very pleased with it .. as is Jan with hers..

I've added quite a few useful apps including 'Magellan Compass' which is a voice guidance sat nav software .
Had a drive with it today and quite impressed.. although the PB did lose the GPS signal and seemed to drift off route occasionally, probably better if mounted on the windscreen.. I had it sitting in the passenger seat .. .
It uses Map Quest mapping, before setting off and while connected to the wifi, it downloads the maps needed for the route which you then save to cache .. It can also do live mapping if tethered to a phone.. neat bit of software for £5.

Another good one that is free is Nobex Radio ...

PS
touch the battery icon to see what % is left

Thanks for the Magellan Compass suggestion :thumb:

I know about the battery. The problem is it doesn't give you an estimated time till a full charge has been achieved. Windows 7 does this and it is a feature I find useful.

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[Gromett]

Review part 2.

The built in software is pretty good. Things like the facebook app have enough stripped out to make it usable but keeps the essentials there. I actually prefer it to the facebook website (which you can use as well)

I was a bit frustrated about the setup for transferring files. You connect the playbook which installs some automatic drivers. These allow you get access to the software. The drive letter shows up as a read only CD volume so you can't copy your files across at this stage. You need to then install the BB software.

I personally don't like being forced to install software where it should not be needed. Once the software is installed you then get a bunch of folders on a new drive.

I rip all my DVD's to hard disk using SlySoft's AnyDVD then convert them to m4v files using handbrake. I was half suspecting I would have to convert them again somehow to use on the playbook. I copied a tv series across and went to play it with crossed fingers. It worked perfectly. The picture and audio quality were absolutely spot on and actually looks better than on my laptop.

I have set up a couple of IMAP mailboxes and the mail client is usable. Not happy that it mixes all the mailboxes into one pane, I would prefer they were listed as separate folders. However it is handy for monitoring and responding to emails.

The News app is brilliant although I do need to go back and figure out if you can add your own RSS feeds.

I like the bezel gestures, this is a nice feature..

The web browser seems very fast to me. It is a little bit confusing at times but I put that down to the fact I am used to Firefox.

So overall I am really happy with the tablet. It does everything I wanted it for in a really slick and efficient manner. My only complaint is the battery charge prediction still.

:thumb::thumb:

Off to try out the BlackBerry Bridge now...

 

[Gromett]

The bridge just works :thumb:

I have seen lots of discussions about 7" Vs 10" and as I had neither I couldn't form an intelligent opinion.

I now believe that the 7" is perfect if you want to lug it about and use it both in house and out and about. However, I wouldn't mind a 10" which would sit in the house next to the sofa.

The 7" is small enough that I would have no problems taking it to the pub and using it to read a newspaper while there. It fits in my pocket. I wouldn't look such a huge cock if I tried to take a photo with it which I would with an iPad. For Map's it is just the right size to use as a nav aid in the van 10" would be too big.

After playing with it for almost 24 hours I have to say I am now a tablet convert. I love it and think it is well worth the money :thumb:

 

[joner8888]

The bridge just works :thumb:

I have seen lots of discussions about 7" Vs 10" and as I had neither I couldn't form an intelligent opinion.

I now believe that the 7" is perfect if you want to lug it about and use it both in house and out and about. However, I wouldn't mind a 10" which would sit in the house next to the sofa.

The 7" is small enough that I would have no problems taking it to the pub and using it to read a newspaper while there. It fits in my pocket. I wouldn't look such a huge cock if I tried to take a photo with it which I would with an iPad. For Map's it is just the right size to use as a nav aid in the van 10" would be too big.

After playing with it for almost 24 hours I have to say I am now a tablet convert. I love it and think it is well worth the money :thumb:

I found the same with mine-- the right size --the right price- right quality-- without stumping up a extra £££ `s for a apple badge:thumb:

I think i would feel a dork taking a picture with something the size of a tea tray too
and--thanks to funsters for bringing attention of the offer:thumb:

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[Chris]

So is it as user friendly as an ipad?

If it is I will get one when my Ipad packs up.

Peed off with my Ipad 3 at the moment - it doesnt half eat battery power.

The Ipad 2 is far superior in my view.

 

[Gromett]

I couldn't comment on a comparison with an iPad to be honest.
I am familiar with IOS only through the iPhone and the iPod touch.
It is just as easy to use in my opinion. I have only found two UI niggles.
The first I have already mentioned the second is that the standby button can be overridden by messing with the screen. I put it into standby to clean the screen and it kept waking up while I was cleaning it... Probably something I am doing wrong...

There are a few people on here who have both, hopefully someone can do a comparison.

I am guessing though that a small amount of bias may happen not necessarily deliberately. When you get used to doing something one way or it looking just so. Moving to a new device can be off putting and this may affect the review/comparison. So iPad owners may not like the Playbook, not because it is bad but because it is different.

 

[scotjimland]

After playing with it for almost 24 hours I have to say [HI]I am now a tablet convert[/HI]. I love it and think it is well worth the money :thumb:

Me too .. best £129 I ever spent .. :thumb::thumb:

Lack of BB apps isn't a problem, sideloading converted android apps is easy... there are literally hundreds if not thousands to download.. the only app that won't run on PB is SKYPE.. which may be an issue for some.. personally I don't use it much but it would be nice to have..

The most useful Android app I've added is... Amazon Kindle reader...
I've also added some more games to keep Chaz amused while travelling..

To sideload apps you need a playbook installer .. download from here http://www.mediafire.com/?b3zwqcnxv3mtmcn

Full instructions are on Crackberry http://crackberry.com/how-sideload-android-apps-playbook-os-v20-use-android-app-player

Plenty of converted android apps here http://goodereader.com/apps/category/playbook/

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[veevee]

Just bought one too...

 

[joner8888]

Scotties started this thread-- pc world, pay him a % or else :thumb:

 

[Gromett]

I have been reading up on the development side of the PB. There have been quite a bit of information put out by RIM. Here are a few interesting bits of news;

1) Developers are being told that if they develop for the PB they will be set for the new OS10 when it comes out.
2) TAT Cascade is the new frame work for BB OS10 and looks absolutely georgous as well as being technically brilliant. There is a video here. The falling photo bit is impressive.
3) BB OS10 will be released as an upgrade to the PB shortly after the first BB OS10 device comes out. So we will get the upgrade.
4) The ramp up of apps for the PB is increasing at a very fast rate. Apps are being converted from most of the big names.
5) Skype should come to the PB as soon as TAT Cascades is implemented.

There is loads more but it is not a dead device like a few people have been saying :thumb:

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