The PlayBook is solid. It’s half the height of the iPad (in portait) and the same width, weighing just 425g (under 1lb). With a 7″ screen, offering a resolution of 1024 x 600, it’s a great size for carrying around.
There are 4 external buttons – the power switch, and media controls (start, pause and volume +/-)
There is a headphone socket, and along the bottom, a micro USB port, a micro HDMI port and a port for a fast charger. It’s not possible to expand the memory; like the iPad, it’s a fixed storage volume.
RIM went back to the drawing board when they designed the PlayBook tablet. Using the talents of the folks at QNX, they have designed an OS that is so fluid and intuitive. Running a dual-core 1GHz processor, with another 1Gb of RAM, this is a quick beast.
With full Adobe Flash built-in, this is a machine that shows the web they way it’s meant to be seen. That’s one thing that the iPad can’t do; and is a major selling point.
Since there is no ‘home’ button, everything is operated through the use of ‘gestures’. Swiping across the screen (up, down, diagonal) brings up various context-sensitive options, keyboard and settings. The bezel (the black screen surround) is part of this, and is a clever use of the otherwise wasted space around the screen.
The fluid way the apps switch; not to mention the true multi-tasking ability, makes this a beautiful tablet to operate. The web browser allows for multiple tabs too.
Offering 1080p HD video, and two high-definition cameras (3MP on the front and 5MP on the rear) the picture quality is flawless. There is no flash.
On the subject of sound, the PlayBook offers stereo speakers – a definite improvement on the tinny speaker on the iPad.
The initial release of the PlayBook is Wi-Fi only (3G is due later this year) and it works very well. It’s possible to tether any mobile phone (via bluetooth) to get online, or use a Mi-Fi dongle outside of a Wi-Fi area.
Cleverly, you can use this bridge to access BBM, and use the larger screen and keyboard to write messages.
No-one is pretending that BlackBerry will grow to the heady heights of the App Store; but there are apps available for the PlayBook; and with the promise of an Android player, then the number of apps will increase quickly.
It’s a beautifully designed tablet. To all the Apple fans out there; who just want to knock something that isn’t created by Mr Jobs; take a proper look at how a tablet can be all things to all men (and women).
Source – jrsc.blogspot.com
Entries (RSS)