subject: Give RIM's PlayBook Incomplete Grade [print this page] Give RIM's PlayBook Incomplete Grade Give RIM's PlayBook Incomplete Grade
Simple rule. Never try to beatApple ChiefSteve Jobs at his own game. Research In Motion maker of the email-friendly BlackBerry smart phone so popular with businesses just tried it mixing business and, well, play in a 7-inch tablet aimed squarely at Apple's iPad. And the reviews aren't good.
That said, RIM's $500 PlayBook does some things other tablets can't. Hook it up to a display and it will show your audience the slides you want them to see, while letting you look at your notes during your presentation. Oh, and it has support forAdobe's Flash multimedia software.
Sort of. Most reviewers found the Flash, like many of the PlayBook's features still incomplete. And while the device can crunch through email messages via a secure link to a BlackBerry phone, the device has no native email application of its own. Break the link to a BlackBerry and no more email. Don't have a BlackBerry? You're relegated to web-based apps, such as Gmail.
Walt Mossberg: Always careful, yet never cowardly, The Wall Street Journal's powerful gadget reviewer doesn't snark it up. He praised the feel of the PlayBook's operating system, based Acer aspire 5520 Battery on software called QNX, rather thanGoogle's Android. However,he's not endorsing the device:
"I can't recommend the PlayBook over a fully standalone tablet, except possibly for folks whose BlackBerrys never leave their sides."
David Pogue: TheNew York Times reviewer marvels at some of the PlayBook's niftier tricks. But missing features promptPogue to write that "it seems silly to try to assess it, let alone buy it."
"The PlayBook does not have e-mail, calendar or address book apps of its own. You read that right. R.I.M. has just shipped a BlackBerry product that cannot do e-mail. It must be skating season in hell. (R.I.M. says that those missing apps will come this summer.)"
Engadget: The venerable gadget blog Acer as07b41 Batteries has had a bit of staff turnover lately. Its reviews are still meticulous, however, and very long. It's also got a level of influence that matches its outsized readership. Reviewer Tim Stevens' problem:the PlayBook's software just won't sit still:
"Writing this review has been a lot like trying to hit a moving target thanks to a series of software updates that have been dropping every few days. The PlayBook of today is considerably better than the PlayBook of yesterday, which also was a big step forward from the one we were reviewing two days before Acer batbl50l6 Battery that."
