Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Apr 14, 2011
Joshua Topolsky:
But the PlayBook isn’t hitting home runs just yet. The OS is still buggy and somewhat touchy. Third-party apps are a desert right now, if not in number, then certainly in quality. The lack of native email and calendar support hurts. The worst part, however, is that I can’t think of a single reason to recommend this tablet over the iPad 2, or for that matter… the Xoom. And that’s what it really boils down to here; what is the compelling feature that will make buyers choose the PlayBook over something else? I don’t have that answer, but that’s not what’s troubling me — what troubles me is that I don’t think RIM has the answer either… and they should by now.
Sounds like trouble in Canada.
The most striking part about RIM's PlayBook is that there are no native emails and calendar apps built-in to the device. You can't just walk into Best Buy and treat this like an iPad. Well, you can, but you need to also have a BlackBerry device with the latest software. If you do, you can enable a "Bridge" mode on both devices that will allow you to share the email and calendering capabilities.
I don't think most folks would have a problems with the email app snafu if RIM was just marketing this to business and enterprise users. It doesn't seem that way with their ads and the fact that it's called "PlayBook". They make it seem like it's for everyone and a legit tablet competitor. Well, I guess there's nothing more fun than being separated from work tasks.
The app situation doesn't seem all that great for RIM either, judging from reviews. I think this really leaves a spot for HP's TouchPad. HP deals with many vedors and OEMS and have recently shown their Citrix app for enterprise. It's a start, and these PlayBook reviews certainly leave a chance for HP to take over the #2 spot. Either way, we still have the perfect options for your enterprise support.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Tue, Nov 23, 2010
TechCrunch:
Asked what he would say to Jobs if he were present today at the Web 2.0 Summit, Balsillie shot back: “You finally showed up.” The implication being that RIM practically invented the smartphone category and is not going anywhere.
Balsillie went on to contrast the Blackberry approach to Apple’s when it comes to web apps. There may be 300,000 apps for the iPhone and iPad, but the only app you really need is the browser. “You don’t need an app for the Web,” he says, and that is equally true for the mobile Web. The debate over mobile apps versus the mobile Web. Blackberry is betting on the Web, much like Google .
Oh no, he didn’t.
Jim Balsillie is the RIM head honcho and was willing to chat about the new BlackBerry iPad competitor, the Playbook. The surprising part about the Playbook is the OS. It’s essentially running on Adobe Air. It doesn’t just allow Adobe’s tools, it flat out embraces them. Balsillie is going to great lengths to let people know that the web is the way to go for their tablet.
The problem with that is Steve Jobs said the same thing when the iPhone was first introduced in 2007. He had previously said that the Maps app trumped any web app that Google had to offer, but when the developer conference came around, he crushed everyone’s dreams. The thousands of developers in attendance were disheartened to hear that Job’s original vision for the iPhone was web apps. (This was a full year before the App Store) We all know what happened next. Developers Jailbroke their phones so that they could learn the internal code themselves to develop their own apps, without Apple’s help.
Will the same thing happen to RIM’s PlayBook? Mobile web apps sure are nice, but when compared to native mobile apps, they look plain silly.
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