http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-te...d-unusable-534

Things do not look good for the Blackberry Playbook. A device that was rushed, lacks functionality, isn't optimized for even basic web browsing, and doesn't work properly unless you already have a Blackberry to tether it to... This won't sink RIM, but it certainly won't help anything...

Jesus man, do your research. Once again you swallow whole whatever is fed to you by a single source.

I don't like the Playbook AT ALL, but calling it unusable is ridiculous. This review is one of the most one-sided worthless reviews I've read on the subject. The reviewer is completely ignorant of how the device is MEANT to be deployed. He obviously has no meaningful enterprise experience and is basically talking out of his ass. If you want a fair review, read the one done by AnandTech.

The device IS horribly over-priced... I have no idea what RIM or Motorola are thinking trying to MATCH Apple's pricing when they can easily undercut them and make more money in the long run.

If you don't have an iPad, you don't have a good tablet.

I didn't call it unusable, the reviewer did. As well, that's hardly the only review out there indicating the Playbook is a swing and a miss. But if you want me to copy and paste forty links into this, and have you read more or less the same article forty times, well, **** that. And you can't deny that having to tether a playbook to an existing blackberry to get email is absurd. It's not just that it's over-priced, it's that it simply doesn't do the things you expect it to.

Also, the screen doesn't look like it's designed to read web pages in a comfortable manner; it's way too narrow, and when in landscape mode, you'll be able to view what, a third of a normal web page? If you're lucky? It's supposed to be a tablet, not a footlong smartphone.

I understand that Blackberry is going for the corporate market, so the lack of a legitimate app store is somewhat understandable, but if you were gonna take Apple to task for the crap quality cameras they put in, it seems logical to rip RIM even more for making a decidedly non-functional device. I mean, would you really buy one of these for 200 bucks? Because I'd probably save my money and buy something better for a little more cash. Not necessarily an iPad, but definitely not a Playbook.

It's a shame, really; Blackberry is a Canadian company, I was hoping they'd shed a bit of the stuffy business image they've got, or at least bring something out that reinvents mobile business. They didn't really do either.

You won't find me defending the Playbook... I don't like it at all... but the review you posted was completely worthless one-sided crap. The reviewer is an idiot... plain and simple. I have seen other more objective reviews that have pointed out problems in a fair manner... this wasn't one of them.

btw, you are wrong on the tether idea... it actually makes perfect sense in an enterprise situation where you already have BBs deployed... I'm NOT a BB fan but I do see what they are going for...

No, but you may be able to actually surf the entire web, view all of the videos on YouTube, transfer files directly to/from your tablet, expand storage with an SD card...

Yeah but where's the fun in doing it the other way?

true. objective reviews are kinda boring and we don't get to rant as much at them...

ok, never mind, keep up the good work! :D

Lol @ South Park humancentipad

I stay away from midgets ****ing doorknobs, but if that's the part of the web you enjoy have at it.

I just picked up the IPad 2. Anyone have any apps they recommend that are iPad specific?

These are from a bunch of different categories BUT:

AVPlayerHD- Allows for simple USB and wireless transfer of movie files without the need to convert them to Mp4. It's 3 bucks at the app store.

TSN for iPad- Yes, it's Canadian and more focused on hockey, but still it's the best-designed sports iPad app out there. It's free.

Flipboard- AWESOME newsreader, Twitter reader etc. Very cool design, it too is free.

Penultimate- Great note-taking app, though be sure you have the proper stylus to go with it. 99 cents.

GoodReader- Best way to view PDF files. Can't remember if it's free or not.

Dropbox- Extremely useful for file transfer to and from the iPad. Free.

BBC News, CBC News, Reuters News Pro- All free, all awesome news apps, all blow CNN out of the water.

Crackle- Free, access to a bunch of movies and tv; not the biggest catelogue, but free is free.

HD Wallpapers and Backgrounds HD- Exactly what they sound like; awesome selection, and free as well.

Stitcher- Very nifty little podcast/internet radio app. Easy to use, great content, and soon you'll be able to hear Smodcast Internet Radio w/ Kevin Smith on it. So it's got that going for it :) Plus it's free.

There's other stuff like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand etc, but I'm not convinced those are worth having just because most of the stuff you'd do on them you'd likely just use a computer for. I know I'm not going to edit video with iMovie on the iPad 2 instead of Premiere... but that's just me.

Hope that helps!

Has it occurred to anyone else that since none of these devices are capable of supplanting a real computer yet, what we're essentially doing is arguing way too much over toys? Would any of us bother to get this fired up if someone bought a Megazord over Optimus Prime back in the day? ...Stupid question, of course we would.

Carry on.

I appreciate all the info. Definitely going to check a lot of these out.

NP