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Android Blackberry Handhelds Hardware

RIM's Playbook On Clearance 141

Posted by timothy from the 64GB-sounds-nice-doesn't-it? dept.
symbolset writes "Engadget reports that the much-maligned RIM Playbook tablet has hit the clearance skids. I've confirmed that all three models (16GB, 32GB, 64GB) are for sale on RIM's website for the same price: $299, or up to $400 off. The site says until February 4, but presumably that's 'or while supplies last.' If you're into clearance merch and rooting, the Engadget article includes instructions on getting Android and the Android market on the thing. If you'd rather have a tablet made for Android, the original Acer Iconia A500 may be a better choice at only a few dollars more — but without the capacious internal storage."
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RIM's Playbook On Clearance More

RIM's Playbook On Clearance

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  • You know what they're doing... (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @08:56AM (#38571364) Homepage Journal

    They can't compete at the higher price points so they're moving to a model where they lose money on every sale but hope to cover it with volume.

    Very smart, RIM, very smart...

    • Re:You know what they're doing... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Jaxim ( 858185 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:11AM (#38571440) Homepage
      This may be what RIM needs to get people to adopt the Playbook and for developers to code for the Playbook.

      Before Christmas, my little (and might I say addicting) BOGGGLE app "Word ZigZag" ( http://goo.gl/5ga0j [goo.gl] ) was only downloaded a few times a day on Blackberry Playbook's App World Store. But on and after Christmas, my app was downloaded about 3-4X as much.

      Perhaps a lot more people have the Blackberry Playbook because of the $200 Playbook "fire sales". And perhaps people will continue to buy them at the new $300 price.

      I know as a developer, I'm starting to look at developing for RIM's App World as much as I would for iTunes. http://goo.gl/5ga0j [goo.gl]

    • Others have pointed out how stupid what you've said is, so I won't. I *could* be generous and suggest that you *meant* they'd make it up in volume selling apps and accessories, but hey...why bother?

      I'm not sure how even that arguably viable strategy would as "very smart" this late in the game. It's popularly compared to the Video Game Console sales strategy, and it can work but frankly this product has failed and the market is ignoring it that this would be like introducing an Atari 2600 into today's market

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by grub ( 11606 )
        It was meant as a joke, hardly an original one at that.
        • No, no, I'm sure your comment was absolutely serious, and, haha, it makes you look goofy. Let's dissect it some more. I mean, you said , "Smart, RIM", and you must have meant 'smart' like in 'hurting from a slap'. So you think that RIM selling this at this price is a slap in the face of consumers, i.e., they aren't even worth the $300 they're asking. Maybe because they were made by alien technology, and only cost RIM $1.50 to make?

          That is just silly. What were you thinking?
          • Perhaps he was alluding to the late 1990's practice of "we'll lose a little money on per-unit sales, but thanks to the Internet (magic) we'll make it up on volume!"

            Which was stupid, and led to the crash of 2001/2002.

            Hence, FP was nicely authored /sarcasm.

            Which went WHOOSH for you.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Hadlock ( 143607 )

        I don't think RIM will die in 2013, but they're certainly circling the drain at this point. BBX/Blackberry 10 needed to be released in 2008/2009 as a complete rewrite, at this point they're going to end up as a novelty brand known for "how good their keyboards used to be before the buyout". Visually there's no difference between BB OS 3.5 (released in what, 2003?) and 7.0. At this point I think expecting a modern OS from them before 2014 isn't a realistic goal for them. Someone high up at RIM got all wrappe

      • It was nearly epic how badly you missed this one.
        That was not an F-15 Strike Eagle 6 feet over your head doing 900 knots.
        That was just a huge Whooosh.

      • Must be something going on, the site's been /.ed.

    • Dude... if each unit is being sold at a loss... then selling tons of them at the same loss making price simply loses RIM a lot more money... a lot faster.

      When people talk about "making it up on volume", what they are referring to is when each unit is making a small or marginal profit... so, the only way to turn that into a more attractive proposition is to sell a whole lot more of whatever stuff they are selling. Volume does not magically turn a loss making line into a profitable line; however, it can turn

      • Dude... if each unit is being sold at a loss... then selling tons of them at the same loss making price simply loses RIM a lot more money... a lot faster.

        When people talk about "making it up on volume", what they are referring to is when each unit is making a small or marginal profit... so, the only way to turn that into a more attractive proposition is to sell a whole lot more of whatever stuff they are selling. Volume does not magically turn a loss making line into a profitable line; however, it can turn a marginal line into a handsomely profitable one (if costs associated with ramping up volume can be contained)

        We shouldn't confuse Amazon's and Barnes & Noble’s smart and innovative content driven strategies with RIM's confused and incoherent "copy whatever Apple is doing" strategy.

        RIM took the loss last year and before when they ordered the components and built the devices. Now, they are dealing with cash flow. Expensive tablets that nobody buys doesn't generate any cash to pay the bills. Selling them, steeply discounted, generates cash that can be used to pay existing bills or to develop something that the market wants. Any retailer will tell you that merchandise sitting on the shelf is losing them money. That is why things regularly get marked down. RIM is just late in doing

  • It'll be interesting to see how quickly the 64GB models get snapped up and then resold on eBay...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by grub ( 11606 )
      I was on the store and selected a 64 GB model but closed the window. Thankfully reality hit. We already have an iPad, iPhones, Samsung Captivate, iPod Touch... I don't need to spend $299 on what will soon be an unsupported trinket.

      • Your loss :) Obviously I"m biased a I develop for the platform, but RIM is giving every indication that "BB 10" based-devices are the future of the company; and this tablet is the flagship BB10 device.

        On what basis would you assume otherwise? I can find plenty of evidence (behavior, actual statements from RIM) that indicates PlayBook and subsequent devices running the same OS will be around for the long haul.

        That said, if you have an iPad, another tablet is redundant. Tablets are still primarily good as me

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by grub ( 11606 )

          I'm poking around with iOS development and looking at Android, hence the Samsung phone. No need for a third platform to tinker with at the moment, that's why I didn't order.

          I really don't think RIM will continue with the Playbook much longer, BB10 devices will continue, but I think they'll push hard on their traditionally stronger areas (phones).

          Want to bet a $25 Amazon Gift Card that RIM cancels the Playbook by January 3, 2013? Your address is listed, mine is. We can enter it in our calendars... :)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gmhowell ( 26755 )

        I was on the store and selected a 64 GB model but closed the window. Thankfully reality hit. We already have an iPad, iPhones, Samsung Captivate, iPod Touch... I don't need to spend $299 on what will soon be an unsupported trinket.

        Chiropractic practice in the shitter?

  • No thanks. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SniperJoe ( 1984152 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @08:58AM (#38571370)
    No thanks. I've already got a fire sale TouchPad. At least HP had the brains to do that right and generate some buzz. RIM has made missteps along every part of the journey, including this one.

    • Re:No thanks. (Score:5, Informative)

      by JAlexoi ( 1085785 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:12AM (#38571446) Homepage
      $300 is a total fail. It's not clearance, because you can get a Fire for $200.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by jjm496 ( 1004054 )
        Sure, if you want half the RAM of the lowest model, no camera's instead of two, no microphones, no bluetooth, half the processor. But hey...it's android so it will have Skype...oh, wait.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Gruuk ( 18480 )

        You think the two devices are equivalent?

        Dude.

        Compare the specs yourself. Notice what the Fire lacks compared to the most basic of Playbooks.

        16GB Playbook:
        CPU: 1 GHz TI OMAP 4 4430 dual core
        Display: 7", 1024×600,Capacitive touch sensitive.
        Storage: 16 GB
        RAM: 1 GB
        GPS
        3-axis accelerometer-gyroscope
        Magnetometer
        Camera 1080p HD video: 5 MP rear, 3 MP front
        Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
        Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
        Micro-USB
        Micro-HDMI

        Now, the far shorter list of the Fire:
        CPU: 1 GHz TI OMAP 4 4430 dual core
        Display: 7", 1024

        • Yes, for a slab that can't even be used to read email...
          As much as I dislike Fire, PlayBook is much less versatile than Fire or Nook. Currently it's like comparing a lowly nettop to a Sun SPARC Station. Sure SPARC station outperfroms that nettop, but I'd rather have that cheaper nettop and actually use it daily, than have a system that there is hardly anything for.

          • Yes, for a slab that can't even be used to read email...

            That's only a partially true statement.

            Yes, you can't connect to a mail server and pull down your emails like that.

            But for many people, their email is primarily in the form of webmail. My wife connected to her gmail and hotmail shortly after her playbook was out of the box. And I know I regularly access my corporate email through Outlook web access (not on a Playbook mind you, but just a browser).

            Admittedly, I thought the apps offerings for the Playb

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by na1led ( 1030470 )
              You picked up a Playbook for you wife which only wanted Wi-fi, web surfing, and e-reader. Again, why did you buy the Playbook and not the Fire Kindle?

              • You picked up a Playbook for you wife which only wanted Wi-fi, web surfing, and e-reader. Again, why did you buy the Playbook and not the Fire Kindle?

                Bought it via a friend at employee pricing ... $99 + tax + shipping = $160 CDN. Price was too good to pass up.

                Again, I ask, what can you do on a Fire you cannot do on a Playbook?

                • Re: (Score:1)

                  by na1led ( 1030470 )
                  Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and many more apps not available on PlayBook.
                  • Netflix and Hulu are blocked by Netflix and Hulu. There are workarounds to get them to work. Pandora works flawlessly from the browser but I also have the Android client installed and it works as well.

                    • Re: (Score:1)

                      by na1led ( 1030470 )
                      You're talking about work arounds and using the web to access stuff that is much easier with an app. Most people don't want to go through all that hassle, especially people with little technical knowledge. Besides, who wants to struggle using the web browser to search HULU site or Pandora on a 7" screen! People want an easy to use APP that's intuitive and not rely on a web browser for everything, that's why the iPad was so successful. I own an HP Touchpad and I use Android on as my main OS, I rarely touch W
            • It's a factually true statement. I can agree that a desktop/workstation may not need an EMail client, because connectivity is very much a standard thing. But just like any ultra portable device, this HAS to be able to operate without access to internet. Having only webmail on a tablet defeats the goal of a take anywhere device.
              So, what does a Fire or a Nook do that can't be done on a Playbook? Really? You had to ask that question?
          • Actually the Fire is more like a thin client than a netbook. Much of its functionality is run on Amazon's cloud ( Formerly referred to as a mainframe or server ). I haven't used a Fire but have heard that the browser isn't as good as Amazon would like you to believe. The Playbook OTOH has the best mobile browsing experience hands down. I also have The Touchdown application installed that allows connection to Exchange/Domino email servers. I don't really need it because as a Torch owner I also have full blow

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by Gruuk ( 18480 )

            http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/11/blackberry-playbook-native-email-calendar-and-contacts-app-spotted/ [ubergizmo.com]

            Most Playbook issues are software related; most Fire issues are hardware related. Next month, RIM will be releasing that email client update and other patches can follow, so the Playbook will be get better.

            On the other hand, Amazon can't issue a patch that would add RAM, storage, bluetooth, a GPS or extra cameras; the Fire will always remain a very limited device, while the Playbook has far more potential eve

  • Grr (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I like how the 64Gb model is $299 in the US but over £400 in the UK. Drop prices worldwide RIM!

  • Who Cares about Rim, when there's Windows? (Score:4, Funny)

    by mrclisdue ( 1321513 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @08:59AM (#38571376)

    The Windows 7 tablet is the greatest tablet ever. It is the top seller in Listanbul, Elbania, Drateskustan, Simbia and Australasia. It combines the superb technological hardware from Torchiba and the world class Microsoft OS, renowned and acclaimed for its ability to be snappy on all devices - phones, potatoes, tablets, netbooks and hot tubs.

    Android just totally sucks, and I can't figure out why anyone would want an iPad. Like "eewww."

    cheers,

    mrclisdue

     

  • $299 still not worth it! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by na1led ( 1030470 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:00AM (#38571378)
    Even at that price, I doubt they will sell much. The Kindle Fire is still cheaper, and who wants to pay $300 for something that may have no support in the next year. Rim should be selling these for $99!

    • Rim should be selling these for $99!

      They did make them available to their employees [theverge.com] at that price.

      I happened to know a guy who could hook me up, and ended up getting one for the wife for Christmas (a little more by the time I paid shipping and a few other things). Figured at that price, she could have a tablet/e-reader.

      They're clearly losing money on the transaction, but it was a good gift idea.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Andy Dodd ( 701 )

      Yeah... $299 would be worth it for an Android tablet with these specs, but not a Playbook.

      Basically, it's $100 more than a Fire for extra storage - after all the Fire is almost identical hardware-wise.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by jjm496 ( 1004054 )
        Sure, if almost identical means half the processor, half the RAM of the lowest model, no camera's instead of two, no microphones, no bluetooth, and half the processor. But hey...it's android so it will have Skype...oh, wait.

      • A lot of people are making this assumption because they are similar in look. However the PlayBook has twice the RAM, cameras, sensors, HDMI and probably a few other things I'm missing.

        That said the real sale was pre-xmas, when you could find the 16GB everywhere for $200. I suspect what they're doing now is just playing with the price point to see where they can place it.

    • Bingo. If it was priced at say $100 for the 16 GB model and then $25-$50 more for each increment in storage, I'd snap one up. My view is that for the next couple of years tablets will progress so fast that anything you buy will be utter crap so fast that it's not worth the money.

  • no native Skype = no Skype Video (Score:5, Informative)

    by blackfrancis75 ( 911664 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:11AM (#38571442)
    I set up one of these for my mother-in-law over Christmas. The #1 use she had for it would be video-calling her grandkids on Skype. Guess what? No native Skype app exists for Playbook. There are crappy browser-based IM sites that enable it to chat on the Skype network, but no way to get Skype Video to work on it.

    It seems RIM don't even have enough momentum behind the PB to make it worth Skype's while to make this possible.

    • Skype = Microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Comboman ( 895500 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:46AM (#38571712)

      Considering Skype is now owned by Microsoft who has absolutely no interest in promoting RIM's products, I'm hardly surprised.

      • Considering Skype is now owned by Microsoft who has absolutely no interest in promoting RIM's products, I'm hardly surprised.

        Well, since their goal is to sell Skype, and since people aren't exactly clamoring for Win 7 phones/tablets ... you'd think it would be to their advantage to actually sell the product and stop worrying about the platform.

        Hell, MS has started to support apps on iOS, so why would it benefit them to withold from RIM?

        If Microsoft is going to slavishly stick to "only on a Microsoft platfor

        • Because it's ORDERS of magnitude more difficult to support an app like Skype on RIM phones than on iOS.

          There's a zillion slightly different models of RIM phones, each with a slightly [or greatly] different OS and hardware capabilities. With iOS, supporting 8 hardware models [3 iPhone, 3 iPod Touch, 2 iPad] and 2 versions of the OS covers the vast majority of all iOS devices.

  • Hurry! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Palshife ( 60519 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @09:26AM (#38571566) Homepage

    So last chance to buy a tiny tablet without email!

  • This is not news as 16GB is on sale at Futureshop at $199 link [futureshop.ca] (Canadian)

    32GB is also on sale for $249 link [futureshop.ca] (Canadian)

    64GB is selling for $399 so in that case "buy any for $299" is a good deal... essentially only for 64GB version is good for this deal.

    I saw these deals during Christmas Boxing day on-line sales, and even though I'm in a market for a tablet under $200 that performs reasonably well, I still didn't have any interest in RIM product. It's too proprietary for my taste and it locks me in th

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mrops ( 927562 )

      I picked one of these on sale, to be honest, it got the best browser on tablets, android and iOS included. Its the closest I have seen to a full desktop browser.

      Apps still very limited and that suck but still surprised to see a few big name titles showing up.

      Its been a perfect companion to my travel needs, where I need good battery life, small size and an excellent browser. It needs native skype to make it perfect for my needs, so I will go short of calling it excellent.

  • No removable storage, you'll probably have to root it to maintain it, and it still cost $299. Did anyone get X to build on QNX yet? Oh wait. It isn't open source any longer. Or it was, then it wasn't, now it is, or is it?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by jjm496 ( 1004054 )
      Yeah, because the iPAD and Fire have removable storage.

    • Why would you have to root it to maintain it? It's the platform RIM is moving all of its product line to over the next years.
      Major toolkits such as Qt have been ported already (and that one was ported by RIM and released as OSS). Others are in progress. The actual QNX source is not open but it's POSIX-compliant which makes that less of a concern if your interest is for developing.

      It isn't open source any longer. Or it was, then it wasn't, now it is, or is it?

      Not sure where this is coming from. QNX was never OSS; and it has always (or at least for a very long time) provided a

  • "or while supplies last" (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    > The site says until February 4, but presumably that's 'or while supplies last.'

    I'd hold off purchasing one until February 4th as that's when they'll probably cut the price again.

    After February 4th I'll hold off purchasing one because it's crap.

  • I thought these devices had already been on sale for $199 (16GB) for some time. They were the last time I was at Staples, at least. I like these devices, despite their small screen size, but I don't care for the software only being half-baked. In other news, I love my Acer A500.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by narcc ( 412956 )

      Software half-baked? LOL, way to parrot nonsense that you obviously know nothing about!

      Compare the Playbook to any Android tablet, and tell me if you still think QNX is "half-baked".

      It's light years beyond Android and iOS. That half-baked bullshit was because it shipped without native email (and for good reason, as far as business clients were concerned.) Everyone who's ever bought a playbook has had email from day one. Get real.

      Enjoy your half-baked, bug-ridden, insecure Android tablet. Call me when

  • It's not really a fire-sale, they are creating a user base for 3rd party apps. Get enough of these devices in people's hands and developers will create the apps for it.

    They seem to be following the established x-box/playstation approach - make money off the apps, not off the kit itself. These are baby steps, but I can see the logic.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by na1led ( 1030470 )
      Unfortunately that won't work. No one is jumping on these for that price, unlike the HP Touchpad which IMO is far superior and for only $99. The Touchpads sold over a million in a few days, the Playbook will be lucky to sell a few thousand this year. There are many other Tablets coming out, some will be cheaper with better support. RIM and BlackBerry remains a bad memory for many people. They lost their name recognition, and are just flailing like a fish out of the water. It's just a matter of time now.

      • "Unfortunately that won't work"

        You reckon? I know four people now who have bought the playbooks since Future Shop here in Canada started discounting. And none of them are techies. There seems to be a price-point for tablets, and the RIM discount is pretty much there I think.

        It's also interesting to hear their opinions - they all love it, but one is complaining about lack of Skype (as people on here are).

      • Unfortunately that won't work. No one is jumping on these for that price, ...

        Then how come the online store is crumbling under the load if no one is buying them?

  • Not about discontinuation (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jjm496 ( 1004054 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @10:35AM (#38572356)
    This isn't about discontinuing them, in February RIM is releasing the new OS version. This leaves them with the choice to either recall the unsold units and reload the OS and repackage them, or get as many of them out there as they can now and avoid that cost. Either way it would mean a loss of money, but the more new users they pick up now the better in the long run. Once the newer ones come out with the new OS version loaded, who will buy old stock? Sell the units now and let the users install the upgrade themselves.
  • I bought one with the intention of trying it out and returning it. Its actually pretty good for what I need. Great display, get all my BB functions on it. Ebook and PDF reading is decent. Uses my BB mobile internet access for web browsing. The OS feels solid and polished. The 7" size is perfect, I find at 10" I may as well have a netbook or laptop. The media loves to dog pile on both losers and winner. Don't be an isheep, try it and make your own mind.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Locutus ( 9039 )
      the OS should feel solid considering it's based on QNX which has been a real-time embedded OS for a couple of decades. I fear that what happened to BeOS with Palm will be the same for QNX and RIM. ie some very good technology goes down the drain and is lost.

      LoB

  • I bought one. Took it back. Total bag of fail (Score:4, Informative)

    by Stu101 ( 1031686 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @11:02AM (#38572728) Homepage

    I bought one. The form factor is lovely, the feel is great. That's where the good stuff ends.

    There is no calendar, no email (REALLY, TRULY - not even an app you can download, let alone a Gmail one). If you want to load android apps, you have to install the 2.0 beta (which doesn't include email and calender still in beta release but will in final one in Feb.)

    The side load of android apps is poor. The core google apps don't work (at least for me) but then again, I didn't really expect them to.

    I had it for about 6 hours and just took it back. If you have a BB then you may get somewhere, without, don't even bother. It will end up a glorified browser.

    The app store is also pretty crap. Angry birds is £5 to install if you want it. Android it's free. The number of apps is totally cack. No firefox app, no RDC type connector app, no VDI app.

    There are no ports of android underway etc, so you are stuck with QNX and it seems only the BB fanbois love it.

    • Even the hardware doesn't seem very good. On the loaner I played with, the screen was very readable, but it frequently didn't respond to touches. I suppose it could be a software issue, but it seem to fail more often on certain parts of the screen, so I'm tempted to think it was a hardware issue. Maybe just a flaky unit, but I would be reluctant to buy it for the hardware even if there was an alternative to QNX for it.

      • Not being responsive is a typical blackberry thing. That's how my Storm was. It's most likely software.

      • When we eval'ed it, a month after release, loading simple, 500 kB PDFs from our website would freeze the entire unit for seconds at a time (trying to invoke multitasking and other controls didn't work), and bringing off-screen parts of the page into view frequently wouldn't render.

        Adobe Acrobat-created PDFs, opening in the Adobe PDF Reader app on the Playbook. One could blame it on Adobe or its browser plug-in, but the OS shouldn't allow itself to get locked up by an app/plugin.

  • This is a risky move. Even after people purchase these at a discounted rate, will their interest be prolonged enough to create customer loyalty?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by na1led ( 1030470 )
      Only for BB users will find it useful, otherwise most people will be looking for another tablet within the next year. I purchased an HP Touchpad for $99 (couldn't resist the price) and even though WebOS seemed cool at first, it didn't do it for me. Luckily I can install Android and get some real use out of it. The coolness factor wears out quick after it's been sitting on your desk for weeks because you can't find a good excuse to use it.

  • Maybe having working email on the device would have helped its chances of success.

    It's only been out for the better part of a year.

  • I've owned a PlayBook since it came out and haven't regretted the purchase, even at full price. The hardware and size are great, the speakers in particular are quite impressive. The screen even works very well outdoors, too. Moreover, I much prefer BlackBerry Bridge to native apps. I love being able to turn off the phone and not have to worry about alarms going off on the tablet. The Bridge integration is great. I wish that, rather than native apps, RIM would bring Bridge apps to iOS and Android phone

    • I've owned a BlackBerry phone since 2004 and I've also been a BES admin since 2004. I had the 7750, 8303e, 8830, 9530 and now the 9930. The 7750 was a terrible phone, but great for everything else. My next two phones were absolutely amazing. The Storm (9530) left some to be desired for their first touchscreen phone. But the 9930 is fast, fast, fast.

      I also ordered a PB when they came out. I'm trying to justify its use for business, but so far I'm struggling. It's difficult to find apps that relate to

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by na1led ( 1030470 )
      BB is yesterdays technology at a high cost. Most of us consumers have higher expectations, and since this year will bring ICS tablets for less than a Playbook, where is the value? Anyone buying this for $300 will be kicking them selves in a few months.

    • I've had few problems with Blackberry phones. (The original Bold had a bad mechanical design and build problems, but electronics were excellent.) The problem with Blackberry in my case was reliance on BES, and when BES is working it's excellent. When you lay off all your local BES admins and outsource to a foreign country who's never seen a Blackberry, well, it isn't pretty. This is the one and only reason I carry an Android phone, and I still miss my Blackberry.

  • Playbook activation with BlackBerry ID (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Maybe it's just me, but requiring a BlackBerry ID to activate the device is a real turn off to me.

  • I could'a been somebody, instead of a bum, which I am.

  • Really? (Score:3)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Tuesday January 03, 2012 @12:59PM (#38574292) Journal

    $400 off $299... RIM was trying to sell the Playbook for $700? No wonder it failed.

  • And I'm fairly happy with it.
    Performs well, price was and is still good ($350) and, a feature not on the Galaxy Tab, it has standard USB - so you can just plug in any old thumb drive or keyboard you have lying around the house. Heck. We even plugged the iphone into it once to charge it and transfer photos off of it. Haven't tested it with anything but USB keyboard, mouse and mass storage yet.

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