Jun 29, 2011

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Review

  • Jun 29, 2011
  • M. Anandhan Mudhaliyar
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  • RIM BlackBerry PlayBook
    After months and months of waiting by Research In Motion's debut film, the playbook BlackBerry, has finally arrived. The good news is that the new BlackBerry user interface of the Tablet OS is a beautiful, elegant, and simple works, which competes with the Apple iPhone 2 ($ 499) and the records of Xoom Motorola ($ 599 - $ 799) often cluttered screens. The bad news is just the beginning, there is a lot missing.
    First, there is no native support for electronic mail. (Is RIM provides a period of mobile e-mail with a BlackBerry?) Playbook is also affected by low or very-convincing job apps. Then there is the lack of must-be-standard features, because it is the front facing camera, but not the application of video chat? Updates, RIM promises to bring a lot of what is missing is a script in the near future. Throw in some choice for the app, and the script can be worth a re-evaluation of the road, but right now, is incomplete.

    Wi-Fi BlackBerry playbook is only available in three capacities of memory, 16GB ($ 499), 32GB ($ 599) and 64GB ($ 699). Play book is priced identically to the Wi-Fi for Apple iPhone only 2 from the same memory capacity. There is currently no version of cellular service, even if the BlackBerry smartphone users can use the hotspots free of charge for the tablet. RIM has announced it will be launched this summer playbook 4G, LTE and HSPA + as well as versions will be available later this year. Sprint has confirmed that the model will bring WiMAX 4G, and Verizon and AT & T is widely said to take the HSPA + and LTE models.

    Design: A beautiful and well built tablet, 14, 4 ounces, 5.1 by 7.6 by 0.4 inches BlackBerry playbook has a black frame and contour and is comfortable in the hand. Its 7-inch screen has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, which is less than 2 iPad is 9.7-inch LCD touch screen, but as a small screen seems sharper. One thing you will not find a start button, like on the iPad. To return to the main screen, simply sweep your finger up from the right corner of the screen. The rear panel includes the BlackBerry logo and houses a 5 megapixel camera resolution much higher than the rear facing the lens in the IPAD 2, but comparable to the rear camera Motorola Xoom. The front of the 3-megapixel camera sits above the screen and scans the lens of VGA and 2 in the IPAD is a slight improvement in the objective of Xoom 2 MP front.

    The bottom panel houses the micro output HDMI, Micro USB port, and the magnetic loading similar to Apple's MacBook (which works with the optional dock accessory, but with the charge / sync cable is a USB microphone). Headphone jack is on the top panel with the volume knob and power button. Stereo speakers project sound through the thin slits on both sides of the screen, you can get strong enough for a modest size of the device. Does not include headphones, but the tablet is not expected the screen, cleaning cloth and a protective carrying case. The tablet supports 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

    Power button is a bit 'script question. And 'small and recessed just enough that it is difficult to press. Our two units of review, we finally decided that the one where the button was stuck, it was really ugly. But the key is still difficult to use our non-defective playbook. It is not necessarily a reason not to buy the tablets, but there is a significant and surprising as the lack of an experienced manufacturer of the equipment.

     RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

    Internally, the script is armed with a new Texas Instruments processor. OMAP4430 is a dual-core processors, 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 chips like Nvidia Tegra 2 can be found in Motorola Xoom. The graphics processor includes a TI is different from that of Nvidia, but it is the imagination, the PowerVR SGX540. Size chipset uses dual channel memory controller instead of a single control channel uses Nvidia.

    Tablet BlackBerry OS: The user interface is pretty impressive playbook. Not only runs smoothly but the graphics are simple and visually interesting. Better yet, the design is very sensitive. Not so dead easy to navigate and organize as Apple IOS interface, but is easy to understand their applications and makes more sense than the home screen honeycomb busy. You can navigate into four categories: Favorites, media and games. A spring at the bottom of the screen expands to fill the screen with the touch of an arrow, which shows that more than six applications from the dock minimum sample.

    It's a bit of a bear to set up, but we were able to get the wireless sharing feature, and running after some trial and error. The playbook can wirelessly share files and download files from computers on the same Wi-Fi network set up process of the tablet is simple and requires very little effort, just a few quick adjustments in the menu storage and sharing. It is becoming computers to work together, which can be frustrating. We managed to playbook to run with relative ease on a Windows 7-machine, but some attempts earlier to an iMac and a Windows XP system has not been successful. The recognition process between the Tablet PC and took a few minutes in our tests. Anyway, once it was set, we were able to move files from computers on the Wi-playbook is a step above the 2 IPAD wireless sharing capabilities, that enables streaming between devices and iTunes libraries on the same network, but no actual file transfer.

    Multitasking is a playbook is a good theory, but the execution poor. View open applications is similar to the average Xoom, usually not seen "live" what they were doing the last of each app. However, RIM made a pretty crucial error in all the applications are actually running, apparently, even in the background. Not only suck the battery, but the basic capacity compressed limps. Xoom is, you can have a lot of apps "in progress", but actually go to sleep-but-fast-for-Wake Mode when not in use, which saves energy and not taxing the processor. Playbook to keep everything running until you get a notification in the form of a flashing red signal in the left corner of the screen: "Your system is low on memory, close some applications." We have never seen the film ask us to do, and goes against the very concept of multitasking.

     RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

    The best example of how this is not a good thing: Let's say you play a video in a single application, and then you minimize it to go to another program, it did not stop playing. You will hear the noise in the background while you perform other tasks. For music, makes sense but no video. You must pause the video or close an application to solve this, but in general, is that not only more applications can not be opened simultaneously, but those who are open, is still in progress and using the processing tablets and power when they needn t have.

    There are some options for controlling how programs behave while in the background is one of the few points in the general settings menu, but they do not seem to remedy the problem. For example, the mode, which breaks all applications in the background break should solve the problem, but then it seemed to make the warnings stopped the performance (especially in the browser) seemed well when apps were not pause to use .
    And then there are bugs. Sometimes the computer will not recognize the playbook when connected via USB cable, a problem that you never meet the iPad. Sometimes it appears as a drive on your computer, just as it should. Sometimes the playbook not find a wireless network when it is in a room filled with them, although they were connected to a moment earlier. The bugginess is boring, but that's what the updates are for, so it is likely that most of these types of questions will ultimately be treated.

    Performance and Speed: It 'a little' difficult to compare the tables in terms of speed and performance on different platforms. Running SunSpider JavaScript benchmark test score playbook 2473.2ms network was compared with the iPad 2 2224.0ms 2075.6ms Xoom and using the same Wi-Fi network. This test is a complex mix that determines how long the site takes the load and the overall performance of the browser, the lowest times are better, so the playbook is at the bottom of the curve. Testing of Flash are available for inspection CraftyMind.com, beaten in the Xoom playbook to win easily in test vectors and bit-map test, and crushed nearly three times the score test for the column of text.
    Applications: App World, BlackBerry's answer to Apple App Store and Android Market has many, if not a plethora of programs created specifically for the launch playbook. It's better than Xoom debut. But not so fast. Many of these programs are developed using a developer kit that was based on a PC, not a touchscreen device. Frequently Asked articles affected not match where your finger taps, probably because they were designed with a mouse playbook and not fully tested before launch.

    The selection and quality of applications is not overwhelming, but RIM officials say they have more positions than 3000 applications. Some companies launch applications playbook includes: Atari, The Huffington Post, Mattel, Sports Illustrated, Time and The Weather Channel. A selection of Android applications will be again this summer and play through a playbook Android App Player # 151, but it is not preinstalled on the device. In general, however, applications seem a bit simple for a tablet. There is a periodic table app that is nothing compared with the IPAD about the fantastic elements. The Xoom suffer from a similar selection dull and wow-factor in the Android Market. Apple developers had a year jump on the honeycomb Tablet OS Android and BlackBerry application developers, and the blatant holes in functionality, the selection and overall quality is clear.

    Applications loaded on our test unit includes the browser, images, music, camera, App World, Videos, Music Store, podcasts, YouTube, Books Kobo, calculator, Bing Maps, Help, Weather, Clock, Need For Speed Undercover, Tetris, voice notes, Adobe Reader, Word to Go, Sheet To Go (portable Excel), Slideshow To Go (portable PowerPoint), Slacker Radio, the NFB (app Canadian film), with some shortcuts to non-application browser features including: Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail, Facebook. Some applications that we have downloaded and played with included: Perfect Ricochet, GeeReader, sketchbook, Scroodle, Johnny iRok2 Video, sound storm, flashes, and Page3.

    Music Store is an affordable, has decent range, and you can sample the songs before you buy. I was impressed with the timeliness of the options was a lot of brand new releases, when I was browsing. And 'certainly one of the bright spots in the pre-loaded line-up. Less impressive is the Need For Speed ​​Undercover, a first-person game driver, who does not really delete. It 's like all the other first-person car race, but the training wheels. I am a virtual pilot and always horrible crash, but the middle class made me look like Jeff Gordon without much effort. Scroodle applications such as touch-screen to show the strengths of your fingers, simulating a realistic blackboard chalk sticks in the background. Yet touch-point questions are also exposed to gypsum-and-finger movement, it is often difficult to choose a new color of the side panel.

    Applications, in other words, promise, but RIM needs more choice and more popular titles or convincing than Netflix and angry birds.
     RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

    A serious omission painful: a video-chat application. Why is a 3-megapixel front camera, if there is no way video conference with her? RIM officials referred to in the coming months when asked, but surely there is a trend: the playbook lacks some features compared to its competitors.

    E-Mail: Saving Grace is here that current BlackBerry users would be able to synchronize their phones to play by the book, bridge, and thus receive e-mails, calendar and contacts synchronized via Bluetooth directly to the playbook. We could see this feature in a very limited beta that will not be the final consumers and representatives of RIM was not sure that the feature would be the final bridge loan. When he can e-mail, contacts, calendar, chat and be pushed to the BBM playbook from a phone BlackBerry couple. Since we do not actually test the real thing, we need to rethink note playbook when available. We managed to pair the BlackBerry Bold with a playbook and read e-mails and messages are synchronized to the phone on the shelf, but again, the functionality of the beta limited. As for non-Pont BlackBerry e-mail integration: Ouch.

    By far the biggest lack of playbook is the e-mail options. Preloaded on the device, there are the icons on the main screen that looks promising: Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail. There are only tailored links to the browser, however, nothing more. There is no Microsoft Exchange, there is no way to synchronize your accounts. Of course, the shortcut icons appear on the browser, such as specialized versions of any service you use, such as Gmail. IPad will be presented with Gmail, for example, but is actually just a link to your browser, so no push notifications. In fact, the script is currently able to sync any email account without the help of the BlackBerry Bridge, which is not yet complete. RIM reps require an update comes out, sometimes in summer, which gives the script the whole e-mail and synchronize contacts, but now there is no such thing, and nothing appears on the screen tell you when you receive new messages.

    You need to open the shortcut to the browser and check your e-mails manually. In a tablet or 500-plus, this omission is hard to swallow.

    As attachments, there is no way to send from Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Hotmail using the shortcuts, making applications to other greats like Word to go much less useful. And that means you can not send an e-mail the photos you take with the camera.

    So now there's really no way to access the company e-mails, contacts, calendar information, or professional, nor is there a way to receive notifications via email or accessory use. Using the playbook in his current state of play would be an exaggeration.

    Immobilization of the works, however. If you own a BlackBerry, you can use its signal as a focal point for the playbook through Bluetooth. There is no charge for this, so for owners of BlackBerry, the playbook Wi-Fi is just a better deal than it is for someone else. Finally, the bridge will have BlackBerry email and syncing contacts and at the same time, you get the signal free to browse the Web. You can anchor other mobile devices to the tablet, but the cost will almost certainly apply. Web browsing

    The browser software on the playbook is a bright spot. Not only is it intuitive and simple, like all tablets should be browsers, but it is the first device provides an operating system specific as a tablet to offer full support for Flash. Video playback occurs within the browser, not on full display as Xoom, which still awaits full Flash support. While the book game supports Flash 10.1, not 10.2, which supports Xoom is in beta mode, but the experience is smoother and closer to that navigation on a laptop is not as- need to see everything on full display as the current 10.2 beta requires.

    Bookmarks, create new tabs, and general navigation is all in an instant if one complaint is that the screen does not seem to resize as well as it does on an iPhone or Xoom, when you double-click, press time content looks too big for the screen, even after resizing. It is not always easy to choose the story you want, as long as the contact points are quite small for the size of most pages "standard, so your best bet is to zoom up that you try to select a new link. But you get the full version of the browser playbook more sites. Sometimes with Xoom is standard for a sleek mobile site.

    Minor objections aside, the browser beats experience Xoom Flash now awkward, and since Safari does not support flash, with the playbook, however, offers a great advantage in the realm of web browsing, Xoom for at least the fate of the beta flash mode.

    Camera: The Playbook has the back facing the camera is not a viable alternative for your camera point-and-shoot classic, but his shot from 5 megapixels is better than the two low IPAD under-1-megapixel offer. What is not as good are the built-in options for the camera, there are ways of making much less there to Xoom, and as noted above, there are no photos or videos via e-mail attachments from approx. The video is captured in full HD 1080p, so you can use the HDMI output to connect the tablet and watch clips on your HDTV. In video mode, there is a considerable gap between what you see on the screen while you're shooting and what actually happens in real time. RIM is aware and has plans to fix it in an update.

    The real problem here is the 3-megapixel front of the goal. Even the Dell Streak 7 ($ 199.99, 2.5 stars) offers video chat, if based on some pretty awful Android applications to do so. The playbook can have a front camera better the iPhone 2 or Xoom, but is useless without video chat, unless you're really self-portraits. FaceTime on the iPad Both 2 and Xoom Google Talk proven reliable videoconferencing options. If the cat video is a priority for you, it is likely that the time to review these criticisms, we do not know when this functionality comes at the playbook and how it will work.
     RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

    Music, Pictures and Video: Screen video shows a great script and an HDMI output supports mirroring of full-HD. This is particularly useful for PowerPoint presentations, but just as good viewing of HD video. If the video chat will never become a reality, a higher resolution direction lens provides high-quality video suitable for television as iPad 2, FaceTime has TV experience.

    The soft picture is not as interactive as the photo browser on iPad 2, but it does the job and the photos look bright, strong and beautiful on the glossy screen. Unfortunately, due to the lack of integration e-mail, you can not send photos to friends currently at approx. The images are more or less settled the playbook until you synchronize with your computer tablet.

    Soft music is organized very sensible nothing as beautiful as Apple's CoverFlow, but even that does not IPAD, if I hit RIM to keep things simple. Playbook offers solid audio playback via the built-in stereo speakers, but there are not many settings for the audio, as a user EQ, you can play with.

    Media in the playbook is strong, but not surprising for the audio, which is only compatible with MP3, AAC, WMA and PCM. For video, H.264, MPEG4, Xvid, and VC1 files are accepted, and no support for JPG, BMP, GIF and PNG for photos. The camera registers the H.264 video and AAC audio in MP4 format.

    RIM Life unofficial rate of the battery for 8-10 hours to Playbook, our testing has 8 hours and 15 minutes of streaming video with Wi-Fi, so estimates are accurate enough RIM.

    Conclusions: The multitasking capabilities of extra features such as chat rooms quality video applications, RIM BlackBerry playbook beat both the iPad 2 and Xoom. If the script is successful, the power button stuck on one side the question, is the overall design. RIM tablet is more portable, and probably also a good size, as most of the race, with the exception of a 7-inch Galaxy Tab ($ 399.99, 3.5 stars), and the user interface much more friendly Google OS to a honeycomb. Browser, despite its shortcomings, offers the best support for Flash so far is a tablet. Software updates can fix bugs, and developers can do to attract more interesting and better to work applications, so there's really no room for growth here. But the big question is how to RIM, the company synonymous with wireless e-business for the last ten years, could launch its first tablet without a real solution to the native e-mail.

    What is the test preparation, there is not much available in the App World, but the script seems generally fast, even if that problem too can open applications at once, says that the operating system probably would have been better designed to manage activities current and the other on the shelf in the background, the iPad 2 and Xoom do so effectively.

    Specifications:
    Operating System RIM BlackBerry Tablet OS
    Screen Resolution 1024 x 600 pixels
    Screen Size 7 inches
    Audio Battery Life 8 hours 15 min
    Battery Type Supported Rechargeable
    Storage Capacity (as Tested) 16 GB
    Dimensions 5.1 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
    Weight 14.4 lb
    Networking Options 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
    Email Access In browser only
    Web Browser Yes
    Flash support Yes
    Camera(s) 1 front-facing and 1 rear-facing
    Video Chat No
    Music Playback Formats AAC, MP3, WMA
    Photo Formats BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF
    Video Formats AVI, H.264, XVid, VC1
    Price : $ 499.99

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