blackberry playbook | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:43:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png blackberry playbook | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 RIM outs BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 Update https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/operating-systems/stephen-dougherty/rim-outs-blackberry-playbook-os-2-0-update/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/operating-systems/stephen-dougherty/rim-outs-blackberry-playbook-os-2-0-update/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:43:45 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=79885 Without any real prior confirmation, Research in Motion (RIM) has released its second generation OS for its BlackBerry Playbook tablet today. BlackBerry OS 2.0 for the Playbook brings with it quite the list of updates, some of the most notable being much needed native email, contacts and calendar apps, BlackBerry Bridge 2.0 which allows a …

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Without any real prior confirmation, Research in Motion (RIM) has released its second generation OS for its BlackBerry Playbook tablet today.

BlackBerry OS 2.0 for the Playbook brings with it quite the list of updates, some of the most notable being much needed native email, contacts and calendar apps, BlackBerry Bridge 2.0 which allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a remote control for the Playbook, and social integration with services including Faebook and Twitter.

The new OS is also said to be fair bit snappier from a performance perspective along with real-time multitasking capabilities and several new and improved productivity tools like Print to Go and Documents to Go (allowing you to view and edit MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files).

SVP of mobile computing at RIM, David Smith said, “Building on the BlackBerry Playbook tablet's proven web browsing, multimedia and multitasking strengths, the new BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 introduces a range of new communications and productivity enhancements as well as expanded app and content support“.

Thanks to the BlackBerry App World, many new apps are also now offered (including a number of Android apps) and with thousands more to come.

To upgrade your Playbook to BlackBerry OS 2.0 just check for updates in “Settings”.

KitGuru says: Better late than never. At least all the features that should have been in place the first time around finally make the Playbook a (slightly?) respectable tablet.

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RIM cut prices of Playbook: stock still not moving https://www.kitguru.net/channel/harrison/rim-cut-prices-of-playbook-stock-still-not-moving/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/harrison/rim-cut-prices-of-playbook-stock-still-not-moving/#respond Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:02:18 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=65072 Research In Motion have struggled to sell their BlackBerry Playbook. This hasn't been helped by networking issues in recent months, and the news that they won't be updating their software anytime soon. RIM have tried to push sales, by cutting the price of the tablet, but channel partners claim that sales are still sluggish. In …

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Research In Motion have struggled to sell their BlackBerry Playbook. This hasn't been helped by networking issues in recent months, and the news that they won't be updating their software anytime soon.

RIM have tried to push sales, by cutting the price of the tablet, but channel partners claim that sales are still sluggish. In the US, Playbook prices were cut by $200 to help shift huge stock levels.

In the UK, PC World and Currys have cut the prices by £150 on both the 16Gb and 32GB models. The Register reported that sales were still exceptionally poor for all versions of the tablet.

Not selling, even with price cuts: The BlackBerry Playbook

Kitguru did a little investigating last night, checking with Phone4U, Best Buy and CarPhone Warehouse. We were told by a sales manager that stock was not moving at all, even when actively promoting the tablet in store with hands on demonstrations and promotions. Most people seem to be interested in the iPad 2 and have no desire to buy a Playbook.

With the high profile news of email and instant messaging services going down the pan for several days, it would appear that customer faith in the company is at an all time low. Price cuts don't seem to be working.

Kitguru says: RIM need to do something radical to push the tablet, but we wonder if it just too little, too late.

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Blackberry Playbook update delayed until next year https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/blackberry-playbook-update-delayed-until-next-year/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/blackberry-playbook-update-delayed-until-next-year/#respond Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:33:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=64888 Research In Motion haven't had a very memorable 2011, unless you factor in lower than expected sales and networking issues. The latest news will cause an uproar among customers as it appears that the ill fated Playbook tablet will not be getting a much needed software update until next year. David Smith of RIM issued …

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Research In Motion haven't had a very memorable 2011, unless you factor in lower than expected sales and networking issues. The latest news will cause an uproar among customers as it appears that the ill fated Playbook tablet will not be getting a much needed software update until next year.

David Smith of RIM issued the following statement “As much as we'd love to have it in your hands today, we've made the difficult decision to wait to launch BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 until we are confident we have fully met the expectations of our developers, enterprise customers and end-users.”

This will come as little comfort to people who have adopted the tablet early, because the product has came under fierce criticism for the lack of an email client and some stability issues. Sales have been less than impressive so far, with Apple and other Android tablets taking up the bulk of market share.

Research In Motion have missed their initial time frame for the software update, as it was initially scheduled for October, but it has been delayed now for at least 4 more months.

More depressing news has surfaced, as the popular BlackBerry Instant Messaging application will not be included in the new update.

Shares dropped 6 percent after the news surfaces, adding to the problems the company have faced all year in the tough smartphone market. They have missed sales targets all year and the three day downtime for services hurt their relationship with businessmen who need email and messaging on the move.

Kitguru says: Officebroker.com conducted a survey of 500 business executives and 64 percent of these said they would switch to an iPhone.

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Blackberry Playbook launches in UK, are you buying one? https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/simon/blackberry-playbook-launches-in-uk-are-you-buying-one/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/simon/blackberry-playbook-launches-in-uk-are-you-buying-one/#comments Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:09:00 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=49574 There are not many alternatives to the Apple iPad in the UK, unless you factor in all the ‘no name' brands available online and from retail outlets. The Blackberry Playbook was officially announced in the UK yesterday and we decided to walk around a well known high street in the UK to see how the …

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There are not many alternatives to the Apple iPad in the UK, unless you factor in all the ‘no name' brands available online and from retail outlets. The Blackberry Playbook was officially announced in the UK yesterday and we decided to walk around a well known high street in the UK to see how the launch was going.

We couldn't find it anywhere, and we walked into several of the mainstreet phone stores to see if stocks were available. Speaking with one of the o2 sales representatives he said that they had no plans to stock it. Vodafone said the same thing.

We checked online (with our iPad 2) and found that the Carphone Warehouse were listed as an official retailer under the ‘ipads and tablets' section. 16GB was £399, 32gb was £479 and the 64GB was £559. Finding the nearest store, we posed as a potential customer. The helpful sales guy said they only had a few in stock and that hadn't sold any yet. I asked if they had an iPad 2 and they said they were sold out. He added that the interest levels in the iPad 2 were incredible and that everytime they had stock available, it was sold out that day.

Checking their website Carphonewarehouse were offering a

‘BlackBerry® Curve 3G Plus BlackBerry® PlayBook™
all for
Free + £37 per month'

seems like a good deal, but the page linking to the offer is broken.

We then tried PCWorld, and the sales representative didn't even know what the product was. He said they had a few iPad 2's in stock, as more arrived that morning but no 3G models were available.

Kitguru says: All in all, its a rather feeble launch day for the Playbook and we hope that the promotional campaign improves, because so far we can't help but feel that the Playbook is destined to be linked to a footnote in the tech history archives.

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Blackberry Playbook set for April release https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/blackberry-playbook-set-for-april-release/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/tablet-pc/slyvia/blackberry-playbook-set-for-april-release/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:13:24 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=36013 In the latest of our tablet news, it looks as if Research In Motion (RIM) are arming up to join the market attack with the release of their new Playbook set for April. KitGuru has heard well sourced rumours in the Far East that the date looks to be between April 10th and April 20th. …

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In the latest of our tablet news, it looks as if Research In Motion (RIM) are arming up to join the market attack with the release of their new Playbook set for April. KitGuru has heard well sourced rumours in the Far East that the date looks to be between April 10th and April 20th.

If this date is accurate, then RIM are looking to go head to head against the iPad 2 which should be hitting the market at a similar time frame.

Pricing information is not yet confirmed, although best guesstimates seem to be hinting at a $500 price point, which would translate to around a £420 once it hits the UK shores. Many business professionals have been waiting on the BlackBerry Playbook to hit retail, as RIM are well known for class leading enterprise email support, however they will be facing stiff competition from Apple's new iPad 2 and the Motorola Xoom.

KitGuru says: Are you joining the tablet hordes in 2011, is this on your shortlist?

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The RIM Playbook Tablet – will it be a success ? https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/carl/the-rim-playbook-tablet-will-it-be-a-success/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/carl/the-rim-playbook-tablet-will-it-be-a-success/#comments Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:15:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=18461 We posted a story yesterday on the new, upcoming Blackberry Playbook which looks to be an impressive piece of kit. Today, publications across the net are talking about the product, with many saying that it is destined to fail. Why? Research In Motion are well known to always target the business user, they have a …

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We posted a story yesterday on the new, upcoming Blackberry Playbook which looks to be an impressive piece of kit. Today, publications across the net are talking about the product, with many saying that it is destined to fail. Why?

Research In Motion are well known to always target the business user, they have a huge following with this audience and sell many smartphones based around their class leading email support. The PlayBook Tablet has been marketed with a key focus on the graphics power, with RIM saying that this will be a great gaming machine for the consumer. This could very well alienate business users from even contemplating the device.

While the hardware specifications look fantastic on paper – a Cortex A9 based dual core 1GHZ CPU with 1GB of Ram, twin cameras, conferencing support, wifi, OpenGL – it is missing one basic feature. 3G. We have no idea why they have omitted this important aspect but it is another reason why the core BlackBerry audience may very well ignore the device.

The screen size has been mentioned by several publications as being too small however we feel the size is right. Even Apple are going to be releasing a smaller version of the iPad with a 7 inch screen – market research has shown that many people find a 9.7 inch screen too big.

As a fully functioning multi application device, RIM need to sort out a few key areas – the browsing experience, which has been a bone of contention for many users so far, and a wider selection of applications. With Apple and the iTunes store, they face stiff competition and that is before companies like Samsung start to roll out similar ideas for their Galaxy S tablet.

Cisco Cius - Playbook's number 1 competition: we think so anyway

We feel however that the biggest challenge The Playbook will face, might very well come from the Cisco Cius (pictured above) which is going to be targeting the audience that RIM seem to be forgetting about. The business user. This Cius will run Google's excellent Android operating system and it will also integrate from the ground up with the current Cisco infrastructure. The expected launch time is similar to the Playback, Q1-Q2 2011.

KitGuru says: The Tablet market is a hotbed of opportunity and a potential billion dollar earner for all of these companies. Who will get it right? Who will fall on their ass? 2011 is going to be interesting.

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BlackBerry Playbook – targets the Apple iPad https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/carl/blackberry-playbook-targets-the-apple-ipad/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/carl/blackberry-playbook-targets-the-apple-ipad/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:14:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=18344 If you haven't yet jumped upon the iPad wagon due to a hatred of Apple then the new BlackBerry Playbook might be right up your alley. Research in Motion have a new ‘teaser' subsite available now highlighting the unit with some beautiful high resolution photographs. Unlike other devices from companies such as Dell, Sharp and …

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If you haven't yet jumped upon the iPad wagon due to a hatred of Apple then the new BlackBerry Playbook might be right up your alley. Research in Motion have a new ‘teaser' subsite available now highlighting the unit with some beautiful high resolution photographs.

Unlike other devices from companies such as Dell, Sharp and Samsung, the 7.6 inch Playbook is using an operating system by QNX. It offers OpenGL and POSIX support as well as standards support such as HTML5. In an unusual move from a company who tend to focus on business users, they have stated that this platform is going to be ‘an incredible gaming platform for publishers and the players.”

Unlike the Apple iPad the Playbook also has full support for Adobe Flash 10.1 as well as ADOBE AIR applications. It has a 1024×600 capacitive screen, a Cortex A9 based dual core 1GHZ CPU with 1GB of Ram and a 3 MP front facing camera as well as a 5 MP rear lens as well as video conferencing support. The units look to be made available in 16GB and 32GB sizes and offer full multitasking support.

If this mighty impressive specification list isn't enough then how about full 1080p video support with an HDMI port and a microUSB jack with 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 support.

KitGuru says: Will this be enough to get a percentage of sales from the dominant iPad? If the specifications list are anything to go by, then we think it may very well take a chunk of the Apple pie.

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