IT Answers – Touch Screen Bliss with the BB Playbook

Touch Screen Bliss with the BB Playbook

So there I was sitting with my brand new iPhone in hand when a friend asked me if I had seen the BlackBerry Playbook. I had and I liked it but my mind was set on the iPad as everyone and their son had one already. The iPads popularity is astonishing even here in Nigeria where Wifi isn’t all that popular and there are even certain restrictions on buying songs on-line here. Still it is everywhere.

My friend just told me to have a look at it and when I did, I found myself playing games, browsing flicking between screens and pretty much loving every second. So after a while I asked him what network he used for it and he laughed and said, I’m using my regular BB to browse on the Playbook…. their linked so I only pay one bill.

And with that my love for the Playbook grew and I started my journey into the research. Here’s what I found.

Blackberry Playbook: Touch screen bliss

The minds behind our BB obsession brought us this touch screen tablet: The Playbook a while ago. It was initially designed to challenge Apple Inc.’s iPad, and what you get for coming out second is improvements on what the other guys did, the Blackberry Playbook Tablet’s expected to give more flexibility on how corporate circles do their businesses. (“World’s first professional tablet” says RIM president and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis) and what I love about it is its portability (7-inch display so it can fit comfortably in one hand and still be used)

What Makes The Playbook Stand Out?

You get the full Web Experience in a manageable size. Compared to iPad’s 9.7 inch touchscreen, the Playbook’s got just about 7-inchs of display, however it will give a complete web experience since RIM has stressed the integration of the tablet to the Blackberry Smartphone (Liquid Graphics and Dual coure processor). So as an added bonus you’ll have access to Adobe Flash video software, which can be tricky on other Tablets.

Enterprise Ready

Designed to work hand-in hand with the Blackberry Smartphone via a secure short-range Bluetooth range (so just sync the playbook to your phone and it becomes your BB on a bigger screen. Awesome for BBming, Emailing and Browsing), the Playbook can act as a second screen for the handset, which allows phone users to access their email, documents, calendar, and other content on a larger screen.

Secure Wireless Link

Since this device is tailored for the executive consumers, data security and work privacy is very important. So, when the connection between the Playbook and the Smartphone is cut off, assuming the user walks away with the handset, no sensitive information like business e-mails are stored on the tablet. (Nice touch, I must say)

As for apps which we all love so much, RIM’s has released a software kit that lets third-party developers design applications for the Playbook, also, video game makers Electronic Arts has been invited to participate in introducing the Playbook to the general public. (can you smell the games?) As other companies are expected to announce their own versions of tablet computers sometime next year, it should be interesting since tight competition usually means better products to choose from. And better products mean better value for everyone’s hard earned money.

Jite Ovueraye.