The BlackBerry PlayBook is RIM's entry into the burgeoning tablet market place that is currently dominated by Apple. It faces a stiff competition from the iPad and the various Android tablets that are but now coming to market. Does RIM have what it takes to compete at this level of consumer tablet? Is the BlackBerry PlayBook something that the average customer should be departing with their hard-earned coin for?

In a nutshell, no. The PlayBook has a lot of things going for it, solid hardware, speedy processor, and dual-cameras. Just hardware is but half the story. And the story of the PlayBook is as much most what RIM left out as what information technology put in. The PlayBook is not quite gear up for prime number time, and could definitely benefit from going back in the oven for a little bit longer, especially on the software side. Considering that ensuing updates to the Bone and integrated apps could improve the PlayBook, bear in listen that this review is electric current but as of launch time: Apr 2022. Read on to find out what the PlayBook does correct, and why we remember it is sorely lacking in other areas.


Hardware

The hardware on the PlayBook is really quite nice. The 7-inch size, no matter what Steve Jobs says, is very easy to hold in the hand and apply while on the get. Unlike the iPad, which nigh requires that you lot put it downwards in club to type on it, the PlayBook accommodates typing with two thumbs quite easily. The tablet weighs but under a pound, at 425g (0.9 lb), which is enough heft to requite information technology a solid feel without existence also heavy to easily conduct effectually. Not to mention the fact that the 7-inch size can fit in many more jacket pockets than a ten-inch slate.

The screen itself is very nice to look at. The 1024 x 600 pixel resolution provides well-baked images and colors really popular off the screen. Viewing angles are phenomenal and outdoor viewing was even usable, if not exactly great. The screen is capacitive multitouch drinking glass, and we found it to be very responsive to the touch.

The bezel around the screen is rather large, but part of that is because it includes a gesture area that is used to initiate functions in the Bone such as multi-tasking and settings. Dual speakers frame the front on the left and right sides and pump out some of the loudest sound we've e'er heard from a mobile device. They offer rich, full sound. At the top of the PlayBook, within the bezel, is a lite sensor and the 3 megapixel forepart facing camera.

The sides of the PlayBook are coated with a soft-touch rubber that has a quality feel and provides some grip. The PlayBook is a svelte 10mm (0.4 in) thick, which is certainly thin enough in our opinion. On tiptop of the device are a power button, book controls, and a play/break key for media. A 3.5mm headphone jack is present too. The power button is very small and quite difficult to depress. Thankfully, the tablet can be activated by swiping from one side to another, without using the push. On the bottom of the tablet are three ports: micro-HDMI, micro-USB, and a three pin accessory dock connector.

The back of the PlayBook is fairly sparse, salve for the chrome BlackBerry logo dead-center and the 5 megapixel photographic camera centered at the height. The position of the camera works well, never one time did we detect our fingers blocking the lens while nosotros snapped a picture. The entire back is coated with the aforementioned soft-touch rubber that is on the sides of the PlayBook. It provides overnice grip without showing fingerprints or minor scratches. The overall design of the PlayBook is a delight in minimalism, and the squared edges are very different than the tapered sides that we come across on the iPad and other tablets.

RIM offers an selection to pair a BlackBerry smartphone to the PlayBook via its Bridge app. This allows access to the postal service and messaging (as well every bit contacts, calendar, and tasks) information that be on the phone and lets the user manage those from the tablet. The apps merely appear when the phone is paired, inside range, and connected, and all of the information immediately disappears from the PlayBook when the devices are disconnected.

RIM positions this as a security characteristic for enterprise customers, equally they will not have to re-certify each tablet for their networks. While it is a nice characteristic to exist able to access a phone'due south email system on the tablet, information technology is no alibi for not having a true e-mail client on the tablet, specially with email and messaging beingness something that is so important to the BlackBerry make. RIM's CEO has promised that an update is coming that volition provide a real e-mail app, only no timeline has been given as to exactly when. Frankly, information technology's something so essential that should have been bundled at launch, otherwise the PlayBook appears similar a half baked contender as a standalone tablet.