Current BB Playbook owners chime in on the Surface RT please?

Dec 2, 2012
378
0
0
Visit site
The reason I'm asking for "current" Playbook owners is that all the "former" ones over at Crackberry.com are an incredibly ill behaved and disgruntled lot, and I don't trust them to give a rational non-rant unbiased opinion.

For those of you (if any) who still own and use a PB and have also recently bought a Surface RT, what are your impressions of its performance, speed, and UI compared to your PB? I still like my PB, and the UI still never gets old for me. I'm pretty much happy with everything on it now except the Browser which I find to be poor, and the keyboard lags on numerous websites. She's getting pretty long in the tooth now and we also need another tablet in the family so I'm looking at the RT as a possible next purchase. But it's soooo hard to resist buying a second PB at only $150 :wink:
 

stephen_az

Banned
Aug 2, 2012
1,267
0
0
Visit site
The Playbook is a nice little tablet with the second best UI behind Windows RT. As far as I am concerned nothing else is even in the game with Windows RT and the PB 2.0 version of QNX with respect to UI. It is worth every penny of a $300 price tag, as opposed to just the $150. It is slower than my Surface RT tablet at everything but only a bit, and was faster than my quad core Transformer Prime (to be more accurate, less subject to lag than the Prime). To be honest though I did sell they PB albeit a bit reluctantly in the end due to the weak app ecosystem and middling file system management.

If asked to make a recommendation, I would say that a PB is a worthwhile investment as long as one recognizes that its limitations are not going away. As a rule though I would also have to say my first recommendation would be the Surface tablets are worth every penny of the higher price for Office, the robust Windows file system, device driver and codec support, and essential apps alone. This doesn't even touch stuff such as the full size USB port and MicroSDXC slot. If you know what you want to do with it, and it will meet the needs, the PB is still a nice option. For an entirely different of functionality though, Surface RT is an easy choice. One nice thing though if one wanted to use both is that there is a lot in common at a conceptual level between the two UI approaches. My opinion is that it was easier to switch back and forth than jumping between the Android and Windows 8/RT UI or Android and QNX UI.
 

NickA

New member
Dec 26, 2010
510
0
0
Visit site
lol....the Surface blows the playbook out of the water...this is not even a contest.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it blows it away, or that it's not a contest. If we speak of multitasking alone, the PB blows the Surface (and any other tablet) away. Same goes for portability. Same thing for the app situation. While both stores are somewhat lacking, the PB has a larger offering, and the ability to run Android apps. Build quality of both devices are about the same. The Bridge feature in the PB is awesome when combined with a BB phone. I loved that feature. Try doing that with a Windows phone and the Surface, or an iPhone/iPad.

That being said... I picked up my PB a little less than a year after it was released. Weeks a couple months before the 2.0 update. It was (and still is) a great little tablet for me. It's been assign a single use now, bit it does that one thing well. I think what you will miss by getting a Surface is the portability (and a few hundred bucks). The UI is similar in the sense they both use gestures. I still find myself trying to swipe when I use my iPad because I'm so used to the Surface now. Some have no complaints about IE on the Surface, but I've had slow downs at times. So much so that I toss it aside and grab the iPad. Same goes for built in apps like the mail client. A simple task like checking mail can sometimes take longer then it needs to.

I think if you're happy with the PB, then get another one (or two), unless there is something specific you need in the Surface that the PB can't do. It's tough for me to recommend the Surface based on just wanting a faster browser.
 

Highdefjunkie

New member
Nov 1, 2012
173
0
0
Visit site
The reason I'm asking for "current" Playbook owners is that all the "former" ones over at Crackberry.com are an incredibly ill behaved and disgruntled lot, and I don't trust them to give a rational non-rant unbiased opinion.

For those of you (if any) who still own and use a PB and have also recently bought a Surface RT, what are your impressions of its performance, speed, and UI compared to your PB? I still like my PB, and the UI still never gets old for me. I'm pretty much happy with everything on it now except the Browser which I find to be poor, and the keyboard lags on numerous websites. She's getting pretty long in the tooth now and we also need another tablet in the family so I'm looking at the RT as a possible next purchase. But it's soooo hard to resist buying a second PB at only $150 :wink:

I've never tried PB, but isn't the Nexus 7 at 199 a better device then PB? Esp if it's only 50 bucks more. Just curious because I haven't used either of them.
 

NickA

New member
Dec 26, 2010
510
0
0
Visit site
PB beats Windows in multitasking.....lol good joke.

lol, no joke bro, you own one? Head over the CrackBerry.com for some insight on the PB, then read up on QNX. It's an extremely capable device.

My comment was in regards to you saying the Surface blows the PB away. I'm not going to engage in that hyperbole. Give me some reasons why you feel that way, instead of just a one liner post. My guess is for your specific needs, the Surface blows the PB away.
 

fc000

Member
Nov 29, 2010
188
0
16
Visit site
I'm pretty much happy with everything on it now except the Browser which I find to be poor, and the keyboard lags on numerous websites.

I find this quite funny as the Browser is the one part of the Playbook I think it does better than any other tablet currently available. I still use my Playbook, connected to a TV to watch livestreams as they run flawlessly in the Playbooks browser.

Though one thing the that drove me crazy with the Playbooks browser, when going "back" on a site, it would reload the previous page, instead of caching it. IE10 on the Surface RT does the same thing, and it's annoying as ****.
 

conanheath

New member
Sep 10, 2012
450
0
0
Visit site
I still use and love my Playbook. Its great for what I use it for and the portability of device is probably the only aspect that is better than RT. Windows ecosystem is far more integrated with Skydrive, One Note, Xbox Music, etc. I use these apps quite a bit and along with Netflix, there is no free integrated apps on Playbook. I can't think of one thing, tablet wise, that Playbook has over Surface. Maybe the display. Little disappointed with RT display. Windows ecosystem was better at start then BB is after what, 2 years? I check BB appworld weekly and it's the same useless apps from a year ago. If MS comes out with a 7" or so version of RT in 2013, I will ditch the Playbook for good. BB just lacks all the mainstream apps and they always will. BB is still the best "getting things done, quickly" OS, but I feel a tablet is more for play and it just seems like you have to find a work-around for so much with BB. Windows RT has it's problems, but it's early and I see MS getting developer support and problems resolved before BB gets BB10 out the door. The camera on RT isn't as good as Playbook but does anybody actually buy tablet for the camera. Playbook battery life is better than RT due to screen size. I would take the RT over Playbook. More options and can be utilized for work and play. Huge price difference. I paid $200 for 64gig PB and $700 for 64gig RT. But with RT you get expandable memory, full office, and integrated keyboard which actually works well.
 

balama

New member
Nov 28, 2012
20
0
0
Visit site
I agree
the browser on the playbook is one of the best as is it's multitasking gesture UI
but as a complete device you can't really compete against the surface with its built in kick stand, microsoft office integration, bing, microSD expansion, and tiles ui which is the best UI I have found in all my blackberry, apple, android and chrome experiences.
I currently own and have been trying my best to use two playbooks, a chromebook, an ipad2(original $30/mo 3G ATT unlimited ipad owner), and the SurfaceRT. And so far the SurfaceRT with the type pad keyboard wins hands down as a tablet/mini computer device. The flat key cover isn't bad but there's no feedback on the keystrokes and the type cover really doesn't add any thickness like the playbook key cover did to the playbook or the ipad key covers did to the ipad. The ASUS RT device looks like as winner with its extended battery keyboard but again that will add more weight and bulk to the overall package. Although wider the surface feels thinner and not as chunky to hold as the playbook or as awkward to hold as the ipad. Its still too heavy to dash mount though.

I'm currently selling my ipad2 and both playbooks but the playbooks have been hard to unload versus the ipad. Almost all the blackberry owners I know are in the process of changing to the new iphone5 or the new android phones when their contracts expire and I'll be converting to an ipad mini as a portable car traffic cam monitor in place of the playbook or surface which are both way too heavy to place in a normal vent dash mount.

From purely an efficiency standpoint, I've never found a road warrior device that matched my ancient 1980's Cambridge-Sinclair Z88 with its amazing Pipedream OS. I think a device similar to that with an intel wireless display output and hdmi output could be a winner where the focus is on an excellent keyboard and not the gestures. That's why I always loved about the blackberry's, the ability to one hand tactile type on those little form factors. Its still be best enterprise messaging design out there but in the tablet/laptop replacement space there are better choices. Can't wait to see what OS10 will bring although it may be a little too late.

SurfaceRT and Surface Pro wins in the business road warrior space although Windows 8 hasn't impressed me so much as there's too many legacy business programs that aren't truly compatible yet.
I recently upgraded my toshiba ultrabook and switched back to windows7 pro less that a month later.
All RT/Win8 needs is a IPSec Cisco VPN client to remote in to home base to make it a winner. Never got the playbook to do that either.
 

JohnnyCanuck

New member
Nov 14, 2012
27
0
0
Visit site
I haven't picked up my PB since I bought my Surface. That's really all I can tell you. Wish there were a few more apps, wish it handled Flash without this whitelist crap, but otherwise ... tablet of choice for me. Still have my PB and if there's a reason to use a smaller form factor, will definitely use it again, but definitely think the Surface is a better tablet overall.
 

shn'g

New member
Oct 27, 2012
183
0
0
Visit site
I haven't picked up my PB since I bought my Surface. That's really all I can tell you. Wish there were a few more apps, wish it handled Flash without this whitelist crap, but otherwise ... tablet of choice for me. Still have my PB and if there's a reason to use a smaller form factor, will definitely use it again, but definitely think the Surface is a better tablet overall.
this is actually me to, but its just because I am enjoying surface so much but also I like to really get to know my device within the first few months. Once that wears off a bit I will go back to using my Playbook for work as it is more portable.

I wrote a review over on crackberry if you want to check it out. It's a little long winded but I tried to be as unbiased as possible. Playbook Vs. Surface RT
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,736
Messages
2,242,598
Members
427,981
Latest member
infohills