RIM PlayBook tablet is Palm Foleo killer

The first reviews of RIM's PlayBook tablet, which needs to be tethered to a Blackberry to do native email, are in. It's shit. One of the company's two CEOs also walked out of a BBC interview when asked about the RIM's "problems" with governments who want access to its security systems.

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Anonymous

Engadget liked it quite a bit actually, 7/10.. not sure that “shit” exactly.
darren

The real question is, does it suck more than the Xoom?
THEGODOFTHUNDER

If you install the Early Bird app it does do email.
On their website they state:
“Early Bird supports the industry standard POP and SMTP protocols.”

http://www.pepper.pk/early-bird/

I think it will be better than the Zoom but the only way to be sure is try them both out and wait and see what apps are developed for them.
As an iPad user who enjoys creating art and music I would be happy to use a different tablet if the apps are available to do more than just play Angry Birds and surf the net. Maybe in 12 months these competing platforms will have matured but for now I think most people will still go with Apple.
I am not a fanboy but I want competition as it benefits everyone.
Anonymous

Ok, I read the review and I don’t think summarizing those findings as “It’s shit” are fair or reasonable. The shortcoming seems to be that it doesn’t have native 3G or as many apps that make fart noises as the iPad. Why not wait until you can judge it yourself and report on its actual merits or shortcomings?

I waited until I actually handled an iPad before concluding that its made for mindless sheep, you might give competing products the courtesy of the same consideration.

Even the referenced article offers, “… more attention [...] was focused on what the PlayBook can’t do”, but never expanded on that, except to point out there’s no option to be gouged on an ongoing basis by your friendly carrier’s data package. It goes on to say that the Playbook will cooperate with many smartphones, not just the Blackberry, which is something you’ll never see any Apple product do.

After being a strong booster for your site for quite some time I’m very disappointed in Boing Boing right now.
- Anonymous
  
  “RIM has just shipped a BlackBerry product that cannot do email…”
  
  sorry, but ‘it’s shit’. What is RIM thinking.
  - kjulig
    
    Not defending RIM or anything, but what’s with the selective quoting?
    
    Pogue’s review reads in part:
    
    R.I.M. has just shipped a BlackBerry product that cannot do e-mail. It must be skating season in hell. (R.I.M. says that those missing apps will come this summer.)
- george57l
  
  Me too. (Also disappointed by such a simplistic and offensive summary of a review)
  
  And as to “it cannot do email” – what I thought I read was that it needs to be tethered to do mobile/wireless comms but that it has native wi-fi comms – so why can’t it do email over wi-fi? “Can’t do email seems a bit misleading (but not as misleading as “it’s shit”)
- andrei.timoshenko
  
  [quote]I waited until I actually handled an iPad before concluding that its made for mindless sheep, you might give competing products the courtesy of the same consideration.[/quote]
  
  Where were all the “mindless sheep” before iOS came along? Which devices were they using? Why did they suddenly switch to Apple? I mean, Apple has been adhering to pretty much the same philosophy since the 1980s…
teapot

PS – this comparison chart is a handy, visual reference:
http://www.tipb.com/images/stories/2011/03/ipad_2_xoom_optimus-pad_galaxy-tab_touchpad_playbook_specs.jpg
Anonymous

Pogue & Mossberg are the last people one looks to for objective reviews, why not ask Jobs directly? No e-mail without a Blackberry though is indeed terribly weird.
foobar

RIM: marginally better than vapourware.
andygates

You’d think they’d learned the lesson of the Nokia 770. Remember that? The first-gen skunkworks little tablet, which had to be tethered by Bluetooth to your GPRS phone, and which kinda worked in a neat-for-geeks way. I still have mine.

Mandatory tethering to do basic connectivity? The iphone killed that idea years ago.
salsaman

Anon #3, Pogue’s review does list a number of major PlayBook shortcomings, plus this gem (emphasis mine):

Its software is based on an operating system called QNX, which Research In Motion, the BlackBerryâ€™s maker, bought for its industrial stability. (â€œIt runs nuclear power plants,â€ says a product manager without a trace of current-events irony.)
- Anonymous
  
  I must have missed the current event where a nuclear power plant failed because of its operating system.
  
  Pogue tries too hard in this review.
grimc

I thought Facebook trademarked “book”. Or was it “face”?
KeithIrwin

I don’t think that he responded well to the question in the interview, but it wasn’t a very well worded question. The interviewer did seem to be suggesting that it was a “security problem” which would usually mean that there are holes or defects in their security. The actual problem is that their security is really good and some governments are unhappy with the security being so good. A better way to answer the question would have been “We don’t have a security problem. Our products have excellent security. The problem we have is that some governments feel our security is too good. However, our first priority is our customer’s security. I can’t guarantee that we will be able to work something out because governments can sometimes be unreasonable, but I believe we will.”
- Anonymous
  
  “The actual problem is that their security is really good and some governments are unhappy with the security being so good.”
  
  ^this.
  
  Rob, your summary implies otherwise, I think.
- Xof
  
  I don’t think that he responded well to the question in the interview, but it wasn’t a very well worded question.
  
  Generally, the CEOs of major corporations are expected to respond to poorly-worded questions by clarifying the question and answering it, rather than storming out of an interview.
  - phisrow
    
    Arguably, it was exactly when the question was clarified that he really lost it.
    
    As long as he was able to blather about “security” in the nebulous sense, he was unhappy, but willing, to drag out the (basically true) assertion that the Blackberry platform has an excellent security record.
    
    When the BBC guy asked him, point blank, “so, you would be willing to say that our listeners in the middle east won’t be having any problems, then?” he immediately stopped even pretending to answer. “It’s a national security issue. Turn that off.” Way to admit that your technical security measures are next to useless because who knows how many countries have you by the balls.
    
    He didn’t even take the halfway-honorable way out and make a clean-sounding admission “Yes, countries X, Y, and, Z are repressive police states that wiretap their citizens, I’m afraid that we couldn’t do anything about it, and you’d better believe that the other platforms are either technically compromised or also being leaned on in those areas.” That would have been the disappointing answer; but likely the true one. As it is, we can assume that he has rolled over and wagged his tail for some number of unsavory states; but we don’t know which. Fan-Tastic.
    - Xof
      
      What’s absurd is that the script for handling that kind of question has been written for a long time.
      
      “RIM complies with the law in all countries that we operate in, as I’m sure do all mobile telephone operators. We’re not able to discuss the exact nature of our technical arrangements with particular countries.”
      
      Instead, he turned what was at worst a neutral or positive position (RIM is the only company that has made a big deal of not complying with monitoring requests, even if they had to cave into the end, and certainly all other mobile carriers are in the same boat) into a negative.
      
      The case studies are already being written.
ctrlU

Good discussion and more balanced than the OP’s vitriol! While I won’t be deciding on a tablet until I can test out the HP Touchpad (WebOS is refreshingly intuitive/functional/capable) I’d like to see the Playbook in action. Not least because the UI borrows so heavily from WebOS.

I can understand the CEO’s frustration in the interview as RIM has unfairly earned “whipping boy” status in their industry (witness the PR power of the Apple) but he should have had a prepared answer for that line of questioning and deftly steered the conversation to the product he was there to talk about. That he was unprepared to do this demonstrates further that he (Lazaridis) is the technical visionary behind the Blackberry while Balsilie is the smooth-talking business guy. Going after the engineering guy on these issues is like an ambush. He should have handled it better but the way the question was framed made it seem to be a jab at the technology and got Lazaridis in the soft spot.
i_prefer_yeti

In all fairness, that particular CEO should never have been in that particular situation.

For whatever reason, he was not in the right place mentally to be interviewed at all and his handlers should have recognized that and pulled the plug before it even started.

And – if his mental state wasn’t enough of a reason to terminate – the shitty lighting, crappy black vase, ducting, and dumpy curtain should have rung some alarm bells.

I expect that RIM’s PR agency of record, Brodeur, will shortly be dumped.
MoeJoe

#6 Don’t paint the deserved nuclear plant reputation on QNX. That is like saying the bolts used in nuclear plants are poor quality. Or cement, or signs, or buttons…

I developed on QNX many years ago (a medical device) and it was the coolest, most stable OS I have ever worked with.
Counterglow

You’re launching a new device, and some douche asks a completely off-topic question that clearly fits into the “So are you still beating your wife” category. The correct response would have been to say something like, “Call my office to set up an interview and we can discuss that”. Clearly, the exec reacted badly. I sympathize. You’ve worked your ass off for a couple of years to come up with something to stop the new bully on the block from eating your lunch, and some jackass sandbags you at the launch.
- phisrow
  
  “Some douche” is a ‘reporter’. Sometimes mistaken for(and swiftly losing habitat to the burgeoning population of) PR flacks, ‘reporters’ are subtly different in a number of ways. Even if only for strategic reasons, a CEO should be aware of that.
  
  The reporter’s job is not to make you look good; but to provide his audience with the information that they want and/or the information they don’t yet know they want. Not to provide you with a pulpit upon which to expound the glory of your new release. Given the BBC’s international reach, a question about what RIM customers in a nontrivial slice of the BBC’s overseas viewership area can expect is fully on topic.
  
  (Even for the cynics who argue that ‘reporters’ are just PR flacks for whoever owns their news outlet, it is still the case that they may be PR Flacks; but they aren’t the interviewee’s PR Flacks. It isn’t their job to make him look good, or throw softballs down some pre-arranged path.
- Anonymous
  
  Yes! God forbid journalists start asking difficult questions of CEOs. As long as tech journalists continue to ask the questions that tech companies want to be asked everything will be fine.
Anonymous

“It’s shit” ? What the hell ? I don’t care for tablets at that point, but in the current landscape that’s pretty much factually wrong. Getting it to market without some essential apps is an extremely poor move, but it’s got good hardware and the OS is great. It is probably going to grow into a nice little alternative to the iPad, with a different focus (who said a tablet was supposed to come with a 3G plan ?).
BoingBoing’s not a tech blog so I’ll refrain from whining about bias and stuff, but I don’t think you will find this kind of snark in ANY article about any other product.
Michael Smith

Its a shame. Palm could have owned the netbook market. I would have bought a Foleo instead of a eeepc.
jmzero

I think the summary here is a pretty fair appraisal of both the reviews I’ve read and my own experience with the device.

It’s fine for some things, I guess – but it’s bizarre that they would launch at this point with no 3G option, confused message on apps, lots of features incomplete, and hefty price tag. Overall, it’s hard not to see it as a product rushed to market in an iPad-induced panic. Oh, and – personally – I think the interface is annoying and the form factor is pointless (smaller or larger would both be preferable to me – it’s much too big for your pocket, while having comparable resolution to a new iPhone).

They also cripple themselves in the market by not being able to exploit people’s bizarre love of huge contracts (ie. you can’t “finance” a purchase by connecting it to a huge, eternal data plan). Really, the only market I see is for business people who want a tablet, but can only expense it if it’s a Blackberry.

All in all, RIM needs to figure some new selling point quick, I think. A lot of people are still with Blackberry in general out of habit, and I think a lot will switch off when they figure out other devices can do e-mail.
Anonymous

To summarise the summary:

No wireless. Less Space than a Nomad. Lame.
- Michael Smith
  
  No wireless. Less Space than a Nomad. Lame.
  
  Slashdot is <==== That way.
Anonymous

A cursory reading of the comments indicates that the nerds have missed the incredibly awesome title of the post for the trees. Let me make it clear that this was a pithy act of supreme journalistic genius. And clearly the title is more significant than whether or not the device actually works. It is a tablet, designed to be useless.
Anonymous

Crapberry is aol/yahoo/myspace of mobile. Nothing to report here really is there. But damned if the small keys and simple features aren’t perfect for wimmenz ;p
- teapot
  
  Crapberry is aol/yahoo/myspace of mobile.
  
  In what way? I can’t see the connection. It also doesn’t demonstrate a great deal of intelligence to just add derisive words to product names. (Especially when it sounds way better for ‘Crapple’ and ‘iclones’)
  
  But damned if the small keys and simple features aren’t perfect for wimmenz
  
  So, in summary: You love your _____ and it makes you feel superior. You think women are small and incapable of managing complex ‘features’ like those of the iphone and ipad which have been designed to be usable for children and the elderly. Logic fail, you sexist asshole.
  
  @Rob: I have to agree with some of the other comments, “It’s shit” doesn’t properly summarise the device. You should link to the engadget review which is much more technically detailled: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/13/blackberry-playbook-review/
  
  In any case here are the facts, when compared to ipad2:
  Price: exactly same as ipad2 wifi editions
  Memory: double that of the ipad2
  Dimensions: 10% thicker than ipad2
  Graphics processor: Very similar to ipad2 (detailed specs unavailable, but both are provided by similar PowerVR chips)
  Resolution: same width resolution as ipad2 (but compressed into a smaller distance, meaning higher ppi)
  Less vertical resolution as ipad2 (but again, compressed into a smaller distance, meaning comparable ppi)
  GPS: Included in wifi version, unlike the ipad2
  Speakers: Built-in Stereo (as opposed to the mono of ipad2)
  Cameras: Better front and back cameras than ipad2, including 1080p video recording (as opposed to 720p of the ipad2)
  Ports: mini-USB, meaning possibility to easily expand storage capacity, tether, transfer files. Non-proprietary plug that you can buy pretty much anywhere on earth.
  Web usability: Much more similar to a PC experience (provides desktop versions of sites, not mobile version) than ipad2 including flash support (apple die-hards say it is not needed, yet the world continues to embed youtube and vimeo in pages and applications continue to be developed in flash)
  
  There is nothing inherently wrong with the fact that their native email is not yet up and running, considering they are going to support it eventually and there is nothing stopping you from checking any non-blackberry email via the web. The likely future addition of android support also makes its app options much more appealing.
  
  I’m not shill for anyone – in fact I won’t buy myself any tablet until it CAN compete with the functionality of a PC – but at least try to be balanced or accurate with your two word summaries.
  “It’s OK” or “nothing game-changing” would probably be more appropriate.
  - peterbruells
    
    Re Flash: At least youtube videos play fine on iOS devices. If Flash degenerated to a video player, it has lost his
    
    And flash on mobile devices still sucks. Just tested it with a Samsung Galaxy S (GI-I9000) – some very simple games work “kinda” work, complex sites are totally unusable.
    - teapot
      
      And flash on mobile devices still sucks. Just tested it with a Samsung Galaxy S (GI-I9000) – some very simple games work “kinda” work, complex sites are totally unusable.
      
      Wrong. It’s funny you mention that phone because I actually own and use one. I don’t suppose you opened the games using the Firefox browser. Using either Firefox or Skyfire (both free) on Android you can usually access most sites/games. The in-built browser is of little use for flash (by design). It goes without saying that it is best to browse via wifi when flash is involved.
Anonymous

Not surprising given the no-key efforts during the product launch events, I agree with the thought that these have been in dev too long, and there is desperation to get them on the street.