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REUTERS
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
London - If Google's entry to the laptop market represents something new, the shelves of gadget stores are already groaning with tablets. Which makes BlackBerry's arrival to the party rather late.
The Canadian makers of the ubiquitous mobile phones favoured by business people and youths taking advantage of its free chat service are catching up with two iPads, several Samsung Galaxy Tabs and impressive pieces of kit including the Motorola Xoom.
Its offering, the Playbook, goes on sale from £399 (about R4 300), the same price as the rival device from Apple. At 5.1” by 7.6” it sits comfortably in one hand, and is more portable than the iPad.
The casing is slick and although the screen's resolution doesn't quite match up to the iPad, the difference in quality is not noticeable. The Playbook prides itself on the browsing speed it offers, and the claim to bring the “true Web” to tablets is no idle boast.
The multitasking feature is attractive and operating the various menus and functions quickly becomes intuitive. The Playbook is aimed at its existing business and consumer customers and the strength of an inbuilt audience is also its Achilles' heel.
While parent Research in Motion has promised a family of devices, its first foray into the tablet market is massively hampered if the user does not have a BlackBerry smartphone to attach it to. - The Independent
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Sean Redmond, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
I used the playbook and own a ipad.I love the ipad much more since it has a greater appworld
Anonymous, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
No, the iPad's screen is 1024 x 768, so the playbook's is not much different, which means the size is similar too.
TLC, wrote
The chat service in south africa is not free unless u r refering to other countries like UK, US.........
Anonymous, wrote
A fairly balanced article on the playbook, but there are a couple of things worth pointing out. The playbook has been available since April in the US. This article obviously refers to the recent launch in the UK. Also, the screen resolution on the playbook is higher (1080p) than the ipad (720p). For a blackberry user, the playbook is a very good option. The features that are not available for non blackberry users will be made available soon I believe (via software download onto the playbook). I bought the ipad2 and the playbook in the US in April and I am loving the playbook.
Jacob Zulu, wrote
Yolanda Winkey , wrote
Hilary, wrote
The playbook should be a blackberry plus, and usable without one.if it has to have a BB before getting it. I will wait for the next one.
jean, wrote
I am typing this message on a playbook and I love it! Can happily say a playbook with a bb phone is an unbeatable combo
simon, wrote
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