BlackBerry PlayBook July 2011
BlackBerry PlayBook first look
Smaller than the iPad, lighter than the iPad....as good looking as the iPad? Launching months after Apple and many other big name tablets, the BlackBerry PlayBook has a lot of ground to make up. We have put it through our full lab test to see whether it was worth the wait...
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This is the Blackberry Playbook. A 7 inch tablet that competes with Apple iPad and others, in a hotly contested tablets market. The lab has just sent it back after their full and comprehensive testing, and we've got results and a full review on our website. But now we're going to talk about a few of the highlights.
In the hands it feels very, very nice indeed. It's solid, very well built. On the back, we've got this rubberized surface which not only feels nice, but actually gives you a good grip as well when you're holding the tablet. Back to front, there are no protruding buttons. Everything looks nice and smooth and the user interface is very nice indeed.
And flicking between windows is slick, quick. The touchscreen feels responsive. Everything feels quite easy to find. It is a very nice user interface, and it's very similar to the HP TouchPad. Now screen quality is something our lab really goes to town with. The examined the angle view, horizontal and vertical, and also looked at color fidelity in little detail that exists in each screen and in that scenario, the Blackberry Playbook does really well in, along with the angle view.
So it does very well when you point the tablet upwards and decide you can really see the screen from different angles. Overall, it's a very nice screen indeed. The lab also goes through a raft power consumption battery life test. And this is an area the Blackberry Playbook does pretty well in. It's not up to standards of, say an Apple iPad, but you can certainly get through days worth of moderate use.
So far, so good, then. But there are a couple of downsides to be aware of. Now the Apple iPad and many of the Android tablets we've looked at have got full access to wide range of apps. This one is a bit different unfortunately. The range of apps is very limited so you won't be able to find a BBC Iplayer app or a Sky News app.
For example, and that's a bit disappointing, especially for a nice tablet like this. Also, to get access to your Blackberry email to your Blackberry contacts, and access to the 3G connection, you have to pair this tablet with your Blackberry Smartphone, and although you can do that to a Blackberry Smartphone, it does add a little bit to the inconvenience.
So, all in all, a pretty nice tablet with a couple of downsides to consider before you buy. So to see the complete results for this tablet, and full test results of the most popular tablets on the market, have a look at which.co.uk/tablets.
What is the BlackBerry PlayBook?
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a lightweight tablet with a 7-inch screen. Costing from just under £400, it hit the shops recently backed by a huge advertising campaign showing off its good looks and telling us in no uncertain terms that it can play online Flash content whereas some tablets can't.
Is this the only thing it has over its main rival, the Apple iPad 2? To find out you can now read our full BlackBerry PlayBook review where we pitch against the iPad and other rivals.
How does it compare with the competition?
At just 432 grams and 8mm thick, the PlayBook is one of the smallest tablets around. It feels stable and comfortable when you hold it, and has a slightly rubberised back that not only gives it extra grip, but also a premium feel that's a world apart from some of the cheaper, plasticky tablets we've tested.
To get the most out of the PlayBook you need a BlackBerry smartphone as well. One example of this is that there's no 3G internet access built-in to the PlayBook, but you can still connect to a 3G signal by first connecting the PlayBook to a BlackBerry smartphone via Bluetooth. This helps you get online when there's no wi-fi. It's not an ideal solution, but it works. See our BlackBerry PlayBook review for more.
When you first start the PlayBook there's a useful tutorial to help you get going and 90 day dedicated BlackBerry PlayBook phone and email support should you get stuck.
Thinking of buying a tablet? Read our tablet buyers' guide for advice on how to choose.
What about apps?
One of the great things about the iPad and most Android tablets is the range of apps you can install and use. You can download apps to the PlayBook via Blackberry's App World, but try finding a BBC or Sky News app and you'll be out of luck. In fact, the range and choice of apps is very small, limiting the appeal of the PlayBook somewhat.
In our full review, you can find out...
Before reaching a final conclusion on any tablet and deciding whether to award a Best Buy or not, we put each tablet through a detailed examination and series of tests at our lab. These tests include:
- Screen quality – A good quality on-screen image is vital to how a tablet performs. As tablets can be used inside and out, we rate the quality of images in a range of different lighting conditions. We measure the viewing angle, too, to find out how well the image holds up if you're not looking at it face-on. This aspect is particularly important if more than one person is looking at the screen. We also examine how reflective the screen is, its ability to resist finger marks, display colour fidelity and the amount of fine detail shown or lost.
- Battery life – After first conditioning the battery as per the manufacturer's instructions, we observe the amount of time the battery lasts while browsing the web via a wi-fi connection, and separately via a 3G internet connection. We also examine battery life when playing back HD video. We supplement all this by measuring actual power consumption and seeing how fast it charges.
- Usability – The user interface, including touchscreen response, ease of typing on the virtual keyboard and the operating system's features and ease of use, is given strong focus by our lab as it is so fundamental to how a tablet performs overall. We also examine the type, amount and accessibility of connections as tablets are often used in conjunction with other devices. This is just a flavour of the type of testing we do to examine tablet usability.
View our test results and reviews of around 28 tablets, and check out our BlackBerry PlayBook review to see how it compares to the competition.
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