I got the new Playbook as I was holding out on the tablets for some time.   I have the iPad (original) and was ok with it.   Just didn’t do what I needed for business.  It was great for games, movies and tinkering with but just wasn’t productive.   I then looked at the Andriod Xoom and that was impressive.  However, I felt that I needed a productive tool.   Glad I waited.   In testing the Playbook, it runs flash very well.   Not to mention that it runs the Mingle fantastic in both Flash and with the HTML5 MingleMail.

I’ve taken some screen shots directly from my Bold 9700 so you can see how it works.  It’s true, it’s very fast and runs amazing.  It does Multi-tasking very well, and I just have to get used to all the sliding my fingers across the screen in every direction to make it all work.   Working with the iPad I kept looking for that single physical button that just wasn’t there.

The stereo speakers are pretty impressive against the iPad  as well.   It does have the 2 cameras.  I haven’t found a purpose for using it just yet though.

The one thing that I absolutely LOVE is the Blackberry Bridge.  This is where I can see my emails, calendar and my phone address book all from my Bold.   This is fantastic.  I can reply, forward, and add the calendar events directly through the Playbook.  It connects very easily through bluetooth and all I had to do was just scan the barcode through my phone and it was connected.   Nothing challenging at all.

Playbook running MingleMail Express

When a call comes through on the phone, it shows on the Playbook as well; along with appointments etc.   It has NEED FOR SPEED, Undercover game and Tetris on it.  I didn’t get it for games, but I’m finding this one addictive and will be fun for those waits at the airport.

Another challenge is that the browser, as amazing as it is running flash and being somewhat fully compatible, disappointed me as it does not support NETFLIX.   Interesting enough due to my last blog and feature with Bill Kelly was that this was the latest and greatest for entertainment.  However, Blackberry in all it’s operations can’t run it.  I’m sure it’s a small detail that can be fixed.

In short, this is a great tool (so far), and haven’t had many issues with it.   I truly see it as a business tool, and the RIM team did the right thing in waiting to put this together so it works best in a business environment.

Playbook running fpm3.com with flash and the Mingle