“[Balir notes], Although the BlackBerry does email better than any other device, the ‘Playbook has no native email application,’ and ‘we believe it’s a significant flaw’ in the Playbook’s design,” Ray reports. “The company’s decision to make the Playbook tether through a BlackBerry for wide-area wireless access is another flawed approach, he thinks, because ‘80%-plus of Fortune 100 companies are using or testing the iPad and companies like the New York Stock Exchange, who take security pretty seriously, have been using the iPad since last summer.’ For that reason, ‘We don’t expect many non-BlackBerry users will opt to purchase a PlayBook once they learn of the tethering requirement for email.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Welcome to iOS 4, Brian! Our iPhone does email better than any BlackBerry and the service never blacks out across North America, as seems to be at least a semiannual incident for RIM.
Ray reports, “In addition, developers only received the SDK for the Playbook two months ago, he writes, ‘which suggests that application availability will be limited at launch.’ Developers can be expected to wait until they see momentum for Playbook before committing resources, he argues, further pushing out availability of apps. Moreover, the company’s shop for apps for the BlackBerry, App World, and found it difficult to use. ‘If the experience in downloading apps is the same on the Playbook, users will avoid downloading applications altogether.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Incoming!
“Although the BlackBerry does email better than any other device,”
What?????? Have this guy ever use another devices besides CrapBerry? Even Nokian and Android have way better email manager. What is this guy smoking? does he knows WW II is over?
That’s exactly what they guy in the waiting line behind me at the AT&T store this weekend was telling a customer who was asking him about BlackBerry vs iPhone in general.
He said “Well, of course the BlackBerry is better for email.”
I turned around and showed the customer a quick tour of the iPhone’s user interface for email. The customer was like “Oh, wow!”
The AT&T guy shrugged and said “Whatever. I’m just not impressed by smartphones. I’ve seen ’em all.”
Um, me too, sales guy. That’s why I’m impressed.
Circling the drain. Just a matter of time now.
@wteff, I’ve done similar.
Not in AT&T stores, but other places.
It’s funny to see peoples crackberry beliefs get shot to hell.
I used to have a crackberry myself, thought I’d never leave until I picked up a 1st gen iPod touch… Game over. Lol
Now I have iPod nano, iPhone 4, iPad… Gave the iPod touch to my niece, her old iPod got stolen.
Blackberry does do email better in a single point of failure that has nothing to do with your corporate server and can be out for hours with no means of support or notification kind of way.
PlayBook or ‘Kin which will be looked upon as the biggest failure?
I don’t think anyone who has actually used an iPhone will claim the Blackberry is the best email device out there. That may have been the case several years ago, but certainly isn’t the case now.
In preparing for a UK trip, I told my telcom guy to make sure International Calling (roaming) is activated on my iPhone 4. He did just that and then gave me “a backup device” for my email and calls “just in case.” It was a BB Curve. My goodness! My wife and I both looked at this thing and felt we were looking at a device from an old sci-fi movie.
I tried using it a bit before my departure so I can get accustomed to it again. It was the most frustrating experience. The screen is small and low resolution. The OS is cumbersome and unintuitive. But a few years ago, I was a big fan of BB. It’s amazing how once you’ve actually used Apple’s products, your expectation level changes forever.
@W.T.Effyall
The AT&T Store employee was probably trying to push Blackberry in an inter-store pay bonus competition instead of trying to sell the better tech in the iPhone. I’m glad you set the record straight with your hands-on demo. Nicely done.
I used to own a Blackberry for many years before switching to my iPhone 3G. After using the iPhone for a few months, I went into an AT&T Store and fumbled with the interface on a then-current “top of the line” Blackberry. It was surprising to me personally that I had a really tough time navigating the Blackberry like I did after only just a few months away from their product.
RIM’s time has come and gone and what was once an innovator in the mobile phone space is now on their way out the door into obsolescence.
Davidf
That’s what I moved from, BB curve to the iPhone.
I got the iPod touch, and was using it side by side with the curve.
I started looking for wifi hot spots so I could browse the net and do email on the touch instead of use the 3G curve.. That’s when I walked back into AT&T and found the exact date I could switch to the iPhone.
All the BB users need to do, use even an iPod touch along side their beloved BB. They will switch.
RIM will be nixing the PlayBook for a pray book soon.
I don’t get the whole, “BlackBerries are better with email” comment either, but since we’re on the subject of email… Why can’t we send email (and texts as well) to named groups in our address book? That seems pretty fundamental.
Because on screen typing is just too difficult to learn. I’m sick of idiots whining about their itsy bitsy physical keyboard for email. Have you ever received an email composed on a blackberry? It’s usually like it was written by a retard.
@ El guapo
Don’t know why, either, but there are apps that will email groups, like Yo Contact.
FROM THE ARTICLE: “…Although the BlackBerry does email better than any other device…”
Why do they keep repeating this mantra? I have a Blackberry from work and an iPhone for personal use and I can tell you without a doubt Blackberry email management is terrible compared to the iPhone.
My outgoing mail appears in the same list as my incoming mail for starters. Email address integration is hit or miss, usually the latter since most of my colleagues have been unable to sync their email company addresses successfully. On top of that we get the occasional email blackout that can last 24 hours or more and, oh, how many times have I had to remove the battery to reset the thing? And on top of it all it’s so much easier to make phone calls with the iPhone. The Spotlight search capability is too convenient.
Now, I must admit the possibility that my company’s IT department might be incompetent. But jeez!
“Although the BlackBerry does email better than any other device”
So, to use a Playbook, you have to turn on the Playbook, turn on your BlackBerry, set it up to do WiFi, and connect Playbook to BlackBerry… and hope the BlackBerry is not low on battery power?
Here, we see Apple’s brilliance versus RIM’s stupidity. Apple intentionally tied using an iOS device to a “regular” computer (Mac or Windows PC). However, that computer is needed for initial setup, ongoing maintenance, and backup purposes, NOT to use the iOS device for its intended purposes. But since you DID need that computer for support reasons, Mac sales increased along with the success of iOS devices through the “halo effect.” BRILLIANT.
RIM’s core business is BlackBerry. Since Apple tied using an iOS device to owning a Mac and increased Mac sales, let’s copy that “play” and tie using a Playbook to owning a BlackBerry. That will increase BlackBerry sales. However, RIM tied key functionality of Playbook usage to owning a Blackberry, not support functions. This is a deal-breaker limitation. STUPID.
So what makes the PlayBook any different than Palm’s failed Foleo device?
For example, in a meeting I can receive an email from the office in less than a minute. My boss sitting next to me used to get the same email on his Blackberry in 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe it’s my AT&T service versus his Verizon, but he switched to iPhone several months ago and thinks the email is far superior.
iOS does have limits on on-board message quantity using Exchange (or any other mail format), but that has not been a problem, at least not yet.
@GeeOne
Because this one is NEW! And from the makers of the Blackberry!
Email sucks on the iPhone. Its a joke ! I love my iPhone but come on fan boys, you have to admit the truth that it sucks for email. Perhaps you not used to having to be PRODUCTIVE with your email ?
Email is the one thing BB does do better.