“Panned critically at debut, RIM recently had to recall over a thousand half-baked units,” John Brownlee reports for Cult of Mac. “Now reports indicate that a recent patch has made PlayBook performance even worse than it was before.”
“According to many PlayBook users, a patch released earlier this month for RIM’s tablet enabled new video chat functionality, as well as BlackBerry Messaging via RIM’s Blackberry Bridge application,” Brownlee reports. “But guess what? That update was as half-baked as anything else RIM’s done with the PlayBook.”
Brownlee reports, “RIM now admits that after upgrading the software, it is common for the battery to drain faster than normal or for the battery level to fluctuate irregularly.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Anatomy of failure: Mobile flops from RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia can’t compete with Apple’s iPhone, iPad – April 23, 2011
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Analyst: RIM’s expensive, flawed PlayBook tablet will be poorly received – February 1, 2011
RIM’s half-CEO: We think customers getting tired of being told what to think by Apple – October 18, 2010
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Playbook users??? Does that species really exits? How do they look? What is that like?
Came on, who in thei right min woul be mad enough and have the money to buy that piece of trash? Are they of the same kind as zune users?
When I see someone with a playbook or RIM logo tattooed on their body I will believe there is a fan base as massive as that enjoyed by the mighty zune.
The fan base is corporate America where Blackberry is still the go to smartphone brand.
Wow, thats embarrassing. Time for corporate American to smarten up a bit and dump that POS.
You never met one of those? Corporate IT? They’re not really “users”… And it’s Company money, so who cares. REAL users generally spend wisely
Did you by chance type your message on a Playbook?
Hmmm, checked my iPhone and RIMM is down 50% in 18 months or so.
Do you think investors have the ugly picture?
Where is the RIMM Board of Directors when you need them, or where are the shareholders?
Somebody got “played.”
What? They sold that many?
Amateur, your hour is over.
Amateur Hour is Over!
indeed.
Amateur Hour is NOT over.
Amateur Hour…. yep, that’s about how long the battery lasts.
Faster than normal? No, that’s normal. Before, the Playbook shipped half-baked with only half of the promised features. Now that they are slowly adding those promised features, you are seeing the true battery life.
in kindergarten they’d mark the playbook “Needs Improvement”… what grade is Blackberry supposed to be in?
Special Ed
First non-phone product; new operating system… Its not surprising that RIM are having a few problems. Mind you, Apple have had their own problems with software updates and battery performance. I think we should wait and see – RIM are not aiming at the general market, and perhaps BB users will be more tolerant and less partisan than MDN…
Problems with iPad battery performance??
Oh, you mean lasting even longer than advertised.
Exactly! lol
You can wait until he’ll freezes over if you like.
The number of people who will wait with you, would have plenty of room in a small cottage!
Come on guys, this problem is contained. All 1,000 Playbooks sold got recalled. So, there aren’t any in the wild left to have this so-called battery issue. 🙂
To be fair, iOS has had issues at points, but they’ve generally been fixed. RIM can’t afford to make mistakes though, they’re too far behind already to risk losing the confidence of even the few people they’ve managed to get to buy a PlayBook.
Winning!!
I believe Apple iOS also suffered battery issues with iOS 4.3… I guess MDN and all Macheads forgot about that quickly… Just saying!
It’s a good thing for RIM that they don’t need to recall very many units.
The Blackberry Playbook is a vastly superior product – time will show this. Once the Playbook goes international, it will accelerate in popularity with countries outside the US. You know it. HAHAHH. Besides, only dorks walk around with a goofy large 4:3 aspect ratio IPAD 2. My god IPAD2 latte sucking boobs look foolish.
@Betty
I think your meds are wearing off. If you think the Playbook is going to gain any traction outside of a leper colony, you’re talking from a non solar-powered orifice. I give it six months before the Playbook is landfill.
=:~)
@Chas, you are the son I never had. 😉
Betty White is that you? It’s ok, this is a Mac-centric website. You can show your love for the iPad. Come on I know you love the iPad deep down really but can’t say it out loud for fear that the world will laugh at you. It’s ok, it’s 2011 now, not 2001. Blackberries are destined for the graveyard. In fact Apple is digging a hole so big to bury them it’ll require a backhoe to fill it.
Give Betty a break, she probably had a leaky Depends™ and got angry to see the iPad 2 users enjoying a Latté, movie, and email all on the same device! Betty, change that diaper, and get an iPad. it’ll change your life for the better. Call me, I’ll buy you a latté to enjoy…
How do you get boobs to suck lattes?
CommonSense XL 300mg is now over-the-counter, Betty.
Betty…
Every time you lie, Jesus cries.
(I’m an atheist so carry on!)
Methinks “Betty” is ZuneTang’s crazy aunt!
Hang on a second here!
HEY Betty! Are you attempting to be the new Zune Tang® of the lame wannabe iPad world? You certainly sound like a deliberately clueless troll:
“IPAD2” = a dead giveaway.
Hahahaha!
Highly amusing.
I look forward to your further satirical posts.
heehee zzzzzz
RIM makes junk.
I think this is a blessing for the ~50 or so users.
It means the pain of not having your email on an overpriced POS is lessened when it shuts off.
Idiots.
Been seeing clients dropping BB due to having major problems.
Blackberry PlayBotch.
I was at a Staples store yesterday and tried to fool around with their demo playbook — but it was stuck in some weird mode where the entire screen contents were squished onto one-half of the screen. For the life of me I could NOT get it to behave in any normal way.
Their Xoom was also screwed up and unable to behave in any way recognizable as normal… not a good sign for the “competition”…
I think this is critical! Rarely at an apple retail store will you find non-functioning devices, but it happens all the time at staples, Walmart and best-buy.
Try before you buy is yet another example of apples superior integration.
I had the exact same experience at the Staples store near me. I laughed at how bad it is. It froze and scrambled the screen on contact.
Clyde, Me in LA, Balmers left Nut,
All three of you sound, and probably look like typical goof ball nerds that have no friends and you don’t know how to socialize using powerful tools like Blackberry BBM. Thats why you don’t like BB because all your interested is anti-social useless games. Give me a call in 6 months and we will see where the playbook is -serious challenger to the IPAD. Playbook rocks. You guys go play with yourself and your goofy 4:3 aspect ratio IPAD. Sad, everyone of you. Now go see Mommy so she can wipe your arse
Betty White is that you? Come on now Betty being an old codger isn’t a crime. But using a Blackberry is – it’s a crime against humanity and a criminal offence against good taste.
BBM? You gotta be kidding me. Who uses that antiquated piece of crapola any more? Come over to the light side Betty, there’s loads of chat applications you can install on your iPad/iPhone for free that allow you to chat with your friends in real time. Yes, as in free, nada, zilch cost.
FaceTime for instance. Is there a FaceTime for Blackberries Betty? I thought not. 2001 called. They want their junk back.
Actually, the iPad’s aspect ratio is perfect for using the iPad in both portrait and landscape orientations. The widescreen aspect ratio that most of the other tablets offer is only really works in landscape orientation. It feels unnatural to use it in portrait mode, unless you want to make notes on a virtual legal pad. Like Steve Jobssaid at the original iPad unveiling, it doesn’t have a top or a bottom. There’s no wrong way to hold it. (unlike the iPhone 4) 😉
The lady doth protest too much, methinks…
I’m guessing in 6 months time that Betty will be moving from her RIM office to Apple headquarters and we won’t hear this tripe again.
I think she’s referring to an iPad2 Latte, which is sucking boobs, thus looking foolish.
Film at 11:00.
“RIM now admits that after upgrading the software, it is common for the battery to drain faster than normal or for the battery level to fluctuate irregularly.”
THIS is why Apple is BOTH a software AND hardware designing company. Apple is able to avoid crap like this because they create the ENTIRE device. Lesser companies will never comprehend. Their loss…