“Android tablets have a worthy rival in the PlayBook. It lacks the overall polish of the iPad 2, but give it a little time and RIM could get the hardware and experience right. Even with this first release, it is among my top three tablets picks. I am glad they are in the market and will prove to be a worthy competitor.
Disappointed as I am in the limited number of apps, the deal-breaker for me is the lack of independent communication tools. I understand that RIM wants to sell more BlackBerry devices (just as Apple wants the halo effect for its other gadgets), but to leave out a standalone email client makes little or no sense.”
“The PlayBook is a reasonable experiment for RIM, but I need to see more to really recommend the tablet. We’ve been burned one too many times by companies serious about this market that have just fallen short on promises to keep things updated (ahem, Microsoft, Palm). RIM is hinting at something new every 6 – 8 weeks, and if that’s truly the cadence then we very well might see the PlayBook turn into a significant player by the end of the year.”
“As a whole, I’d say that RIM’s first attempt at an entirely new product is a valiant effort. The problem they face is the same one that everyone in the space faces: Apple.
Is the PlayBook comparable to the iPad? No. Between the (lack of) app support and the wonky web browsing, there’s just no way around that fact. But RIM was smart to make the PlayBook a completely different form factor and give it BlackBerry Bridge to appeal to corporate users. So in that regard, there could be significant interest in this device.”
“So did the BlackBerry PlayBook hit the ball straight out of the park? Not quite. To me it’s looking more like a line drive and an easy run in to second base. But you never know. With some hustle in the form of software updates adding more features like native email, PIM and Video Chat, it might be able to round third. And if RIM can get some more momentum going for the PlayBook on the app front, be it from native BlackBerry app developers or its support for Android apps, it might even have a shot at sliding into home plate.”
“[U]nless you are constantly glued to a BlackBerry phone, or do all your email, contacts and calendar tasks via a browser, I recommend waiting on the PlayBook until more independently usable versions with the promised additions are available.”
More on TIME.com:
Apple Delays BlackBerry Tablet Because iPad 2 Is So in Demand