Research in Motion (RIM) has launched the much awaited and anticipated PlayBook
2.0, its next generation operating system (OS) for its PlayBook tablet. We’re fairly impressed but the update is far too late and somewhat uninspiring.
The Messages app is by tar the best of the three additions and includes email and integration with social
networks. You can add an unlimited number of email addresses, including Microsoft, Gmail and Hotmail and
accounts for Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
Overall the app looks and runs extremely well and uses the 7in screen effectively. You can view all the inboxes at once or select one account to view on its own. When viewing all in one go it’s not clear which email is linked to which account but logos indicate private messages from the social networks.
The Calendar app is also good looking and has a number of handy features. There are monthly and weekly views to choose from and the app integrates calendars from your PlayBook. email accounts and Facebook. You can select which calendars you want to view and each is helpfully colour coded.
2.0, its next generation operating system (OS) for its PlayBook tablet. We’re fairly impressed but the update is far too late and somewhat uninspiring.
The Messages app is by tar the best of the three additions and includes email and integration with social
networks. You can add an unlimited number of email addresses, including Microsoft, Gmail and Hotmail and
accounts for Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.
Overall the app looks and runs extremely well and uses the 7in screen effectively. You can view all the inboxes at once or select one account to view on its own. When viewing all in one go it’s not clear which email is linked to which account but logos indicate private messages from the social networks.
The Calendar app is also good looking and has a number of handy features. There are monthly and weekly views to choose from and the app integrates calendars from your PlayBook. email accounts and Facebook. You can select which calendars you want to view and each is helpfully colour coded.
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Tech Specs FORM FACTOR: Tablet SCREEN SIZE: 7 inches STORAGE TYPE: Internal storage (16 GB, Flash) MAXIMUM BATTERY LIFE: Up to 10 hours DIMENSIONS: 0.4 x 7.6 x 5.1 in WEIGHT: 0.9 lb RELEASED: 2011-04 |
REM has rounded off the trio of apps with Contacts. This pulls in contacts’ accounts from your email addresses and social networks and is used in conjunction with the Messages and Calendar apps. The
layout is similar to Messages with a vertical list on the left and contact
information on the right. It’s easy to interact with a particular contact through the method you wish. Our main quibble is that there’s no option to view contacts from specific accounts, so it’s all or nothing. There are small logos to help you out, though.
RIM has also launched the second version of BlackBerry Bridge, which allows its BlackBerry smartphones to communicate with the PlayBook. New tunctionality has been added, mainly controlling the tablet with the smartphone’s screen, trackpad and keyboard.
Once the connection is active, users can move around the PlayBook’s interface with a cursor controlled by the touchscreen or trackpad. The touchscreen also mimics the bezel gestures that the PlayBook uses. Being able to access a BlackBerry smartphone’s keyboard makes typing things like an email easy if you’re used to using the BlackBerry’s physical Qwerty keypad.
Other features of BlackBerry Bridge 2.0 include sharing files, using the BlackBerry’s Internet connection on the PlayBook, and copy and pasting.
With PlayBook OS 2.0 the tablet can now run Android apps thanks to Runtime. However, this doesn’t mean there is access to the Android Market and its thousands of apps. The developer has to have deliberately chosen to port the app over to the BlackBerry App World.
This means that it’s not clear what apps have been ported over, and prices are still generally too high. Angry Birds Rio, for example, is priced, but it’s tree on Android. RIM said it has added thousands of apps. but it’s still an effort to browse around the App World looking for good apps.
There are a number of smaller additions and tweaks that come with PlayBook OS 2.0. The most noteworthy are the improved keyboard. improved video chat and the file manager, and the latter supports BlackBerry Bridge 2.0.
The keyboard has been tweaked with a slimmer profile, therefore it takes tip less of the 7in screen. Crucially, RIM has added predictive text and punctuation, making life a lot easier..
Video Chat has been improved with a better interlace and integration with the Contacts app. making the PlayBook a little better still. However, the major flaw and big disappointment here is that a video chat call can only be made to another PlayBook. RIM has also upgraded the user interface with an app tray showing six customisable apps and the ability to group apps in folders.
The much needed software upgrade for the PlayBook tablet does make it a lot better in a number of ways. The three main apps significantly improve the Play Book and RIM has done a great job of including good features and making them work well.
However, we can’t bypass the fact that these should have been present when the PlayBook was launched last year, so they hardly make the tablet leap ahead of its rivals. These basic features should have been there from the start and the PlayBook OS 2.0 should have been something completely different. (CAi)
layout is similar to Messages with a vertical list on the left and contact
information on the right. It’s easy to interact with a particular contact through the method you wish. Our main quibble is that there’s no option to view contacts from specific accounts, so it’s all or nothing. There are small logos to help you out, though.
RIM has also launched the second version of BlackBerry Bridge, which allows its BlackBerry smartphones to communicate with the PlayBook. New tunctionality has been added, mainly controlling the tablet with the smartphone’s screen, trackpad and keyboard.
Once the connection is active, users can move around the PlayBook’s interface with a cursor controlled by the touchscreen or trackpad. The touchscreen also mimics the bezel gestures that the PlayBook uses. Being able to access a BlackBerry smartphone’s keyboard makes typing things like an email easy if you’re used to using the BlackBerry’s physical Qwerty keypad.
Other features of BlackBerry Bridge 2.0 include sharing files, using the BlackBerry’s Internet connection on the PlayBook, and copy and pasting.
With PlayBook OS 2.0 the tablet can now run Android apps thanks to Runtime. However, this doesn’t mean there is access to the Android Market and its thousands of apps. The developer has to have deliberately chosen to port the app over to the BlackBerry App World.
This means that it’s not clear what apps have been ported over, and prices are still generally too high. Angry Birds Rio, for example, is priced, but it’s tree on Android. RIM said it has added thousands of apps. but it’s still an effort to browse around the App World looking for good apps.
There are a number of smaller additions and tweaks that come with PlayBook OS 2.0. The most noteworthy are the improved keyboard. improved video chat and the file manager, and the latter supports BlackBerry Bridge 2.0.
The keyboard has been tweaked with a slimmer profile, therefore it takes tip less of the 7in screen. Crucially, RIM has added predictive text and punctuation, making life a lot easier..
Video Chat has been improved with a better interlace and integration with the Contacts app. making the PlayBook a little better still. However, the major flaw and big disappointment here is that a video chat call can only be made to another PlayBook. RIM has also upgraded the user interface with an app tray showing six customisable apps and the ability to group apps in folders.
The much needed software upgrade for the PlayBook tablet does make it a lot better in a number of ways. The three main apps significantly improve the Play Book and RIM has done a great job of including good features and making them work well.
However, we can’t bypass the fact that these should have been present when the PlayBook was launched last year, so they hardly make the tablet leap ahead of its rivals. These basic features should have been there from the start and the PlayBook OS 2.0 should have been something completely different. (CAi)