BlackBerry PlayBook: Who will buy it? | Dialed In - CNET Blogs

(Credit: BlackBerry/RIM)

After spending some quality time with RIM's in-production BlackBerry PlayBook at CES, I can tell you it's a beautiful 7-inch tablet. A sharp, high-resolution screen, pleasing rubberized perimeter, and gesture-based interface converge to create a piece of electronic equipment that I would proudly make my mini-computing companion. (Hands-on CNET videos here and here.)

However, the PlayBook comes with several thick strings attached that are awkward enough to trip up prospective tablet-buyers.

No 3G without a BlackBerry
The tautest tripwire pertains to data. Many top-tier tablets come in Wi-Fi and data (3G) versions. For a little less, you can buy the Wi-Fi version and access Web content (from apps, e-mail, and the browser) whenever you're connected to a Wi-Fi network. For a little more, you can often buy a 3G-capable model--and a carrier's monthly data plan--that lets you access the Internet so long as there's coverage.

RIM, on the other hand, has decided to sell the PlayBook as a Wi-Fi-only device. The only way to access 3G data on the PlayBook will be through a BlackBerry smartphone.

Tethering the PlayBook to a BlackBerry will work wirelessly through Bluetooth pairing, but it means that your BlackBerry needs to be powered on for you to use 3G on your PlayBook. On one hand, using your phone as a portable hotspot is handy--but only if you already own a BlackBerry smartphone. On the other, hotspot tethering also drains a phone's resources.

No native e-mail, calendar either
A 3G data connection isn't the sole thing you'll give up if you want use the PlayBook without a BlackBerry. Without tethering, you're out of luck accessing BlackBerry's secure e-mail client, the calendar, BlackBerry Messenger, and the address book. Sure, there will be Web apps that Wi-Fi-only customers can use instead, like Gmail.com and Google Calendar.

Missing out on native e-mail apps may not bother some non-Blackberry-owning PlayBook buyers who wouldn't be using a RIM-controlled e-mail address or calendar anyway, though it doesn't hurt RIM to offer all buyers a native experience.

Those with a BlackBerry on hand, however, will be able to use the BlackBerry Bridge software to access contacts and content, plus transfer files between the smartphone and tablet. Tethering will let companies that supply BlackBerrys to their employees also extend IT policies to the PlayBook.

To RIM, '3G' is spelled 'BlackBerry.'

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

So, who is the PlayBook for?
With one set of options for BlackBerry owners and another set for everyone else, RIM seems to have a disjointed, unrealistic vision of the PlayBook's audience. But that's not the case. RIM knows exactly who it wants to buy the tablet--everyone.

The problem is that RIM can't get the kinks worked out with things like e-mail--controlled by one set of software on the smartphone--in the new BlackBerry Tablet OS technology in time for the PlayBook's release. What we're left with are work-arounds until the OS further develops.

Because of 3G tethering, current BlackBerry owners will benefit from the PlayBook most, at least at the tablet's launch. There's an even more specialized case for corporate BlackBerry users, whose companies could control secured e-mail and calendar items on the tablet as well as on the phone.

Prospective PlayBook buyers with other cell phones have less incentive to invest in a PlayBook over an Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom, or other tablet, despite the very competitive specs. Even if they predominantly use Web mail and Wi-Fi, and don't give a hoot about missing out on BlackBerry Messenger, many people I've talked to still feel the alienating effects of being told what they can and can't have. That's not encouraging for a company that's trying to appeal to first-time owners of any BlackBerry product.

4G, updates ahead
That isn't to say that RIM will be forever mired by tethering troubles. The company did confirm a 4G model coming out later this spring with Sprint, which opens the data door for those first-time buyers who don't own BlackBerrys. RIM PlayBook product manager Ryan Bidan has also mentioned the possibility of future firmware updates that might soothe some of these launching pains.

Still, if RIM doesn't carefully manage its perception, the PlayBook could well remain a hidden gem. That's one of the last things the Canadian mobile hardware-maker could want. RIM, which is struggling to remain relevant in an ecosystem largely dominated by iPhone and Android, has already poured research and manufacturing dollars into bringing the PlayBook to market as a big-time competitor.

Of course, it's far too early to eulogize the PlayBook, and indeed, I hope I don't have to. The tablet won't hit shelves until later this fiscal quarter (Q1), which gives RIM time yet to nail down a strategy for attracting and keeping new customers.

by Jessica Dolcourt CNET January 17, 2011

BlackBerry PlayBook: Who will buy it? | Dialed In - CNET Blogs

BlackBerry maker offers tablet aimed at businesses

NEW YORK - The company that gave us the BlackBerry - still the dominant phone in corporate circles - thinks its business customers will have room in their briefcases for at least one more device: the PlayBook.

Research in Motion Ltd. showed off the tablet for the first time Monday and is set to launch it early 2011, with an international rollout later in the year. With it, RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple Inc.'s iPad, which kicked-started the tablet market when it launched in April.

The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh 0.9 pounds to the iPad's 1.5 pounds. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back. RIM didn't say what it would cost but said it would be in the same range as the iPad, which starts at $499.

The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed - perhaps because the user walks away with the phone - no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.

But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full Web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems Inc.'s format for video and interactive material on the Web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or "apps," Balsillie said.

"I don't need to download a YouTube app if I've got YouTube on the Web," said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company's mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.

"Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility," Balsillie said. "What we're launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full Web fidelity."

In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and "this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they're looking for."

Analysts agree that RIM's close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple's early lead.

"We do think that RIM has a play with enterprise customers because it has established relationships with so many businesses, and its technology is so deeply integrated with their IT departments," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.

RIM is using a new operating system, built by QNX Software Systems, which it took over earlier this year, to harness the power of the tablet, but Balsillie said it will run existing apps for BlackBerry phones.

IDC predicts that the corporate market for tablet computers will grow as a portion of overall sales over the next few years. The firm forecasts that roughly 11 percent of overall tablet shipments, or 6.5 million units, will be to businesses, government agencies or schools by 2014. That would be up from just 2 percent, or 300,000 units, this year. And that figure doesn't count those who buy tablet computers on their own and use them for work.

RIM doesn't want the PlayBook to be just for work - the company invited video-game maker Electronic Arts to help introduce the PlayBook at an event in San Francisco on Monday - but it's clear that its advantages will lie in the work arena. Amazon.com Inc. announced it would make its Kindle e-book reading software available for the tablet.

The iPad has prompted a wave of competitors, so RIM won't be alone going after the tablet market. Computer maker Dell Inc. came out with its own tablet computer in August called the Streak. Samsung Electronics Co. plans to launch the Galaxy Tab next month and has already lined up all four major U.S. carriers to sell it and provide wireless service for it. Cisco Systems Inc. is also going after business customers with a tablet called the Cius early next year.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Tablet computers

• Apple iPad - The product that started it all, after others had tried for years to make tablet computers a mainstream product. Came out in April. Screen is 9.7 inches diagonally. Starts at $499.

• BlackBerry PlayBook - Revealed Monday, it has a 7-inch screen and is expected to be available early next year. It runs BlackBerry software and will be able to connect with a nearby phone, acting as a bigger screen for it. The price hasn't been announced.

• Dell Streak - A 5-inch tablet with full cellphone functions on AT&T Inc.'s network. Runs Google Inc.'s Android software. Costs $300 with a two-year AT&T contract. Released in August.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab - A 7-inch tablet, to be released soon by the four largest U.S. cellphone companies: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA. Prices have not been announced. Will run Google Inc.'s Android software.

• Cisco Cius - A 7-inch tablet for business use, to launch early next year. Price has not yet been announced, but the goal is to keep it under $1,000, Cisco has said.

by Andrew Vanacore - Sept. 28, 2010 12:00 AM

BlackBerry maker offers tablet aimed at businesses

Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR

Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR

by The Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain February 15, 2010, 12:51 pm ET


Associated Press - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gestures during the "Windows Phone 7" presentation at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010. The Mobile World Congress will be held from Feb. 15-18.

Apple Inc. rocked the wireless business by combining the functions of a phone and an iPod. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft Corp. has its comeback: phone software that works a lot like its own Zune media player.

The software, which was unveiled Monday at the Mobile World Congress, is a dramatic change from previous generations of the software that used to be called Windows Mobile. But Microsoft is, for now, sticking to its model of making the software and selling it to phone manufacturers, rather than making its own phones.

Microsoft's mobile system powered 13.1 percent of smart phones sold in the U.S. last year, according to research firm In-Stat. That made it No. 3 after Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and the iPhone. But Microsoft has been losing market share while Apple and Google Inc.'s Android gained.

All the while, the market is becoming increasingly important. People are spending more and more time on their phones, and the devices steer people to potentially lucrative Web services and ads.

Phones with the new software will be on the market by the holidays, Microsoft said. All four major U.S. carriers will offer phones, just as they sell current Windows phones.

The new ones won't be called "Zune phones," as had been speculated. The software will be called "Windows Phone 7 series."

Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the new software looked promising, but that it was also Microsoft's "final chance to get it right." He notes that those who have current Windows phones don't seem excited about the brand — many of them believe their phones are made by Apple or Nokia Corp., according to his firm's research.

Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said Windows Mobile suffered from the company's chaotic approach to the market. The software maker gave phone hardware makers and wireless carriers so much freedom to alter the system and install it on so many different devices that none worked the same way.

As a result, while other phone vendors such as Apple linked their hardware and software tightly to ensure a better experience, Windows Mobile might not have looked like it quite fit on a certain handset.

With the new software, "We really wanted to lead and take much more complete accountability than we had in earlier versions of the Windows phone for the end user experience," CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Barcelona launch event.

Microsoft is imposing a set of required features for Windows phones. Manufacturers must include permanent buttons on the phone for "home," "search" and "back"; a high-resolution screen with the same touch-sensing technology as the iPhone; and a camera with at least 5 megapixels of resolution and a flash. Hardware QWERTY keyboards will be optional.

A test device from Asus, which Microsoft used to demonstrate the new phone software for The Associated Press in Redmond, Wash., also had a front camera and a speaker.

The iPhone's success has spurred lots of look-alike phones with screenfuls of tiny square icons representing each program. Just as it did with the Zune, Microsoft has tried to avoid an icon-intensive copy of that setup. Instead, it relies more on clickable words and images pulled from the content itself. For example, if you put a weather program on the device's home page, it shows a constantly updated snapshot of conditions where you are, rather than a static icon that you have to click in order to see the weather.

The idea of pulling information from different Web sites, like Facebook, and presenting them on the phone's "home" screen isn't unique to Microsoft: Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp. have created such software for their own phones.

Windows Phone 7 Series borrows the clean look of the Zune software, departing from the more "computer screen" look of earlier Microsoft efforts. These were also reliant on the user pulling out a stylus for more precise maneuvering, while the software is designed to be used with the fingers. It's not clear how older third-party applications designed for the stylus will work on the new phones.

Most of the built-in applications complement or connect with existing Microsoft programs or services, such as the Bing search engine. The games "hub" connects to an Xbox Live account and lets players pick up where they left off with multiplayer games. They will even be able to play games against PC users. Microsoft also turns to the Zune programming for the phones' entertainment hub, much in the way the iPhone's music library is called iPod. And when users plug the phone into a PC, the Zune software pops up to manage music, movies and podcasts.

About 18 months ago, Microsoft stopped most improvements to its existing smart-phone operating software and started from scratch on Windows Phone 7 Series.

Microsoft "is resolved at a company level to be successful in mobile," Lees said. He indicated Microsoft is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing to ensure it's successful.

Smartphone programs in spotlight

Smartphone programs in spotlight

by Peter Svensson Associated Press Feb. 12, 2010 12:00 AM

As smartphones increasingly appear alike, with high-end models mostly taking their cues from Apple Inc.'s iPhone, more and more it is the software they run that makes a difference.

A growing number of operating systems are jostling for the attention of phone buyers and manufacturers. The winners will determine what our phones can do, which Web sites we're steered to and which manufacturers will survive the next few years.

The battle will be on display as wireless carriers and phone makers gather next week in Barcelona, Spain, for the Mobile World Congress, the industry's largest trade show. One in six U.S. adults had a smartphone last year, according to Forrester Research. That share is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, as consumers warm to mobile devices that can run a wide range of applications and surf the Web nearly as well as computers.

Analysts don't expect smartphones to settle on one kind of operating software, like the PC industry largely has with Microsoft's Windows. But analysts do expect the smartphone field to be winnowed down to two to four winners over the next few years.

Here are some starting with the largest worldwide market share:

Symbian

Nokia Corp.'s use of Symbian software has taken it to the top, but its perch is precarious. It's down from a 56 percent worldwide share in 2008 to 44 percent in 2009, according to research firm In-Stat. Even though it's No. 1 in the world, it's nearly unknown in the U.S. One problem is that Nokia and Symbian have failed to keep up with the latest trends in the U.S. market, particularly touch screens. To power more-capable phones, Nokia is now trying a version of the Linux operating system called Maemo.

iPhone

Apple's phone sales more than quadrupled last year. Its features are a model for competitors, and it has by far the most support from application developers.

But although Apple is likely to be one of the winners in the smartphone fight of the coming years, its reach will be limited because Apple doesn't allow any other manufacturer to use the iPhone operating system. And Apple doesn't make a wide variety of phones to choose from - just two models, with some variations in color and memory capacity.

BlackBerry

Research in Motion Ltd. of Canada uses its own software for its BlackBerrys and doesn't license it to others. Though sales are still growing strongly, they could not keep up with Apple's growth last year, and the iPhone's market share at 19.8 percent edged past the BlackBerry's 19.2 percent, according to In-Stat.

"The BlackBerry platform looks old and tired. It needs a significant scrub and redo," ABI Research analyst Stuart Carlaw said.

Windows Mobile

Once a pioneer in smartphones, Microsoft is struggling to keep up. Manufacturers are shifting away from Windows Mobile toward Google's Android.

Microsoft is expected to show off a new version of its mobile software

Monday.

Android

Google's software has been on a tear, racking up a lot of support from manufacturers and favorable reviews. There was just one Android phone out in 2008. At the end of 2009, there were more than a dozen. Android is free for manufacturers as part of Google's effort to stimulate use of its Web services on cellphones. It's attracting a lot of attention from application developers, but the offerings still don't match those on the iPhone.