After Steve Jobs publicly dissed the Blackbery smartphones, RIM has not surprisingly gone after the iPad in an attempt to prove to companies and consumers that their Playbook is indeed superior to Apple’s “magical” device.
I know many of you are eager to see more of the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ in action. I’m excited to share the above video with you that we filmed with Matthew from the web browser group here at RIM, which demonstrates how the web browsing experience is coming together on the PlayBook.
On the video, Matthew quickly runs through a series of comparison tests with a PlayBook and iPad (running iOS 3.2.2), which demonstrate three things: the speed of the PlayBook Browser, its support for rich Adobe® Flash® content, and the performance of open web standards like HTML 5 on the PlayBook. (Inside Blackberry)
As you can see in the video above, the very fact that RIM supports flash is probably enough to convince a few individuals the superiority of the Playbook (which is rumored to be priced at $500).
However RIM’s open war against the iPad might be a mistake for a few reasons, one which their own video demonstrates above.
Size Matters
While the screen real estate may not sway the hearts and minds of geeks (who are more into tech specs), the fact that the Playbook is smaller than the iPad will definitely convince consumers of its superiority.
It is much easier to read books, watch movies and (drum roll please) search the web with a larger screen (despite the lack of flash), than on a 7 inch device.
Even with the cheaper price consumers may opt for the iPad, as from initial appearances they will get more “tech” for their cash.
Past Vs Future
As far as hardware speeds go, RIM does have a point regarding the iPad, although truth be told that point will probably become irrelevant in the future due to the fact that Apple is probably going to release another iPad this spring.
While it’s doubtful that Apple will allow flash on the device, they will probably release Retina Display upon the iPad, which will make smaller rival devices look antiquated and obsolete.
Unless RIM is planning on selling the Playbook during the holidays, they company could easily end up looking silly next year when iPad 2.0 rolls out to the masses.
It’s The Battery Stupid!
Despite my displeasure over the lack of flash on the iPad, Apple’s tablet does boast a long, strong batter life which (believe it or not) appeals to many people outside of the geekverse.
Although I would not mind carrying around an extra charger (after all, we do for laptops, phones, etc.), most people would probably prefer not to.
RIM still has not stated how long their tablet will last without a charge, and if its less than four hours users may not flock towards this device, especially if they are trying to compare themselves against the iPad.
Is The Playbook Better?
Unfortunately there is no way we can do a fair comparison between the two due to the fact that the Playbook has yet to arrive in stores.
While the inclusion of flash would probably be enough for me to consider the Playbook as a serious contender against the iPad, most (if not all) of my non-geek friends would go with Apple based on the size and battery life (note: throw in Retina Display and it’s game over for RIM).
Although I do hope that the Playbook is successful (as consumers need a strong contender against the iPad), RIM may need to present a stronger case for the Playbook in order to convince the masses of the device’s superiority.
Originally posted on November 16, 2010 @ 2:05 pm