PlayBook: Releasing unfinished product is never a good idea
RESEARCH in Motion (RIM) may have shot itself in the foot after releasing its supposed iPad killer, the BlackBerry PlayBook, too soon.
At the end of the night when the Canadian firm unveiled its seven-inch, dual-core, Flash-enabled tablet on April 14 to top tech analysts, editors, reporters in the US to review, the general consensus was that the PlayBook is an underwhelming product at least at the time of launch.
RIM scored high marks during early reviews for the QNX operating system that powers the PlayBook its ability to multi-task well and handle Flash-based websites smoothly (something iPads can't do) as well as corporate-friendly aspects that allow users to plug the device directly to a projector to display Powerpoint presentations and its security features.
However, critics who have spent the last few months saying this was the tablet to watch were disappointed to find out the PlayBook review units were "unfinished", "incomplete".
For a while RIM has been trying to sell critics that the data-sharing strategy the PlayBook employs through the BlackBerry Bridge feature is the way to go, but critics nonetheless weren't convinced, lamenting the lack of native email, calendaring and task apps. With BlackBerry Bridge, you can access all those contacts, mail and appointments right on your tablet. They just happen to actually live in your BlackBerry phone and the delivery takes place via a Bluetooth connection.
But those in favour of this feature had their arguments moot during the launch. None of the PlayBook review units on display that night came with the BlackBerry Bridge capability. Neither did it come with a lot of apps that would have drawn more oohs and aahs from skeptics. RIM only made a few PlayBook apps available at the time reviewers were using the tablet, despite its claims that more than 3,000 have been submitted for approval. And it must be noted that the iPad launched with 65,000.
"Long on potential, but short on execution," wrote The New York Times' David Pogue. "The PlayBook, then, is convenient, fast and coherently designed. But in its current half-baked form, it seems almost silly to try to assess it, let alone buy it."
Tim Stevens of popular online tech site Engadget sees the PlayBook as a device featuring "solid fundamentals but a framework that is, right now, unfinished". Those more excited about the "play" part would be well advised to look elsewhere, he said. "At least until Android compatibility joins the party. Then, well, anything could happen."
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg wrote that the PlayBook will have limited appeal to people who don't already own a BlackBerry and likely won't win RIM many converts from rival camps. "RIM says it is planning to add built-in cellular data, email, contacts, calendar and the other missing core features to the PlayBook this summer, via software updates," said Mossberg.
While some reviewers say the BlackBerry Bridge function limits the PlayBook's utility for non-BlackBerry phone users, David Pogue points out that pairing it with a BlackBerry smartphone for 3G access avoids another data charge.
To sum it off, PC Mag's Lance Ulanoff wrote, "I have to ask RIM this question: Why did you let everyone review an unfinished product?"
"I understand that you were anxious to get a product out, but if it's not ready and this PlayBook is not ready then why not simply state that fact and tell reviewers they're looking at beta hardware and software that should not be considered final or rateable? Perhaps simply waiting a month would have made more sense."
Maybe the launch of the PlayBook is a stark resemblance to RIM's ability to execute well-conceived strategies, something it hasn't been particularly doing well since losing the bigger slice of the world market share to the likes of Android and Apple's iOs.
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