Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

The BlackBerry PlayBook browser wiping the floor with iPad v1

Kevin over at CrackBerry published this video from the chaps at RIM showing off the PlayBook’s fantastic web capabilities. You’ll see full motion video working via HTML5 from the browser — and you’ll even see a flash game working on Facebook’s full browser. No need for mobile support.

Pinch zooming works nicely and the browser really is looking ultra smooth. It’s only when you see everything working beautifully in one package (e.g. full-size Facebook site playing a flash video inline) that you appreciate just how nice it is to have it all working as you might expect.

Have a watch of the video below.

There’s no doubting the fact that compared to iPad v1, the PlayBook’s browser appears streets ahead. Remember that you can easily develop both HTML5/CSS apps that tie directly into the PlayBook’s architecture and you can use Adobe Air to construct the likes of TweetDeck level apps to run on the PlayBook: So we should really start to see some rather compelling apps for the PlayBook soon.

The iPad v1 is beginning to look very, very old. And it’s only been available for, what, 6 or 7 months? 😉

Of course, we’ve yet to see revision 2 of Apple’s iPad (and revision 5 of the iOS). Apple are now under some considerable pressure to deliver in a progressively crowded (tablet) marketplace.

12 COMMENTS

  1. More Apple baiting?

    It would be a shame if you allowed the site to descend into constant Apple sucks/rules fanboy battles the same as just about every other tech site on the internet, just for a bit more traffic. 🙁

  2. “The iPad v1 is beginning to look very, very old. And it’s only been available for, what, 6 or 7 months?”

    I would agree if the PlayBook was available now. It annoys me intensely to say so, but the iPad is by far the best tablet on the market at this time… Only the Tab comes close, and even that is not close enough.

  3. I don’t disagree about the video, it looks great. The problem is that the product does not exist for us at this time and who is to bet that Apple won’t trample over it with iPad 2 (obviously without the Flash support).

    And you were not Apple baiting in my view, but I don’t believe the iPad looks very old for one minute.

  4. “It would be a shame if you allowed the site to descend into constant Apple sucks/rules fanboy battles the same as just about every other tech site on the internet, just for a bit more traffic. 🙁 ”

    I get this problem on my site as well. Often readers criticise me for having a bash at Apple even if I have praised countless ‘i’ products recently. There is a presumption among some that if you bash an Apple product, it is just to get attention. Some believe that you cannot possibly bash an Apple product with good reason.

  5. I don’t disagree.

    I just read comments like “The iPad v1 is beginning to look very, very old. And it’s only been available for, what, 6 or 7 months?”, and “The iPhone is the market’s Fisher Price smartphone” and assume you’ve taken up trolling for the New Year.

    So many sites have been ruined by ceaseless arguments from pro and anti-Apple commenters, making the same points again and again, thread after thread, and I’m hoping this one doesn’t go the same way.

  6. Not at all. This is just how I happen to feel at the moment regarding iPad and PlayBook. It is likely to change substantially when Jobs gets up on stage.

    Meanwhile I’m not interested in linkbait. I don’t need the traffic. I don’t rely on it. I’ll do a wee clarification post on this shortly!

  7. Looks very nice, and as long as the actual product ships at some point, great stuff. But I remember seeing all of this sort of stuff for the Android Tablets, and I can tell you, on the Galaxy Tab, flash does not work this this at all, and in the case of the Advent Vega, they even pulled it from the machine as its not ready.

    I get the point that this is a brand new OS for most of us, and I think RIM need this big time, since they are clearly losing some of their shine in the phone space.

    Yes, Apple certainly do face some strong competition in the tablet space, but given how they single handedly created the market , I think they are up to the challenge.

    As for Apple not making a tablet allowing people to play all those shit Facebook flash games, well, that can only be a good thing 🙂

    Kev

  8. I do agree with you re: the shit Facebook games.

    But lack of Flash on iOS is a flipping arse. The other day friends of mine
    were round visiting just before we went to the local pub for a meal. It’s a
    good pub — got a michelin star a while ago — so discussion was all about
    the food. I asked if one of the chaps had looked at the menu. He had. But
    grabbed the iPad on our table to look it up again. Only to find half the
    sodding pub website unusable because it is all using Flash.

    “It’s ok,” said my friend, “I looked at it on an iPad the other day, the
    menu is in PDF” (i.e. it’s readable on the iPad).

    Ridiculous.

    I don’t think it’s a fix to get people to stop using Flash on their sites.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...