Taken from PC World Magazine, July 2011 Edition

Research in Motion’s Blackberry Playbook offers a convenient size and novel navigation, but its software can be frustrating.

In some respects, the Playbook is the most impressive tablet I’ve seen.  But native apps such as its browser have disappointing glitches, and its variety of third-party apps is limited.

The Playbook is compact and light.  Offering a 7-inch display, it can fit into a roomy coat pocket.  And its weight is just under 1 pound, which makes it lighter than the iPad2.  The Playbook is very easy to hold too.

There is a front-facing camera, as well as a rear-facing camera.  The stereo speakers offer the best audio output I’ve heard yet from a tablet.  Along the bottom of the tablet are three ports, for HDMI Micro, Micro-USB, and a magnetic rapid charger connection.

Powering the tablet is a 1Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB of memory.  It connects to 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, but a mobile broadband connection must wait until late summer, when RIM will release 4G LTE and WiMax versions.  The tablet has no memory expansion card slot.

The Playbook’s handling of video, music and pictures is a mixed bag.  It does some things extraordinarily well.  For example, if you leave an app that’s in the middle of playing a video, and then return later, the Playbook instantly resumes the video where you left off.

The on-screen keyboard has some minuses, such as no auto correction.  And it also feels cramped – not surprising, with a 7-inch screen.  A bigger issue is that the rows of keys are not staggered as QWERTY keyboards almost always are, throwing off touch typing.

RIM stocks the Playbook with a solid complement of preinstalled apps, but with some notable omissions.  The strongest software on board is Adobe Reader and three productivity apps – Word To Go, Sheet To Go, and Slideshow To Go.  These apps provide interoperability with Microsoft Office documents and allow document editing and creation.  The Playbook does not include any calendar, contact or e-mail apps.  Instead, you’re expected to use a featured called Blackberry Bridge to pair your Playbook with a Blackberry phone, viewing your phone data on the Playbook’s bigger screen.

Business people who already depend on Blackberry phones should value both the way those phones will interact with the Playbook and the built-in security of the platform.  For that audience, those capabilities will override many of the Playbook’s other weaknesses.