BlackBerry PlayBook LTE 16GB, Wi-Fi, 7in - Black

I wanted the PlayBook from the moment it was first mentioned back in 2010. As a self-confessed BlackBerry geek I followed every bit of information I could get on it and my desire grew.

Then the news. RIM were selling it at the same price as Apple's market-leading iPad. Surely a marketing disaster. Anyway, not to worry eBay meant that I could get mine at the price I thought it should have been -£349 and a fortnight before the official UK launch.

After much initial excitement, I started to feel buyer's remorse. Why had I bought this - hardly any apps, buggy and still quite a bit of money.

A few days later and having used the device daily, I love it. Software updates have fixed many of the bugs and bring new little toys each time. The email, calendar etc have not been an issue as the Bridge program links with the BB Torch pretty well. Still some issues with attachments but I hope future updates will fix this.

I hardly ever use my laptop anymore because the internet experience is so good.

The hardware is really good - I wanted a tablet I could carry easily and the PlayBook fits the bill perfectly. I frequently use it in meetings for notes and demos.

The option of using my BB Torch's internet connection is excellent and falls within my current tariff so no additional sim and so far no additional costs. However 3G streaming is so good that could change.

Now for the bad bits - Apps, Apps and Apps. Or rather No apps, no apps and no apps. Hopefully the addition of Android Apps in the summer will help fix this.

In conclusion, it is a fantastic tool, especially if you have a BlackBerry but I fear that the negative press may just kill it though.

This review was typed on the PlayBook.

RIM's answer to the iPad has been long awaited, and now I've used it for a week my intial excitement has unfortunately waned.

Don't get me wrong, the hardware in the PlayBook is top notch. Where other companies deliberate ship their devices with rubbish cameras, forcing you to upgrade a few months later, RIM have honestly packed the PlayBook with top spec hardware, two HD cameras, and a standard micro-HDMI port to connect easily to any HD tv.

However, using the device for just a few days makes it clear that this is a work in progress and RIM have rushed it to market. It's seriously lacking in apps and features, and unfortunately the software is very buggy.

For something marketed as a business tablet, there are no apps on there to let you do business. No e-mail app, no calendar app, no contacts app. You can pair it with a BlackBerry phone via Bluetooth but it's painfully slow and unreliable, and if you don't have a BlackBerry, you don't get e-mail, calendar, contacts, or even 'memopad'.

So what is the tablet good for? Browsing is good with a full Flash enabled browser (I used mine to watch ITV Player, 4oD and Demand5 on YouTube which are blocked in the iPad YouTube app) but Flash on the PlayBook is one of the bug riddled features. It's good for playing videos and you can connect to your HDTV.

There's also a handful of fun games to play and more to buy from the app store. But don't be fooled into thinking it'd be great for long train journeys or flights because the battery life is absolutely pitiful.

There's also other features sorely missing - no Skype, no MSN/Yahoo chat clients... RIM has promised software updates that will improve the tablet (and we're promised it will soon be running Android apps!) but when you consider how their track record, and how they've left previous devices like the BlackBerry Storm to rot when they haven't been hugely successful, I'm not holding my breath for the PlayBook.

The worst thing is they've aligned their prices with the iPad. I'd have thought if you're trying to overtake the market leader, you should not only improve on their product, but undercut the price. RIM are offering a less capable tablet than the iPad but demanding the same price for Apple's premium product - and it just isn't worth it. When the iPad3 comes out, I'll probably sell up and switch to Apple.

The playbook software has a few bugs that RIM needs to resolve, but nothing that you can't work around. Other than these minor gripes, the playbook is fantastic!

I am away from the office about 3 days a week and this allows me to properly reply to emails, edit and work on excel and word files, review and amend large documents.

Previously to do these things I had to carry my laptop around, but loading time, getting it out, finding a wifi connection, all meant that I mostly just waited until I got home in an evening or back to the office

The ability to drop files back and forth over wifi and between the blackberry phone and playbook are both useful. With a free app you can also look in to the file system of the playbook - great for keeping files organised

I have access to the IPad and overall find this the much better tool for business. I wear a barbour jacket most days (except in this summer weather) and can fit the playbook in the pocket, even if I am not wearing the jacket, it's easy to carry or slip in to a file - no need for a bag or bulky item

On the whole I am very happy and just waiting for RIM to fix these minor software glitches! (and also for a skype app to come out for it!) One downside to this is that with no access to email on the move unless you have a blackberry phone, this probably is one for the blackberry phone owners

Playbook, the names says it all! If you want a tablet for some serious web browsing or even use it as a mini tv screen for cooking tips in your kitchen, this is an amazing tablet! If you want page editing and some nice games, better off an ipad 2 right now... But for the price I paid £250, this is the best tablet money can buy... Quick and power efficient.. If you have a blackberry phone especially like the bold 9900 or torch 9860, go with the wifi only version as you can tether from yr blackberry phone... This little gem is only going to get better once RIM developers start creating good apps in the future... Gave it 4 stars because of lack of ecosystem around it, particularly apps but it is a great investment for the future if you are willing to wait for the app store to take off.

i really love blackberry product iv been a fan for a long time now and iv been waiting to get my hand on a play-book ever since it was first announced, its well build the sound quality is excellent the screen is super sharp and bright perfect hardware but very poor software but i believe in blackberry i ave to give 5 star for hardware but 3 stars for software and lack of many app and games but its early version like apple when there was no app for the phone when it came out first