BlackBerry Playbook Users

#1 · 02-09-2012 7:54pm #1

So this is a thread for those to discuss their BlackBerry PlayBook's. The reason I think ti was needed is that due to the recent price drops a lot of people have bought one. Fire away here with any questions you have. Or list off your favourite apps (and why). You can also post any "how to's" you think people might be interested in.

Some hints and tips first.
To hard reset press and hold the power button and the vol up and down until the screen goes black

To create a folder just press and hold an icon then drag it over an icon to create a folder

Once in a folder swipe your finger over the word "BlackBerry" on the bottom of the screen all the way to the left and it'll exit out of the folder back to the previous menu.

To wake up your PlayBook swipe from the top bezel to the bottom bezel.

When in an app swipe from the top right or top left corner to get access to the task bar (settings, wifi, bluetooth, orientation etc...)

Touch the time on the task bar (at the top) to see a calendar and set an alarm.

PlayBook print to go feature is great too for priting tickets or itinerary, meeting info etc.. direct from your PC to your PlayBook. Check it out here:
http://us.blackberry.com/software/desktop/print-to-go.html

My favourite apps
Games:
lets golf 2 HD 75 cent
Need for Speed Undercover
Asphalt 6 Adrenaline HD free

Apps:
Twitter app: Blaq 2.50euro
Files and folders theres a free trial version too. It's great for accessing your files and folders on your playbook or blackberry smartphone but also it allows you to access files on Dropbox, Box.net, Sugarsync and Google docs.
Splashtop HD Remote desktop control. Great for watching netflix apps on that are running on your PC if your wifi is fast enough.
Zinio great for reading magazine subscriptions
Picshop 4.99euro Great for editing pics quickly. there also Picshop lite which is free but has less options.
Pacemaker 19.50 euroRelease your inner mixing DJ. This app is a lot of fun but it is expensive. There's a lite version too for 4.50euro. To see a demo click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIYNusMYAs

cookie1977 · 02-09-2012 7:59pm

For those with BlackBerry smartphones the PlayBook can do a little more. You can tether over Bluetooth once you've bridged the two devices. That way you can take advantage of the BlackBerry compression feature so your data will be compressed. Once you have your BlackBerry (BIS) add-on active the playbook can use data directly from that so even if you've no tethering packages from your network it wont matter as the playbook will use that data. Once you're back in a wifi zone it'll switch back to that data if you've previously connected the device to that wifi thus saving your data allowance.

You can also tether other devices over bluetooth to use that data when out and about away from wifi.

cookie1977 · 02-09-2012 8:04pm

The current latest official OS for the playbook is version 2.0.1.688 but you can get free access to the latest dev release (2.1.0.840) by registering here:
https://developer.blackberry.com/devzone/register

If you ever want to downgrade to the official just power off your PlayBook. Make sure you've downloaded the latest release of BlackBerry desktop manager:
PC: http://us.blackberry.com/software/desktop/desktop-pc.html
MAC: http://us.blackberry.com/software/desktop/desktop-mac.html

Start the program and plug in your PlayBook. Allow the desktop manager to detect it and it'll offer you the option to install the latest official release.

You can also use BlackBerry desktop Manager to back up and restore your device.

The device is due to get a major update to BB10 (the name for the new BlackBerry smartphones launching in Q1 2013) some time in early 2013 but there'll be a few more minor updates before then. As it stands the device has the best html5 rating of any other tablet at present and BB10 also has the best html5 score of any device on the market or in development. http://html5test.com/results/tablet.html

cookie1977 · 02-09-2012 8:10pm

To copy files over the air (wifi sharing) to your device just:

Swipe down from the top left or right corner diagonally on the screen. Click the cog, scroll down on the left hand side to "Storage and Sharing". Turn on File Sharing and Wi-Fi Sharing. You can password protect this if you like.

Scroll back up on the left hand side to select About then from the drop down menu on the right select "Network". Not it's IPv$ address and on your windows pc click start and run and type:
\\YOUR IPv4 Address i.e. \\192.168.1.20
and hit return. It should open the playbook folder structure in windows explorer in a couple of seconds. This can be slow depending on if others are using the wifi in your home or if it's a,b,g or n wifi. Hand for files and pics but a little slower for movies.

cookie1977 · 02-09-2012 8:37pm

To side load apps (installing android ports)

From a PC: http://crackberry.com/how-sideload-android-apps-playbook-os-v20-use-android-app-player

From a MAC: http://crackberry.com/sideload-android-apps-your-mac

Here's a farily complete list of android apps available for sideloading:
http://playbookbars.com/

There are lots of sources of sideloaded apps but remember try not to use apps that are free for sideloading but would normally cost money if bought by an android device. Some people have converted android apps without the developers permission and so the developer is loosing money on these apps.

_Kaiser_ · 02-09-2012 8:40pm

Excellent thread mate.. I'm checking out some of those apps now

cookie1977 · 02-09-2012 8:46pm

Some more apps:
LastPass password manager (free but only available to you if you're a premium subscriber to lastpass http://www.lastpass.com)

Qfolio for monitoring stocks and share prices

Taptu News about your interests in one app

Eventseeker Whats going on where you are. Works for Ireland too

SpaceTV free Great for watching whats happening with NASA (vids and pics) in particular the curiosity rover.

Del007 · 02-09-2012 11:11pm

How ye finding the playbook lads?

Do ye use it instead of your laptop?

Jovem · 02-09-2012 11:12pm

Random thoughts on the Playbook

Apps for kids;
The Land of Me - 3 in the series, well worth the money. Ideal for 3 to 6 year olds
Sylvester's Band is pretty good, if a little long
The Whale Who Could Fly is very good

Apps for business;
Evernote - old reliable, seems to have improved from a poor start
The Economist - some great free content

Bookmarks;
Save to the homescreen and then organise into folders. Much more effective than the rubbish random list within the browser

Email app;
If you download the developer level OS, email in portrait is one key improvement. Email app is pretty good generally

Internet Tethering
I have a 9900. Playbook works brilliantly with this phone. Tethers in seconds

_Kaiser_ · 02-09-2012 11:43pm

Del007 wrote: »

How ye finding the playbook lads?

Do ye use it instead of your laptop?

Well I only got it today but I can see myself using this a lot for casual browsing, IM, streaming to the TV etc

For any serious work I'll still use my laptop but then I see this an addition to my collection of gadgets

, not a one-for-all replacement

RUCKING FETARD · 02-09-2012 11:45pm

Whats a playbook?;)

cookie1977 · 03-09-2012 7:17am

Del007 wrote: »

How ye finding the playbook lads?

Do ye use it instead of your laptop?

For general browsing and watching movies/tv. I still use my laptop a lot. I do find though it's great in meetings and splashtop allows me to do a lot of stuff remotely. I use the two devices to compliment each other.

_Kaiser_ · 03-09-2012 9:29am

cookie1977 wrote: »

and watching movies/tv.

How are you handling the codec issues (I gather it has problems with AC3). What media player are you using?

cookie1977 · 03-09-2012 9:34am

Well the only codec I have issues with is mkv files but other then that I haven't noticed any issues with the native player. Although I dont have any ac3 files. I primarily watch stuff in mp4 or avi format.

I love blueplaylist app for music

Any files I cant play I convert with Mediacoder

cookie1977 · 03-09-2012 4:34pm

Here's some pics of the OEM PlayBook stand (combined rapid charger). When it's connected to the stand unfortunately there's no access to the hdmi or usb ports so it cannot be on the stand and connected to something else. Pity really as otherwise it's great.

03-09-2012 5:00pm

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

How are you handling the codec issues (I gather it has problems with AC3). What media player are you using?

Its a bit of a nuisance alright.

When i've got AC3 or DTS in a movie and I want to play it on the playbook I just re-encode the audio to AAC and then remux, takes about 5 min all in.

Lack of subtitles and many other features like multiple audio tracks is a bit of a pain also. Yeah there are some third party players that do them but the official one should do it.

cookie1977 · 03-09-2012 5:01pm

Each OS update has brought new codes so if and when the full release of 2.1 happens we might see these codecs arrive. Hard to know though.

cookie1977 · 04-09-2012 11:37am

when browsing on the playbook if you touch the right edge of the screen near the bezel then slide your finger on to the black bezel (to the right) you can then slide your up and down the black bezel to scroll down or up web pages. Once you let go you'll have to repeat the slide from screen to bezel again to be able to scroll. It's handy when you get the knack of it.

velosolex · 06-09-2012 11:06am

My daughter's Samsung N140 died - not repairable. She used it for You-tube, Face-book, web browsing and playing online games. Our desktop PC is an old Dell running XP. Would the Playbook suit her? Would she need to connect the Playbook to the Dell? and if so would the XP be a problem?

cookie1977 · 06-09-2012 11:10am

Playbook would be grand I'd imagine. It would do all she needs to do based on your stated needs. It doens't need a PC but it can connect to one even if it's got windows xp. It supports flash so I would imagine online games wouldn't be too much of a problem.

velosolex · 06-09-2012 11:39am

Thanks for the reply, her birthday is soon, easy decision.

omahaid · 06-09-2012 8:43pm

Did anyone have this problem?

http://www.expansys.ie/ft.aspx?k=254071

I got one from PC World and just gave it a test run (its for Christmas for my daughter) and Ireland isn't on the list...

cookie1977 · 06-09-2012 8:44pm

omahaid wrote: »

Did anyone have this problem?

http://www.expansys.ie/ft.aspx?k=254071

I got one from PC World and just gave it a test run (its for Christmas for my daughter) and Ireland isn't on the list...

To be honest this "person" has been posting this where ever they can. It means nothing as all you do is select UK. This is much ado about absolutely noting. If you've any faults with the device just bring it back to where you bought it from.

billy few mates · 07-09-2012 3:04pm

Sounds like some sort of a Crown Conspiracy as a way of getting back at us for what we did to the GPO in 1916. Either that or it might be due to the fact that the Americans are so s**t at geography they assume Ireland and the UK are one and the same.....:rolleyes:
Seriously though, this happens regularly enough, especially when you log onto a website for tech support or to register a product, or a download site etc, they ask you to select your home country from the drop down list, quite often Ireland isn't listed so you just select our nearest neighbour, the UK.

One thing to be aware of though and I know this because it happened to me and my mate, we bought ours in the shop in The Loop in Dublin Airport and when we switched it on for the first time it wasn't able to run through its 'set up' if you connect to the net using the Eircom (free) WiFi there. Not a huge problem for me as I just connected to a normal WiFi network and everything worked fine (once I swore my allegiance to the Queen of course

) but it could be an issue if someone was going to buy one on their way through and then hope to use it on the flight.
Mind you its a small price to pay when you factor in the savings from buying the 64GB for €160 there.....

cookie1977 · 07-09-2012 3:06pm

billy few mates wrote: »

Sounds like some sort of a Crown Conspiracy as a way of getting back at us for what we did to the GPO in 1916. Either that or it might be due to the fact that the Americans are so s**t at geography they assume Ireland and the UK are one and the same.....:rolleyes:
Seriously though, this happens regularly enough, especially when you log onto a website for tech support or to register a product, or a download site etc, they ask you to select your home country from the drop down list, quite often Ireland isn't listed so you just select our nearest neighbour, the UK.

One thing to be aware of though and I know this because it happened to me and my mate, we bought ours in the shop in The Loop in Dublin Airport and when we switched it on for the first time it wasn't able to run through its 'set up' if you connect to the net using the Eircom (free) WiFi there. Not a huge problem for me as I just connected to a normal WiFi network and everything worked fine (once I swore my allegiance to the Queen of course ) but it could be an issue if someone was going to buy one on their way through and then hope to use it on the flight.
Mind you its a small price to pay when you factor in the savings from buying the 64GB for €160 there.....

RIM (BlackBerry) is Canadian. But yes you do need access to wifi to complete activation.

billy few mates · 07-09-2012 3:09pm

@Velosolex: My daughter is thirteen and she has a laptop and a playbook and seems to go from one to the other seamlessly. She seems to use the laptop for The Sims and the PB for Facebook, Web browsing and chatting face to face with her friends. She also has a Blackberry phone so loves the BB Bridge features like being able to use the data with her phone to use the internet on the Playbook when we're on a car journey or away from home. She also has lots of music and movies on there to keep her occupied.

billy few mates · 07-09-2012 3:11pm

RIM (BlackBerry) is Canadian. But yes you do need access to wifi to complete activation.

Oooops....My bad....!

cookie1977 · 07-09-2012 3:12pm

billy few mates wrote: »

Oooops....My bad....!

¬¬ I'm watching you!

billy few mates · 07-09-2012 3:28pm

From Canada....? :eek:

velosolex · 07-09-2012 5:49pm

Not home from work yet, but my daughter got her Playbook today, hopefully when I do get home she will have it up and running! Fancy one myself. Then she can teach me.

Newimperial · 09-09-2012 4:32pm

I just got one and it seems like a good gadget. One question though, Any idea how to turn off the predictive text?

Cheers.

cookie1977 · 10-09-2012 9:34am

The predictive text predictions that pop up above the keyboard?
Click the cog on the top right hand corner of the home screen.
Scroll down the right hand side to Keyboard
Click off on "Show predictions and suggestions"
That's it.

Newimperial · 10-09-2012 12:56pm

Cheers Cookie
Another question for you if you have time. Tethering, can I tether to any 3G bluetooth phone? Years ago I hooked up a Nokia 6820 to my PC via a dongle. This was great till I got the bill. I,m thinking of moving to 3 for the unlimited info. But would I be able to tether to just any old BT phone or one that supports tethering. And would Ineed to have a tethering plan? From what I've seen online O2 that have a tethering plan. It would be handy to have a connection when I'm out And about,I'm not too fussy about paying extra for a plan if I only use it the odd time.
Sorry about the long questions and thanks for the help with the predictive text.

Cheers

Newimperial

cookie1977 · 10-09-2012 1:00pm

Newimperial wrote: »

Cheers Cookie
Another question for you if you have time. Tethering, can I tether to any 3G bluetooth phone? Years ago I hooked up a Nokia 6820 to my PC via a dongle. This was great till I got the bill. I,m thinking of moving to 3 for the unlimited info. But would I be able to tether to just any old BT phone or one that supports tethering. And would Ineed to have a tethering plan? From what I've seen online O2 that have a tethering plan. It would be handy to have a connection when I'm out And about,I'm not too fussy about paying extra for a plan if I only use it the odd time.
Sorry about the long questions and thanks for the help with the predictive text.

Cheers

Newimperial

Yes it should be possible to tether with any bluetooth enabled device although I've only tried with a BlackBerry and iPhone. You would need a tethering plan but that depends on the network. For instance I'm with Meteor and I can tether for free with my inclusive data. O2 as you say, do charge for the privileged.

billy few mates · 10-09-2012 1:14pm

If you have a Blackberry phone with the Blackberry data add on, you don't need to buy a tethered data pack or pay tethering charges, you simply use the Playbook as a (Bluetooth) extension of the phone so you can surf the internet all day long on the PB screen but using the data that comes with your phone package. You don't even have to take your phone out of your pocket to do it but you can if you want as it allows you to use your phone as a mouse or a keyboard if you so wish....

_Kaiser_ · 10-09-2012 10:27pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

Yes it should be possible to tether with any bluetooth enabled device although I've only tried with a BlackBerry and iPhone. You would need a tethering plan but that depends on the network. For instance I'm with Meteor and I can tether for free with my inclusive data. O2 as you say, do charge for the privileged.

I've tried it with my Galaxy Note and keep getting an error saying the phone can't be found even though it shows it in the list.

Am I missing something?

cookie1977 · 10-09-2012 10:30pm

Not sure. Will test tomorrow with some friends phones but in the meantime why not turn on a wifi hotspot on your phone and connect to it that way

_Kaiser_ · 10-09-2012 10:34pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

Not sure. Will test tomorrow with some friends phones but in the meantime why not turn on a wifi hotspot on your phone and connect to it that way

Yea it works as a hotspot alright - more curious really then I thought maybe its limited to a BB phone

Newimperial · 11-09-2012 10:19am

I already had it hooked up to a Nokia E50 just to see if the bluetooth is working. I couldn't use the internet because the SIM wasn't enabled yet. From the point of using the phone as a Modem is there any difference between 3G and 4G? If I don,t need the latest and greatest phone all the better. I really would like to avoid tethering plans if possible. I noticed in the city centre last Sunday there are quiet a few wi-fi hotspots around the place. So it's really just for every now and again a fairly basic bluetooth phone would probably do the trick if it's easy to set up.

cookie1977 · 11-09-2012 12:27pm

Newimperial wrote: »

I already had it hooked up to a Nokia E50 just to see if the bluetooth is working. I couldn't use the internet because the SIM wasn't enabled yet. From the point of using the phone as a Modem is there any difference between 3G and 4G? If I don,t need the latest and greatest phone all the better. I really would like to avoid tethering plans if possible. I noticed in the city centre last Sunday there are quiet a few wi-fi hotspots around the place. So it's really just for every now and again a fairly basic bluetooth phone would probably do the trick if it's easy to set up.

There is no 4G in Ireland so it doesn't come in to the equation but in the furture 4G should be a whole lot better then 3G.

What network are you with at present?

lindtee · 11-09-2012 1:56pm

Hooked up my playbook to the TV via the micro hdmi and was very impressed with the quality. I had a look at the hd demo video that was on it and a few hd youtube videos. However, when I tried to watch rteplayer or the tv3 player, on both the advertisements just keep on repeating and I never got to see the programmes themselves:( Is this an issue for everyone or just me?

cookie1977 · 11-09-2012 1:58pm

It doesn't happen to me at all I'm afraid. Are you on your home wifi?

lindtee · 11-09-2012 2:07pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

It doesn't happen to me at all I'm afraid. Are you on your home wifi?

Yes, its the home wifi.No issues with playing it on anything else

Will check my settings on the playbook.

cookie1977 · 11-09-2012 2:08pm

can you watch the videos on your pc/mac on the same wifi?

Close the browser and try again

lindtee · 11-09-2012 2:09pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

can you watch the videos on your pc/mac on the same wifi?

Yes, no problems watching it on anything else.

JoeyJJ · 11-09-2012 2:18pm

Started a thread on this end of last year however didn't take off

I really like my playbook however prob don't use as much as I should. I mainly use to stream sports from internet using a service online, great quality and the wifi holds connection perfectly.

The screen is immense, superb quality, I sideload android apps to it, however getting hold of the converted android apps isn't easy, wish more were available in the app store.

Haven't looked into the software updates, any idea of improvements expected?

cookie1977 · 11-09-2012 2:21pm

The beta 2.1.0.840 is nice. The browser needs more improvements (although by disabling javascript in settings it's noticeably faster with the obvious downfalls) but other wise the whole OS is very stable and responsive. I presume you've gone through this list: http://playbookbars.com/

JoeyJJ · 11-09-2012 2:33pm

Its been a while I must have another look through that cheers.

Not too many playbook users around and lots of people are probably better off buying a nexus however I really like the playbook and wouldn't get rid now, had the opportunity a while ago when it wouldn't charge and could have pushed for my money back but took a new one.

Newimperial · 11-09-2012 3:08pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

There is no 4G in Ireland so it doesn't come in to the equation but in the furture 4G should be a whole lot better then 3G.

What network are you with at present?

Hi again right now I have a Meteor number but I am thinking of going to 3 because some of my friends are there already. Plus the all you can eat data (5Gb per month before it gets throttled).

cookie1977 · 11-09-2012 3:10pm

The all you can eat data is subject to fair usage of 15GB per month before throttling but you cannot tether with this (unless you have a blackberry smartphone) whereas the data with meteor is usable for tethering without any charges (unless you go over your allowance)

Newimperial · 11-09-2012 3:18pm

Well I guess I,ll be staying with meteor so

BlackBerry Playbook Users

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