bb playbook os2 - released today

[BokCh0y]

looks like playbook os2 has finally been released, the rumors are true!!!

downloading as we speak. has anyone tried this yet? opinions?

hopefully this is all rim says it will be, excited about the new features. bridge 2.0 was released yesterday too, remote control feature of the playbook is pretty cool also.

[BigShow]

soooo how is it?

[Stealth22]

Downloading it right now as well...I'll post initial thoughts when its done. :D

[BokCh0y]

So far pretty slick.

You can create folders to store your progs/apps, remote function from brdige is pretty smooth too. Can use your phone as the remote and move a mouse pointer around.

New App store too.

Havne't played with it too much yet, at work. I'll mess with it some more and post updates.

[AllGoNoShow]

Downloading right now as well, liking the remote bridge options I am reading about.

EDIT: Still playing with but love it so far!

Seems much quicker, new bridge is awesome. New menus are awesome, new keyboard is much better, that's about as far as I have made it yet haha.

Get it BBPB owners!

[Stealth22]

Damn, this remote control function is slick!! :D :burnout:

I haven't played with it much either, but it seems pretty smooth so far. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I can't seem to find any prominent Android apps on App World. I tried this random 'LED scrolling sign' one I found, it ran alright.

[BokCh0y]

Folder feature is awesome too. Browser is faster as well.

Still testing.

[Khyron]

Does it have a Gmail client/interface other than just using a web browser?

[Stealth22]

^ OS 2.0 adds native e-mail...

[AllGoNoShow]

Stealth have you setup native yet? If so, work as expected?

[botox]

Sounds cool, excited to do the upgrade tonight when I get home. Hopefully it'll be more usefull than it has been.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by AllGoNoShow
Stealth have you setup native yet? If so, work as expected?
Yup, setup 3 e-mail accounts...two G-Mail, one Exchange. All worked without a hitch.

Like I said, the only thing I can't figure out is the Android offerings..there are some on App World, but aside from Wordpress, no big names that I can see. I would have expected to see something from Google or what not on launch day. I tried one Android app though, and the Android runtime is smooth.

So unless I'm missing something, we might have to wait for developers to re-package and sign their .apk's for the PlayBook. Unless there's a way for us to...do it for them. :D

[cream]

What exactly is new with the bridge options? And anyone have a suggested Android app to install?

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by cream
What exactly is new with the bridge options? And anyone have a suggested Android app to install?
You can use your BlackBerry smartphone as a wireless mouse/keyboard for your PlayBook! I tried it, it works great! :D

There's a bunch of info on CrackBerry on sideloading Android apps via USB, for apps that are not yet available on App World. I'm about to try it with a couple.

http://forums.crackberry.com/android-app-sideloading-f258/

[reiRei]

Downloaded the OS update this morning, and my playbook feels like a totally different tablet.

I really like the remote feautre ( I'm totally typing this from my torch right now)

As far as android apps are concerned, I keep reading about new apps being ported to the PB, however, they are in a queue to be approved for app world.


There is a method to side load android applications, but I can wait for them to be ported over

[Stealth22]

^ I read a bit about it on CrackBerry. Its not hard to side load Android apps, provided they are already re-packaged into RIM's .bar format.

The .apk builds for Android devices can be ported over to the PlayBook's .bar format, but of course, not all apps will work.

[Weapon_R]

Grab the free games available in App world

[smartcar]

Updated version of word to go has search and replace :clap: Still no search function for Acrobat but a big improvement, and installation was easy with no hitches, but took a very long time (over an hour, I didn't wait around to see when I came back it was done).

[cdnsir]

Updated and this is exactly what the PB shoulda been able to do in the first place! Love the changes, granted it took them a full year to implement it..

[kaput]

.

[ercchry]

Pretty sweet, I wonder if standby times have improved?

[Neil4Speed]

Definite improvement over the previous OS (Which was good as well). I'm having trouble seeing specific Android apps in the app store though, I guess I manually have to port them over. The Browser is superb, very quick.

Pretty happy with this device, although I have the same problem that I have with it as I would with any Tablet... What the hell would I use it for? lol

[BokCh0y]

Day 2 of testing it out. No issues whatsoever, starting to love it again.

Have my shaw, hotmail and gmail email accounts all setup via the native browser. Works pretty pimp.

New App store has a ton more apps too - YAY.

Can go into options and remove old BB's that were connected via brdige - awesome feature. I had 3 old BB's that were connected before that were lingering and I couldn't clean it up.

Now has a lock feature along with the shutdown, reboot and standy feature.

Folder organization is about fucking time!!! Granted there weren't a lot of apps out there before, but goddamn was my home screen getting crowded up.

Browser is pretty quick too, loving it.

New keyboard layout with the numbers on top is great too.

So far, no negatives. Wish they did this right the first time rather than waiting almost a year for this new OS.

[machomacho]

is there a way to get paid apps for free now like on the ipad or andriod devices?

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed
I'm having trouble seeing specific Android apps in the app store though, I guess I manually have to port them over.
Its because RIM has to go through and add them as they're submitted by Android developers. There isn't a lot there now, but its so easy to port over apps (provided they're compatible as-is), its not even funny. It literally takes all of 5 minutes to convert and sideload an app onto a PlayBook.

That being said, if you're an Android developer and your app is more complex, chances are you're probably going to spend more time testing, etc...hence the delay. But I think we'll see a lot more Android offerings on App World over time.

Just browse through the threads on CrackBerry, there's quite a few ported apps there already, and they're easy to sideload as I said. If the app you want isn't posted, just find the APK file (if you have an Android device, this is easy) online, or if you have an Android phone or tablet, pull it off there, and port it with BlackBerry's tools.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by Stealth22
...

Thanks for the response, any apps you found particularly compelling to use?

They must have tweaked the browser in 2.0, it is seriously quick.

[AllGoNoShow]

Browser speed is wicked now, slow with the autocorrect shit enabled

[BigMass]

Originally posted by Neil4Speed
Definite improvement over the previous OS (Which was good as well). I'm having trouble seeing specific Android apps in the app store though, I guess I manually have to port them over. The Browser is superb, very quick.

Pretty happy with this device, although I have the same problem that I have with it as I would with any Tablet... What the hell would I use it for? lol

Internet, movies, music, light gaming etc. Good camera, films good movies, great OS, nice multitasking and great battery life/ Easier to carry than a laptop so perfect for weekend trips, 1 week vacations, HDMI streams or movies to your TV, etc.

For me, bezel makes it a little to big for my liking. Something like the new Asus Tegra 3 7” tablet would be ideal. Or something 6”. Like the Galaxy Note but more powerful and a little larger. Ideally I could slip it in my inside jacket pocket like a billfold. Now if you asked me wha the point is of a 10” or 11” tablet like the ipad? No clue. At that point I’d rather have an ultrabook. Same portability and size, none of the downsides of a tablet, and way more powerful and useable.

[Q-TIP]

I think they could have made the bezel just a little smaller as well. However I love my playbook and OS2 is leaps and bounds better than v1.0. The messages/calendar/contacts integration is wicked.