Yes, you’ve read that right—the Pad People, not the “Pod People” (Tablet people doesn’t really sound right, does it? Nobody’s made any movies about the “Invasion of the Tablet People”, now, have they?)
Two weeks ago I bought a Blackberry Playbook and have been playing around with it ever since. I originally started looking for a dedicated e-book reader, but after talking with several friends and colleagues, looking around on-line and Tweeting—I decided that a tablet was a better alternative, offering a bit more oomph for my bucks. (I was really afraid to spend that kind of cash for a single-purpose device and then spend some time kicking myself for NOT investing in one with more capabilities. Once Blackberry dropped the price to $299.00 Cdn, it was a no-brainer). I have to confess that I really haven’t pushed it’s capabilities too far just yet, but I know that I came home last week from a Fountain Pen Club meeting and both my wife and son were ecstatic over it. (Doesn’t it bother you when your family members get to play with your electronic toys before your do?) I picked up one of the 32-gig units (could’ve sworn I asked the guy at Staples for a 64 gig unit, but when I opened the box it was a 32 gig; maybe that was all he had left in stock, but I’m going to have to work on talking louder, I think). (Finding one in stock was an adventure in itself). So far, however, I’m really enjoying it; I feel like Captain Kirk every time I fire it up and start investigating what it can do.
So far, I’ve downloaded photos of most of my paintings, so I have a handy portfolio. And I’ve re-acquainted myself with the addictive nature of Tetris (and the Little Guy really enjoys “Need for Speed”). I’ve already come up with a few nifty uses for it down the road which utilize the camera to make videos.
Unfortunately, the current incarnation doesn’t download eBooks from any Canadian libraries (since they’ve all settled on Adobe DRM-protected content), but support for that is supposedly on its way, and if not, several writers on a couple of different forums have pointed out apps and solutions for that, if support is delayed too long.
Once the new OS comes out, I’ll have a further report. Stay tuned.
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