BlackBerry Playbook $249 AR @ Staples

The deal is ok, the mail in rebate kills it, are there any coupons that can be used on top of this

Fire sale!!!!!!

Quote from ferganer : Care to elaborate. I assume that you don't own the Playbook. I do. At the very least, the PB is not any worse than the competitors.

subpar mail client lol - lack of apps customized for the screen size.

how many apps they got for the playbook (non emulated) 100,000? 10k?

Quote from ferganer : Re: "AND the Playbook isn't as good as the TP" Guys, All this "X is better than Y" is subjective at most. I own both the TP and Playbook and have had the Xoom as well. I prefer the Playbook over the Touchpad as it suits my needs better. It's portable and arguably has the best web browser. But again, preferences differ.

Quote from kschlege : It'll be years before all the fanboi's stop comparing everything to the HP TouchPad "OMG!!!! That tablet is $249, I got a TP for $99"

I agree with you both. It's all subjective...personal preference. Honestly, I started with Blackberry, and really enjoyed their products while I owned them. However, once I switched to Android, I fell in love with it. I currently have a Droid X, Nook color, both running Cyanogenmod, and a Motorola Xoom. I purchased several touchpads with the intent to resell and kept one for my wife.

I think the TP is a good product with limited software options, however even with cyanogenmod soon available for it, I don't plan on changing the OS until when/IF Ice Cream Sandwich is loaded on the device...

Quote from mrkrad : subpar mail client lol - lack of apps customized for the screen size. how many apps they got for the playbook (non emulated) 100,000? 10k?

In October, you will have an android player plus native apps. enough said.

No need to mod your device as it has bluetooth internet tethering with any phone.

Quote from mrkrad : subpar mail client lol - lack of apps customized for the screen size. how many apps they got for the playbook (non emulated) 100,000? 10k?

full-featured mail client is coming. and you are using all 100,000 apps available for your device? my point is, it is subjective as in "some people don't care about 100,000 apps available". btw, you can say the same about honeycomb. honeycomb optimized apps are only a handful. don't forget that the tablet business in general is still nascent.

Good post, but paying 10% sales tax here in WA on the original $349 purchase price is a bit steep for me (would make the total cost around $285). I agree with others, once blackberry capitulates like HP these will likely be cheaper.

Quote from Jaredextreme : I agree with others, once blackberry capitulates like HP these will likely be cheaper.

Most likely, won't happen as RIM will unlikely abandon the only device to test QNX, which they will be using for their upcoming phones.

Quote from GIRay : Can you check email without tethering to a BB? thanks! I have an Android phone instead, BTW.

Yeah by using the web browser which is CRAP.

RIM is a dying brand -- and in general, I don't see much App development for BB.

So if you're ok with the product AS IT IS NOW, then buy it. But don't expect much in the way of updates or apps etc.

I will buy it when it drops to 99.

Quote from ferganer : Re: "AND the Playbook isn't as good as the TP" Guys, All this "X is better than Y" is subjective at most. I own both the TP and Playbook and have had the Xoom as well. I prefer the Playbook over the Touchpad as it suits my needs better. It's portable and arguably has the best web browser. But again, preferences differ.

If you put it that way then most people should stop posting about any product on SD, it's almost all subjective. Software wise playbook is definitely a step up for me (not a fan of webos), but hardware wise the touchpad is pretty amazing at the liquidation prices. In the end 250AR for a 7 inch dual core tablet is pretty good, nothing to go crazy about though.

Since everything remotely similar is compared to the TP $99 price point, this is not a good deal.
Kind of like how all netbooks were compared to the $90 Cowboom deal a few years back.

easy rebate & 32 gb at the same price would be more tempting.