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CES 2011: webOSroundup Goes “Hands-on” with the Blackberry Playbook

By: , 1/11/2011 8:40 am | 15 comments

We had a chance to see and play with a working demo of the upcoming Blackberry Playbook tablet at CES. We were very impressed with its ability to multitask and handle multiple “cards” without hesitation. Equally impassive were the hardware specs: dual core 1 GHz processors, 1gb of RAM, 7 in. 1024×600 resolution screen, and front and rear cameras capable of recording 1080P video.

Equally impressive was how the Playbook interacted with a nearby Blackberry smartphone, in this case a Blackberry Torch. As the two devices are paired together via wifi, a “tunnel” was created between the two that allowed for real time text input using SMS, email, and other apps. For me, this brings back memories of the now defunct Palm Foleo device which was rumored to pair up with a Palm handset to sync data… sound familiar?

So, are we talking a real webOS copycat here?

Jump to the video to find out and be sure to sound off in our comments!

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About Jesse Mendoza

Certified Computer Geek by day, WOR contributor & radio DJ by night. Loves indie music, Toyoto FJ Cruisers, and running marathons. He still owns all of his Palm devices and will probably go to the grave with them. Follow him on Twitter @JesseJstreet
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  • Anonymous

    This is starting to blur the lines a bit with this device. The roots blatantly came from WebOS but they have definitely added some features, gestures, etc. to call it “their own”. But this makes me even more interested to see what HP has to offer come Feb. 9th. I’m willing to bet HP will have the “paring” ability seen here and more with all their devices (printers, etc.).

    I’m also gonna go out on a limb and say HP will introduce their own add-in for Windows Home Server, or possibly their own “Home Server” OS, to have your media re-encoded on the fly and streamed to all WebOS devices as well as having that same OS controlled by any WebOS device. Or maybe just have all your media in the cloud…:)

  • http://sorli.com sorli

    Yes, much of this tries to walk and talk like webOS, but from what I’ve seen comes up a little short.

    Maybe their still fine-tuning the interface and polishing out the rough spots, but I don’t think it is as clean as webOS interface and gesture wise and I’m also looking forward to what Palm comes out with in the coming month.

    What drives me crazy is how almost exactly their interface copies what webOS is doing with their card interface. Again, it is not as clean and smooth presentation wise, but it sure it close.

    Either way, I’m hopeful that Palm and HP gets the Patent Rights to Gesture technology and interfacing they created forcing RIM to come out with something new or Shell-Out the CASH!!! Actually, RIM probably already has cash set aside for litigation and negative judgment against them and this is just their way of doing business copying the interface that works best and “if you can’t beat them, join them.”

    I wonder what HP thinks about all this, they have to be little annoyed right now? Sorli…

  • Anonymous

    I’m trying to stay positive. As you guys know, I am not impressed with RIMs failed attempt at buying palm, then copying webOS.
    To see all the buzz at ces booth and not see any major tech sites call out rim on how little they have innovated with playbook is surprising. I guess doing that would upset berry fans. Upsetting webOS fans by not reporting the blatant rip off is not a concern( not many of is left).
    let see what Hpalm anounce. I’m positive it will bring more innovation , options and value to us consumers.
    I’m interested in what others think about this.

  • http://allandelacruz.com Xacto01

    Lets not kid ourselves… the UI is clean, fast, and we are peeing in our pants. One think I do think its lacking is the vision. webOS 2.0 sdk seems to blur the lines between devices, internet, and cloud. Lets hope for February 9th!

    • http://sorli.com sorli

      Some aspects were smooth, but then 1gb of RAM and a dual core processor will make sludge run smooth and silky. I guess I’m nitpicking, but did anyone else notice how boring things looked when moving and flicking. Heck, maybe it was moving so fast and I couldn’t see the transitions. It did have some high points, but I wasn’t impressed. Sorli…

  • http://twitter.com/tsaunders tsaunders

    I really want this device. I wonder if I port my app over if I will get one – :P (They have something going on that if your app gets approved for the PlayBook you get one for free)

  • thomas_92

    Palm Foleo, not folio ;)

  • http://twitter.com/oak_labs nicholas peterson

    Probably meant equally ‘impressive’, not impassive, that sounds like the specs don’t excite you.

  • Anonymous

    Damn they made a rip off ! i hope HPalm will sue them when this baby go in sale héhéhé …

  • http://allandelacruz.com Xacto01

    The release of this makes me scared that Sprint will not get a Palm device due to conflict of exclusivity. Can anybody confirm PlayBooks’s exclusivity?

  • Pulp

    I want HP/Palm to copy that “bridge” in return!

  • Ravirajkande

    since hp was not at ces iam sure they have been watching all the devices and the os they are running and i have a strong feeling that hp has something really which will blow everybodys mind with some amazing stuff . i also think that hp knows very well there is a null period between ipad 2 , honeycomb finally comming to consumers so they might announce something on 9th feb which can be ready to go in stores as soon as possible . for me till i dont see what webos has to offer all my purchase is on hold , only if hp webos tablet dosent impress me i might think of some option , till then its hp webos tablet as a first option for sure .

  • http://www.facebook.com/bcmorales1 Brandon Clay Morales

    F’n hacks first they steal the form factor of the pre then they steal the OS for the playbook. The only unique gesture I saw was the side gesture which its a tablet of coerce u don’t need that on a phone. Clearly they see the competition of webOS if they are literally making a carbon copy. The thing is they are going to have to start making computers, printers, TV’s, exc. to compete with HP’s connected seamless experience.

  • Mikeyr

    I used to own a BB Bold 9000. I guess I’m a bit naive but I thought my Pre looked a lot like my BB Bold, vertical slider keyboard and all. Pre has a bigger screen…which is still too small. :p

  • Joseph

    Very, very nice. Just what we’ve been asking and asking and asking of Palm for…. let’s see…. how long? Two good features that demo well. Good on RIM for getting there! If HP had done what needed to be done they would have shown this equivalent (or better) many, many months ago… but their constipation has allowed for good competitors to share the user space. And truly maybe that’s a good thing, because maybe HP is better in the role of a sweeper industry, rather than as a ground-breaker company. Take for example their Windows Slate. Very close to an eight week waiting list from order to “probable” delivery at present. Tells you a lot.