Thursday, November 24, 2011

Blackberry Playbook.. Number 8 turkey? Not in my book!

It's Thanksgiving morning. I'm watching the Macy's parade and had vowed that I wouldn't open my computer. Well, we know how that goes.. it's like crack. And speaking of crack, I just read an article that offered up the ten 'turkeys' of 2011. Most I agree with except one... (this is where I get to the crack part)...

The Blackberry Playbook. My crackberry only better. I'm here to tell you, this is one of my favorite tech toys. When I used to carry my MacBook everywhere I went (I'm a crazy Mac fan.. have been since WAAAYYYY before it was cool), I now leave the MacBook at home and carry the Playbook everywhere I go. Let me tell you why... For $300 I bought a device that mimicks my favorite phone -the Blackberry Torch 9810 --the 4G model. Between the two devices -my phone which tethers to the Playbook as a 4G modem and the Playbook with a slightly larger screen, I get 4G speeds on the same plan as my phone (I could have cracked it with free 4G but chose not to). So it falls under the same all you can eat plan I had before, all of the applications of the Blackberry Torch (which I also love --mostly the tactile touch of the keyboard) and now full functionality of a tablet with 4G, an incredible display, and at a great price. Last, as a long time Infosec guy, I got to see the OSD Deputy CIO speak at the ACT/IAC Executive Leadership Conference in Williamsburg last month. Rob stood in front of an audience of about 800 of us at lunch time and told us how and why he believed Blackberry to still be the safest mobile platform. I'm not going channel Rob or try and recount the quotes, but I've seen the presentation a couple of times now. I'm a believer.

Ok, it's off my chest. I love my Macs, but I also love my Torch/Playbook combo. 4G ( ...yes, I know what the H+ means on my display), all of my blackberry apps, the tactile touch of the keyboard if I get so frustrated on the glass that I absolutely MUST have it, and the ability to manage/edit documents on a slightly smaller more convenient platform than others --all wrapped in a more secure platform (as described by sources I tend to believe) to be more secure than the iPad and Android platforms? I'm a happy guy.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm going back to the Macy's Parade :)

JLS