Blackberry Playbook

Remember about a week and change ago when I said the first round of 'iPad killers' would be making their way into the mainstream in the coming months? The first one was the Samsung Galaxy Tab was the first one to hit the market, and now, the good people over at RIM have prepared their answer to the iPad: the Blackberry Playbook. Billed as the first 'Professional tablet,' ironically the Playbook is going to be an 'amazing gaming platform' according to Research in Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. That's a big departure from the usually business-oriented Blackberry mantra, but I'm interested to see how they pull it off. The Playbook will have Flash out of the box, so that immediately puts it at an advantage over the iPad. In addition, the Playbook has an impressive spec list that clearly outdoes the iPad, with a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a bigger screen. The Playbook also features a front-facing camera for video chatting over either a 3G or 4G network. The introduction of the Playbook might be a lost cause considering the iPad's hold on the market, but then again, what's a market without options? Not to mention, the Playbook looks pretty and polished. Check out some flicktures and rendering in the video...

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Now that the iPad has officially taken hold of American consumers and virtually made people into walking zombies viewing their huge telescreens (word to dystopian futures and George Orwell), it's time for the fleet of 'iPad killers' to hit the stores and slowly try to whittle away at Apple's heels while Steve Jobs takes over the world. The first attempt at such a device is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Galaxy is on Orion's belt powered by Google's Android operating system, which I'm quite partial to. It features a 7-inch LCD screen, a 1 GHz processor and can be used on both a 3G and 4G networks (unlike the iPad). Add to that, the Galaxy Tab also has Flash, something the iPad faithful have been salty about since day 1. Will the Samsung Galaxy Tab be able to dethrone the iPad? Absolutely not. Will it be able to grab some of the market from Apple, and simultaneously open the floodgates for other 'iPad Killers'? By all means. I see a Christmas season dominated by tablets. Cue up the Big Brother conspiracy theories at once. We're entering dystopia, and Apple is holding the door open...

Dear iPad Stans

I understand the Apple craze. I myself am a proud Mac, and will probably be just that until (you know it's coming) Microsoft steps it game up. Since Apple put out the iPod, it seems like we're moving closer and closer to a society run by Apple (and Google). And the people leading the line to Apple iWorld are the Apple fans, or this year, the iPad stans. The video above is a perfect case of brand loyalty gone wrong. The guy is the first in line for the iPad and was the first for the iPhone. Is it that important to you guys to be 'early adopters'? Is saying you have something that everyone (I hope not) has in a few months worth your time and overpayment? I hope it is, because not only will you be $500 poorer, you'll soon realize what we Luddites (look it up) have known since Steve Jobs stepped on stage a few months back: the iPad is a huge iPhone, with no camera. Point. Blank. Period. At least there's a silver lining. We get to see how many nice-looking, but mostly useless applications the world can conjure up in the next month. These guys put their iPad in their truck. Hopefully insurance covers it...

That's a 6-car pileup waiting to happen