MWC 2011 Live: BlackBerry PlayBook & BlackBerry Torch 9800 Hands-on Preview

Tweet

We have offered you a hands-on preview of the BlackBerry PlayBook at CES 2011, and now, one month later, we decided to go for a hands-on approach in Barcelona too as, RIM brought its tablet to the MWC together with all the other 2010 toys.

In that group of toys I include all the great-but-unimpressive BlackBerry handsets we’ve seen last year in stores, including the BlackBerry Torch 9800. In fact, in what follows you’ll notice that we took the Torch for a hands-on experience even if we said a bunch of times the phone isn’t the flagship device RIM expected, when it comes to sales. But we simply had to check it out in order for you guys to compare it with that Pre 3 monster we showed you just earlier.

The BlackBerry Torch is surely a dependable device. The first slider handset in RIM’s family that comes with both a full touchscreen display and a full QWERTY keyboard, the Torch is also the first to run BlackBerry OS 6. But the device lacks a certain touch of magic to make it popular with the crowds. It feels just like an ordinary BlackBerry with a lot more screen real estate. I might not be as familiar with BlackBerry OS but I had a harder time getting through those menus.

On the other hand the RIM PlayBook is a totally different device! I had a thorough hands-on experience with it, as, unlike HP, RIM actually had a bunch of tablets out there for people to enjoy. The QNX OS still crashes from time to time, as the software is not yet final, but overall it’s a lovely experience. It’s got gestures-support, multitasking, and a great user-interface. And it can run Quake 3, which is definitely saying a lot about the device.

The fact that it’s 7-inch could disturb some of the tablet fans out there, but it’s really a great machine, and, compared to the original Galaxy Tab, let me put it this way, I’d go PlayBook in a second.

You already expect me to tell you there are no pricing details and launch dates yet, don’t you? Well, that’s the truth. We don’t have any of that for you yet folks, but stick around, as RIM simply has to announce them sooner rather than later!