The Blackberry Playbook manages to set itself apart. Similar to WebOS, the Blackberry tablet OS has some very unique features that people could really fall in love with. Here's an example. The Playbook does not have any navigation buttons. To reach the home menu, swipe up from the lower bezel into the screen area. To bring down the menus, swipe down from the upper bezel into the screen area. To switch from app to app, swipe from the left or right bezel towards the center. A very intuitive way to get around. The price for this is a slightly larger bezel than the GTab, about a third of an inch taller. Oh yeah, it's thinner and lighter (0.9 lb vs 1lb) than the GTab. (The industrial espionage network is alive and well. These products are all designed in secret, yet are very similar, with later products besting previous products by just a little bit. Tell me that happens by accident.)
As an aside, I think HP is making a huge tactical mistake by not bringing their Palm OS products to the show. They have to convince developers to write apps, and convince customers why they should buy hardware that isnt iOS and isnt Android. This is going to take a concerted messaging campaign. And where better than CES? That's what Blackberry is doing.
Apple can afford to not come to the show. But they are the thought leaders, they make the halo products for mobile, they have a charismatic leader, and their own highly anticipated Apple press events. Is HP all that? Or are they just penny-wise and pound foolish?
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