The launch of RIM’s first foray into the tablet world – the Playbook – has been decidedly mixed. Luke-warm reviews coupled with company CEO Mike Lazaridis’ now-infamous walk-out during a BBC interview has meant the press coverage has been slightly off-message.
Despite all the negative attention, however, the tablet still has a pretty good chance at success in the business market due to its wealth of security features and tight integration with RIM’s widely used BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
That is, until AT&T stepped in. One of the key features of the Playbook is the BlackBerry Bridge, which allows business essentials such as email, contacts and calendars to be viewed on the Playbook by tethering it to a BlackBerry handset. None of these apps are native to the Playbook – without connectivity to a BlackBerry you can’t get them.
RIM, always the best friend of enterprise, has marketed Bridge as a security feature. If an investment banker is to leave the Playbook at their favourite champagne bar accidentally, there’s no danger of sensitive corporate information falling into the wrong hands as the data disappears once the tether to their BlackBerry handset is broken. From a security point of view it’s flawless, but from a usability standpoint it leaves a lot to be desired. Who wants to have to find both their tablet and handset to casually check emails on a lazy Saturday?
Unfortunately for RIM, the Playbook also uses Bridge to access a handset’s 3G connection, as the current version of the 7” tablet is WiFi-only. This has attracted the ire of AT&T, who charge a $20 monthly fee to allow users to tether their laptops or tablets, and as such are now blocking the service.
Rampant moneygrubbing aside, this could prove a minor disaster for RIM, which desperately needs some good press if the Playbook is to achieve any decent level of market penetration. If potential Playbook purchasers are told they will have to pay an additional $20 per month not just to tether, but to access their email, contacts and calendar, it could be a significant check against what is otherwise a solid device.
