Hardware: RIM got most everything right with this part. Although some might find the 7" screen size a tad small, I find the portability is really nice and it makes me want to carry the device far more often than the bulky Xoom or iPad. Obviously those devices would have a leg up in the creation of content, although as far as consumption goes the Playbook screen is plenty big.
Speaking of the screen...it's gorgeous. Bright, clear, great viewing angles--this thing just looks great. It also has really nice sensitivity, I've found myself having no problems with keyboard entry or gestures.
The only complaint I have about the hardware is the screen lock key, the damn thing is small, metallic and has a very unsatisfying click that feels like it's going to break. It's also recessed which annoys me.
Software (OS): This is the first device that shows off RIM's new QNX OS and it's really quite an achievement. The multi-tasking support is very WebOS like--everything is separated into cards which are activated by logical side gestures. There are also bezel gestures for an app specific context menu and quick switching between apps (similar to an alt-tab function). I had my doubts whether RIM was going to be able to pull this off given how much they've failed to extend BlackBerry OS but QNX is an excellent foundation and it has superior multi-tasking support to iOS or even Android Honeycomb. Great stuff.
Other good stuff: an excellent keyboard (finally a tablet with a decent keyboard!), HDMI out with screen mirroring (I can't believe someone didn't do this before) and OTA software updates on par with Android.
Software (Other): And HERE is the bad news...
I'll start with what is good: an excellent music and photo gallery app. Really well designed and functional, although the photo app lacks in any sort of advanced editing capability. Also the web browser is pretty good, although a little overdesigned in places.
Now the bad. There's really no way to sugar coat this but RIM fucked up big time by not including email and calendaring support. Supposedly you can use a BlackBerry and "bridge" your email, contacts and calendar events but I don't give a shit since I don't own a BlackBerry. RIM obviously realizes this is a problem and is promising these features this summer, but this devices feels REALLY bare without them.
Also the third party app selection is paltry. No Kindle app (that's a big problem for me, especially on a device with a great form factor for reading) and no GPS/3G option (for now, that's also coming this summer). The apps that are available are nothing special right now, certainly not up to par with Android or iOS.
Verdict: The new Playbook OS is fascinating and a great contender and its mated with a very nice piece of hardware. I can totally see this platform becoming a serious player in this business, but the lack of software is really holding RIM back with this device.
Should you buy it? No, not until RIM has cleaned up the software situation. Once RIM adds email, calendaring, and a few other core services and gets some decent third party apps going this would be a great device for those who don't like iOS but find Android too fragmented and complex. But for right now, the software just isn't there.
