RIM BlackBerry Playbook Review

Name: BlackBerry Playbook
Brand: BlackBerry

by Jennifer Johnson — Monday, May 23, 2011, 10:25 AM EDT

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of standardized benchmarks available for the PlayBook at this time. We found and ran one app known as Mandelbrot, which can be used to benchmark the processor speed for various devices. According to the developer, "Mandelbrot display for the BlackBerry PlayBook allows the user to visualize the well known mathematical equation shown graphically. The user can continuously zoom in to see endless detail to the scene. Can also be used to benchmark processor speed for various devices." The Mandelbrot benchmark returned a result of 15.363 s.

We were also able to run the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark. In this test, you can see that the PlayBook blew all other Android devices in our chart out of the water. In fact, the PlayBook was almost twice as fast as the next fastest Androidbased product, the Kyocera Echo.

A Note On Battery Life: According to RIM, "RIM expects customers to have a full working day of typical/mixed usage (8-10 hours) including web browsing, watching movies and listening to music. Battery life specs will vary based on the actual usage scenario."

As always, we put the PlayBook through our typical real-world usage tests. Generally speaking, we were able to make it through a full day and then some (14+ hours) before needing to charge the PlayBook. In some cases, we were able to go days without charging the PlayBook. Even on our heaviest day of use where we did quite a bit of web surfing and playing of YouTube videos, the PlayBook lasted for about eight hours before losing power.

Because the PlayBook's screen automatically powers off after five minutes (this is the maximum duration), we weren't able to run our standard Hot Hardware tablet and smartphone battery test. All in all, we were pleased with the longevity of the PlayBook's battery. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on the features you use the most.

Tags: BlackBerry, RIM, tablet, Playbook

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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