Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/58400
Overheard on E-Groups There are over 50 different e-groups sharing knowledge in ILTA's Connected article title Community, where you can find a network of members to provide feedback on your specific area of interest. This article was first posted as a response on the Communications Technologies E-Group. If you'd like to see additional member responses and input, search for the following topic: "Playbook OS 2.0 Available Today." A Brief Review of Playbook OS 2.0 by Nate Smith of McKee, Voorhees & Sease, P.L.C. I'm not going to say that RIM hit it out of the park with this release (I'm too jaded to gush about technology anymore), but the Playbook OS 2.0 is good and allows you to have a really fast email-messaging, Web-browsing, reading machine that nearly fits in a suit coat pocket for around $200. RIM has added ActiveSync (messages, contacts and calendar), and — even though I'm not a fan — I set up my account on ActiveSync and was amazed at the fast and fluid display, and how quickly I could find my way around and view email messages. All your frequently used actions are located along the right side of the reading pane. The button that flips to full-pane view is amazingly fast. They've forgone any animation trickery (like MS Windows expanding), getting right down to business. One of the coolest features — for right-handed people — is the little arrows you can operate with your thumb to whip through your email messages. Subjectively, I think it lacks some of the iPad's refinement, but also some of the iPad's bloat (yeah, I said it). I also think that they have tweaked the browser so it runs faster. I watched a few 480p videos and it didn't stutter or lag at all — the videos just start; no waiting. The BlackBerry Balance feature also ran automatically and created a separate workspace for work email messages and a work browser. It isn't clear exactly how it works yet, but knowing that sandbox division exists is a plus and hints at an answer to one of my biggest iOS and Android concerns. BlackBerry Balance allows you to create a secure area for your network files and a secure connection to your work servers. It also lets you easily choose if you want to see work, local or other email accounts and calendars separately or all together. There are actually separate file areas for "Playbook" and "Enterprise." They've also added a lot of social networking integration, but it isn't clear if there is a "BlackBerry way" to get to the promised Android apps. I had readied myself to be disappointed, but they definitely breathed new life into the machine. The thing just feels silly-fast now. But maybe nobody but the pragmatists and security gurus will care. ILTA White Paper 29