Since BB smartphones are kinda crappy for most usage scenarios
Except for email, messaging, PIM -- oh, and web browsing! Yeah, as of OS6 RIMs browser is actually better than the iPhone. It wasn't until iOS 5 that Apple's browser managed to re-take the top spot.
Common functions like phone calls and messaging have always been RIM's strength. Audio, video, and web browsing meet or exceed the capabilities of other platforms.
They don't have nearly as many high-end games though. If that's what's important to you.
As for the PlayBook market -- you do realize it was marketed to BlackBerry users. The tagline was "Your BlackBerry, Amplified" It was made very clear that the PlayBook was designed to work in tandem with a BlackBerry phone.
I'm very aware of this. However, I'm sick of the nonsense claims that RIM is insecure because they "hand out the keys to everyone". As always, BES users are as secure as ever -- and you don't get better security than on BB.
As for BIS users, the truth is that only users in just a few countries are affected (possibly only one, I'd need to check). Still, if any non-corporate user wants best-in-class security, they can setup BESX for free.
Yeah. It's actually one of the best tablets on the market. The hardware is above-par. The OS is best-in-class -- True multi-tasking, next-generation UI, rock-solid stability (it runs nuclear reactors -- it's reliable.), and best-in-class security.
Compare the PlayBook to, say, the iPad in a common use case like giving a presentation. With the iPad, you get your adapter and cable connected, and you see the presentation on both the unit and the projector. This is all the iPad can do. With the PlayBook, you don't need an adapter and you can do other things on the PlayBook at the same time such as view your presentation notes or find a video to play.
You'll find plenty of business applications to keep you satisified, and a wide selection of high-end games if that's your thing. It's also more portable than the iPad, which tends to say at home. PlayBook users actually take their device with them as it slips easily into a jacket pocket.
So, what can you do with a PlayBook without a BlackBerry? Everything that the iPad can do and MORE.
I must have missed the part where the PlayBook was incomplete. It had everything they indented and promised at the time it was released.
Native email was purposefully omitted. Apple does this all the time. You've ALWAYS had email on the PlayBook through BlackBerry Bridge. There are numerous advantages to this, which I and many others have repeated in every playbook thread on Slashdot. Besides, if you want native email, you can just use one of many third-party email applications, or even web mail (like most home users are likely to use anyway.)
The ONLY reason RIM is adding native email now is because of all the bad-press from idiot "reporters" who didn't bother to do more than 5-seconds of research before writing a bunch of rambling nonsense.
RIM promoted the PlayBook as "Your BlackBerry, Amplified". A BB phone is, consequently, a key part of the PlayBook experience.
Paired with a BB, it's one astonishingly good tablet. The hardware is above-par, and the software is fantastic -- a brilliant UI, true multi-tasking, and the most stable and secure OS on the market (QNX runs nuclear reactors. It's that good). Until iOS 5, it even had a better browser than the iPad. RIM's browser will undoubtedly leap ahead again in the next generation of devices.
This is still false. RIM can't give the keys for BES users because they don't have them. Neither RIM nor any government can access that data for users on BES.
Well, it DOES have email through BlackBerry Bridge. This actually makes a lot of sense. See, if I'm deploying tablets in an enterprise where I already have BlackBerry phones deployed, I have to do nothing except drop off a stack of tablets.
Any user who grabs one has instant access to their calendar, contacts, email, and files. If they pass the tablet off to a coworker, their info is gone, and the new user has access to all of their data.
In the enterprise, discouraging the use of native email (you can still use one of many third-party email programs) you can deploy tablets with ZERO management overhead. If you lose a tablet, it's not a problem -- your data is safe.
As an added benefit, users can very easily share tablets. A sales staff, for example, could set a stack of playbooks by the door and let traveling personnel grab one on the way out. In a few seconds, they have everything they need on the tablet!
Of course, the morons in the press didn't think for half-a-second about WHY it didn't include native email. I guess they missed all that whole "BlackBerry, Amplified" promo material.
The polish and the fact that the Apple stuff is finished when it hits the street is what makes a good part of it's appeal.
Siri is still in beta. From Apples website:
Siri is available in Beta only on iPhone 4S and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.
It's still years behind the original iPhone in visuals.
Yes it was. The 7290 was also released years before the original iPhone:) I think that may have something to do with it.
Still, comparing screenshots of that 7290 and the first iPhone, they don't look all that different (from a purely visual perspective). Clock, battery and signal indicator at the top, grid of icons below.
The screenshot is a bit misleading. It's in color, and appears to be a 7290. (I have one of these in a drawer a few feet away). The theme is non-standard and, well, looks awful. The default theme looks much better.
This particular model was announced in 2004. While I'm not sure when it was released exactly, I know was out by January 2005. This model also still used the jog-wheel -- by the time the iPhone came out the trackball / trackpad was pretty much standard.
All this is beside the point, of course, as the UI doesn't look anything like a BBS -- not even the odd-ball BBS's that used RIPTerm. (Why a 2005 BB anyway? The iPhone didn't come out until 2007, and we had several new BB designs by then.)
In terms of UI and ease-of-use, Blackberry's have generally been well-received, even long after the iPhone launch. the Curve 8500, for example, received overwhelmingly favorable reviews.
Complaints about the UI are a fairly recent phenomenon and typically focus on things like the browser, which RIM has significantly improved. The Torch 9800 browser, for example, performs better than the iPhone 3GS browser (and handles HTML 5 better than the iPhone 4 browser).
Other UI features, like notifications, have historically been superior on BB. It's messaging systems have also been ahead of the curve -- offering features like a unified inbox long before other platforms.
In short, there is no reason to claim that the UI is antiquated. A quick look at QNX on the playbook shows a modern, multi-tasking friendly UI that other tablet OS's (with the possible exception of WebOS) simply don't match. As multi-tasking becomes more important, it will become clear how much further along RIM's new OS and UI really is.
While it's true that RIM has lost marketshare in the US, it is doing incredibly well globally, and has been gaining new users at an incredible rate. (iirc, their user-base has increase 40% this year).
Complete with ANSI art, I'll bet:) Seriously, it sounds like you've never used a blackberry!
Aside from having superior notifications to the iPhone, it also had... a grid of icons! The trackball / trackpad were a huge advance over the 5-way button other manufactures used for navigation. Even to this day, the trackpad makes tasks like selecting text, repositioning the cursor, clicking small links and using roll-over menus in websites obvious and intuitive in addition to being MUCH easier than performing those same tasks on a touchscreen.
The Palm pilot wasn't a phone, so didn't "compete in the same market" (as you define that) as the iPhone. Therefore, by your logic, it can't be prior art.
While I'm not sure what point the parent is trying to make, this seems like a good place to mention the Handspring Visor, with the VisorPhone Springboard.
When dealing with large numbers of icons, I prefer a list view. The grid is okay on a desktop, but it's just annoying for browsing through pages of apps.
DARPA says Siri is AI? Too funny! I'm going to guess you don't have a link:)
As for Siri not learning, I'm glad you figured that one out. I'll leave the rest of your AI comments alone (you think you use an ANN to train an AI? WTF?)
As I suspected, you don't really have an example of something Siri can do that a chatterbot can't. (Think long and hard about your example and why it doesn't work. The answer is pretty obvious.)
If it makes you feel better to think that Siri is something more advanced than an infocom game, you're welcome to your delusion. I will, however, recommend the following link, which is surprisingly accurate considering when it was written.
NLP? Yes (though not very advanced compared to other chatterbots)
Neural net? Nope! (No ANN, no genetic algorithms, nothing.)
Can Siri learn new responses based on previous conversations? Nope!
Just face it. Siri is nothing more than a chatterbot. What does Siri do that a chatterbot can't? Nothing!
Is Siri a particularly good chatterbot? Nope!
Is a chatterbot "AI" ? We can dispute that -- though in the context of the OP, the line for "AI" is drawn at chatterbot. In that context, Siri doesn't even come close to qualifying.
No, it added that to a database -- which gets erased. (read the article) This is no more machine learning than an SQL query. Do you know anything at all about AI?
The main difference is you don't have to use canned expressions to do certain things
Vlingo isn't limited to canned expressions either. Pressing my convenience key and saying "I'm hungry for Mexican food" brings up a list of Mexican restaurants in the area, each with an address, phone number, and a button to call the business.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, are you actually claiming that other smartphones have met or exceeded the security of BlackBerry?
You're very much alone in that one. Remember, it's not just email that is secure -- it's everything -- including the OS.
iOS, for example, is so insecure that just visiting a webpage is enough to jailbreak and install an application.
Since BB smartphones are kinda crappy for most usage scenarios
Except for email, messaging, PIM -- oh, and web browsing! Yeah, as of OS6 RIMs browser is actually better than the iPhone. It wasn't until iOS 5 that Apple's browser managed to re-take the top spot.
Common functions like phone calls and messaging have always been RIM's strength. Audio, video, and web browsing meet or exceed the capabilities of other platforms.
They don't have nearly as many high-end games though. If that's what's important to you.
As for the PlayBook market -- you do realize it was marketed to BlackBerry users. The tagline was "Your BlackBerry, Amplified" It was made very clear that the PlayBook was designed to work in tandem with a BlackBerry phone.
I'm very aware of this. However, I'm sick of the nonsense claims that RIM is insecure because they "hand out the keys to everyone". As always, BES users are as secure as ever -- and you don't get better security than on BB.
As for BIS users, the truth is that only users in just a few countries are affected (possibly only one, I'd need to check). Still, if any non-corporate user wants best-in-class security, they can setup BESX for free.
Yeah. It's actually one of the best tablets on the market. The hardware is above-par. The OS is best-in-class -- True multi-tasking, next-generation UI, rock-solid stability (it runs nuclear reactors -- it's reliable.), and best-in-class security.
Compare the PlayBook to, say, the iPad in a common use case like giving a presentation. With the iPad, you get your adapter and cable connected, and you see the presentation on both the unit and the projector. This is all the iPad can do. With the PlayBook, you don't need an adapter and you can do other things on the PlayBook at the same time such as view your presentation notes or find a video to play.
You'll find plenty of business applications to keep you satisified, and a wide selection of high-end games if that's your thing. It's also more portable than the iPad, which tends to say at home. PlayBook users actually take their device with them as it slips easily into a jacket pocket.
So, what can you do with a PlayBook without a BlackBerry? Everything that the iPad can do and MORE.
The PlayBook DID HAVE EMAIL -- the way it was intended, through BlackBerry Bridge. Zero-management, best security on the market.
I must have missed the part where the PlayBook was incomplete. It had everything they indented and promised at the time it was released.
Native email was purposefully omitted. Apple does this all the time. You've ALWAYS had email on the PlayBook through BlackBerry Bridge. There are numerous advantages to this, which I and many others have repeated in every playbook thread on Slashdot. Besides, if you want native email, you can just use one of many third-party email applications, or even web mail (like most home users are likely to use anyway.)
The ONLY reason RIM is adding native email now is because of all the bad-press from idiot "reporters" who didn't bother to do more than 5-seconds of research before writing a bunch of rambling nonsense.
RIM promoted the PlayBook as "Your BlackBerry, Amplified". A BB phone is, consequently, a key part of the PlayBook experience.
Paired with a BB, it's one astonishingly good tablet. The hardware is above-par, and the software is fantastic -- a brilliant UI, true multi-tasking, and the most stable and secure OS on the market (QNX runs nuclear reactors. It's that good). Until iOS 5, it even had a better browser than the iPad. RIM's browser will undoubtedly leap ahead again in the next generation of devices.
This is still false. RIM can't give the keys for BES users because they don't have them. Neither RIM nor any government can access that data for users on BES.
Well, it DOES have email through BlackBerry Bridge. This actually makes a lot of sense. See, if I'm deploying tablets in an enterprise where I already have BlackBerry phones deployed, I have to do nothing except drop off a stack of tablets.
Any user who grabs one has instant access to their calendar, contacts, email, and files. If they pass the tablet off to a coworker, their info is gone, and the new user has access to all of their data.
In the enterprise, discouraging the use of native email (you can still use one of many third-party email programs) you can deploy tablets with ZERO management overhead. If you lose a tablet, it's not a problem -- your data is safe.
As an added benefit, users can very easily share tablets. A sales staff, for example, could set a stack of playbooks by the door and let traveling personnel grab one on the way out. In a few seconds, they have everything they need on the tablet!
Of course, the morons in the press didn't think for half-a-second about WHY it didn't include native email. I guess they missed all that whole "BlackBerry, Amplified" promo material.
25 million bees that closed the road have been accounted for
So ... who counted them all?
The polish and the fact that the Apple stuff is finished when it hits the street is what makes a good part of it's appeal.
Siri is still in beta. From Apples website:
Siri is available in Beta only on iPhone 4S and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.
It's still years behind the original iPhone in visuals.
Yes it was. The 7290 was also released years before the original iPhone :) I think that may have something to do with it.
Still, comparing screenshots of that 7290 and the first iPhone, they don't look all that different (from a purely visual perspective). Clock, battery and signal indicator at the top, grid of icons below.
The screenshot is a bit misleading. It's in color, and appears to be a 7290. (I have one of these in a drawer a few feet away). The theme is non-standard and, well, looks awful. The default theme looks much better.
This particular model was announced in 2004. While I'm not sure when it was released exactly, I know was out by January 2005. This model also still used the jog-wheel -- by the time the iPhone came out the trackball / trackpad was pretty much standard.
All this is beside the point, of course, as the UI doesn't look anything like a BBS -- not even the odd-ball BBS's that used RIPTerm. (Why a 2005 BB anyway? The iPhone didn't come out until 2007, and we had several new BB designs by then.)
In terms of UI and ease-of-use, Blackberry's have generally been well-received, even long after the iPhone launch. the Curve 8500, for example, received overwhelmingly favorable reviews.
Complaints about the UI are a fairly recent phenomenon and typically focus on things like the browser, which RIM has significantly improved. The Torch 9800 browser, for example, performs better than the iPhone 3GS browser (and handles HTML 5 better than the iPhone 4 browser).
Other UI features, like notifications, have historically been superior on BB. It's messaging systems have also been ahead of the curve -- offering features like a unified inbox long before other platforms.
In short, there is no reason to claim that the UI is antiquated. A quick look at QNX on the playbook shows a modern, multi-tasking friendly UI that other tablet OS's (with the possible exception of WebOS) simply don't match. As multi-tasking becomes more important, it will become clear how much further along RIM's new OS and UI really is.
While it's true that RIM has lost marketshare in the US, it is doing incredibly well globally, and has been gaining new users at an incredible rate. (iirc, their user-base has increase 40% this year).
BBS-era interface of the Blackberry devices
Complete with ANSI art, I'll bet :) Seriously, it sounds like you've never used a blackberry!
Aside from having superior notifications to the iPhone, it also had ... a grid of icons! The trackball / trackpad were a huge advance over the 5-way button other manufactures used for navigation. Even to this day, the trackpad makes tasks like selecting text, repositioning the cursor, clicking small links and using roll-over menus in websites obvious and intuitive in addition to being MUCH easier than performing those same tasks on a touchscreen.
BBS era. Too funny.
The Palm pilot wasn't a phone, so didn't "compete in the same market" (as you define that) as the iPhone. Therefore, by your logic, it can't be prior art.
While I'm not sure what point the parent is trying to make, this seems like a good place to mention the Handspring Visor, with the VisorPhone Springboard.
http://www.geek.com/hwswrev/pda/visorphone/
When dealing with large numbers of icons, I prefer a list view. The grid is okay on a desktop, but it's just annoying for browsing through pages of apps.
Yeah. List is good.
DARPA says Siri is AI? Too funny! I'm going to guess you don't have a link :)
As for Siri not learning, I'm glad you figured that one out. I'll leave the rest of your AI comments alone (you think you use an ANN to train an AI? WTF?)
As I suspected, you don't really have an example of something Siri can do that a chatterbot can't. (Think long and hard about your example and why it doesn't work. The answer is pretty obvious.)
If it makes you feel better to think that Siri is something more advanced than an infocom game, you're welcome to your delusion. I will, however, recommend the following link, which is surprisingly accurate considering when it was written.
http://www.jeffwofford.com/?p=817
Enjoy.
it's a service-based NLP neural net
Service-based? Yes
NLP? Yes (though not very advanced compared to other chatterbots)
Neural net? Nope! (No ANN, no genetic algorithms, nothing.)
Can Siri learn new responses based on previous conversations? Nope!
Just face it. Siri is nothing more than a chatterbot. What does Siri do that a chatterbot can't? Nothing!
Is Siri a particularly good chatterbot? Nope!
Is a chatterbot "AI" ? We can dispute that -- though in the context of the OP, the line for "AI" is drawn at chatterbot. In that context, Siri doesn't even come close to qualifying.
No, it added that to a database -- which gets erased. (read the article) This is no more machine learning than an SQL query. Do you know anything at all about AI?
Siri isn't even good at that Siri won’t "learn" locations based on GPS information
Go and compare Siri to a chatterbot like Alice and see how it holds up (hint: it doesn't). Siri is no more AI than Eliza.
Whatever CALO could do or was purported to do doesn't really matter because Siri can't do those things.
Siri can't "learn" uncommon names through correction.
Siri can't even learn basic relationships.
Siri can't "learn" in even the weakest sense. It's just a chatterbot -- and not a terribly good one at that.
The main difference is you don't have to use canned expressions to do certain things
Vlingo isn't limited to canned expressions either. Pressing my convenience key and saying "I'm hungry for Mexican food" brings up a list of Mexican restaurants in the area, each with an address, phone number, and a button to call the business.
Whatever CALO was capable of, it's pretty obvious that Siri doesn't take advantage of most of what CALO was hoped to accomplish.
From what we've seen so far, it's just a chatterbot.
Except that Siri doesn't do any of that. From what we've seen so far, it can't as it has no facility for "learning".
It's still just a chatterbot.
Er, that's from Wolfram Alpha.
First off, is Siri is an actual AI? Does it learn or is it just a chatterbox?
It's just a chatterbot. Well, it's not a terribly good chatterbot, but what did you really expect?
I'm not sure what you mean by "actual AI", so I can't offer much of an answer there.
Hey, it's better than the nothing you got from the zillions of times Apple's $99/year MobileMe service went down. (Twice in the past couple weeks)
Oh, and your emails did get delivered -- they didn't lose a single message. Can anyone say the same for Apples outages?