BlackBerry PlayBook vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Tab vs. Streak
by admin on Sep.28, 2010, under PC
BlackBerry PlayBook vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Tab vs. Streak
The BlackBerry PlayBook uses a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display, just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. 7 inches is fast becoming the default size for first-wave tablets, flying against the trend set by the Apple iPad, which has a larger 9.7-inch screen. What’s the difference in practice? Quite a lot, actually. A 7-inch tablet will be able to fit into the largest of pockets, and even if your skinny jeans can’t hack a tablet, it’s still far more portable than the largely home-bound iPad.
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|
BlackBerry PlayBook |
Apple iPad |
Samsung Galaxy Tab |
Dell Streak |
|
| Screen size | 7 inches | 9.7 inches | 7 inches | 5 inches |
| Resolution | 1024 x 600 | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 600 | 800 x 480 |
| Pixel density (approx.) | 170 | 133 | 170 | 187 |
| Platform | BB Tablet OS | iOS 3.2.2 | Android 2.2 | Android 1.6 |
| Adobe Flash support | 10.1 | Not Supported | 10.1 | Not supported |
| Processor | 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 | 1GHz Apple A4 (ARMv7) | 1GHz Cortex A8 | 1GHz Snapdragon |
| Graphics | Unknown | PowerVR SGX 535 | PowerVR SGX 540 | Adreno 200 |
| RAM | 1GB | 256MB | 512MB | 512MB |
| Internal Storage | 16GB / 32GB (unconfirmed) | 16GB / 32GB / 64GB | 16GB / 32GB | 512MB |
| Expansion | Unknown | None | microSD | microSD |
| Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR | 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR | 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 | 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR |
| Cellular data | 3G and 4G promised for future | 3G optional (AT&T) | 3G (all carriers) | 3G (AT&T) |
| GPS | None | 3G models only | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 3MP front,
5MP rear |
None | 1.3MP front,
3MP rear |
VGA front,
5MP rear |
| Weight | 0.9 lbs | 1.5 – 1.6 lbs | 0.84 lbs | 0.49 lbs |
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The screen
The BlackBerry PlayBook uses a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display, just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. 7 inches is fast becoming the default size for first-wave tablets, flying against the trend set by the Apple iPad, which has a larger 9.7-inch screen. What’s the difference in practice? Quite a lot, actually. A 7-inch tablet will be able to fit into the largest of pockets, and even if your skinny jeans can’t hack a tablet, it’s still far more portable than the largely home-bound iPad.
The display uses a 1024×600 pixel resolution, which is almost identical to the pixel count seen in the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The lines are being drawn in the tablet space and, perhaps surprisingly, the big players aren’t following Apple’s lead in several key respects.
Smaller than — Apple iPad
Similar to — Samsung Galaxy Tab
CPU Power
The BlackBerry PlayBook features a 1GHz CPU, just like its big tablet rivals, but look a little closer and you start to see that the PlayBook has the clear advantage. Where other CPUs, such as the iPad/Galaxy Tab’s Hummingbird cores are based on A8 Cortex chips, the PlayBook uses more advanced dual-core A9 chips — a big step up the power ladder. This power boost gives the PlayBook enough juice to handle 1080p video, where current rivals only advertise 720p (which isn’t “full” HD) support.
The PlayBook features a microHDMI slot too, which will let you output videos being played to an HDTV. This puts the PlayBook ahead of all other tablets currently available, for HD purists looking for a tablet to put at the centre of their home media setup. What we don’t know yet is whether the Blackberry PlayBook sports a meaty graphical accelerator on top, for gaming.
Faster than — iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab
OS
With a brand new interface, developed by QNX software (itself owned by RIM), the PlayBook is both ahead of and some way behind its rivals. A contraction, sure, but one that could determine whether the PlayBook is a success or a failure. Android and iOS have been developing for several years now, and have improved substiantially since they originally landed in their crude, smartphone-only forms, but neither is optimised for the tablet form factor yet. Google even went as far as to speak out, saying that Android 2.2 wasn’t designed for tablets, and would cause problems with such devices.
We won’t be able to judge the PlayBook’s operating system properly until we get our hands on it, but initial reports are promising. Multi-touch support is in, as is multitasking, and the video preview of the tablet demonstrates the tablet’s highly visual interface. It has a lot of ground to make up on the apps from though, especially against Apple’s iPad. Running a new platform, the PlayBook app scene will have to start from scratch. Can it possibly catch up?
More tablet optimisation than — Android 2.2, iOS 4.1
Fewer apps than — Android tablets, iPad
Weight and dimensions
The size of any tablet is determined by its screen. The BlackBerry PlayBook is a 7-inch tablet, and rocks the following dimensions — 130 x 193 x 10mm, 400g. Its closest competitor on this front is the Samung Galaxy Tab, which is slightly lighter, slightly less wide but also a little thicker at 190 x 120 x 12mm, 380g. The iPad? Predictably, it’s a porker compared to these two at 189.7 x 242.8 x 13.4mm, 730g. The iPad is a portability loser.
Similar to — Samsung Galaxy Tab
Petite compared to — Apple iPad
Video skills
The all-important calling card of the BlackBerry PlayBook is that its dual-core CPU can handle 1080p (Full HD) video. With single-core 1GHz CPUs, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and iPad can’t make this same claim. More ambitious video watchers would benefit from opting for either the Galaxy Tab or PlayBook, as the Samsung option lets you stream video over Wi-Fi with AllShare, and the PlayBook is even easier, letting you connect to an HDTV directly using the microHDMI output.
Both the PlayBook and Samsung Galaxy Tab are more versatile in the video codecs they’ll play, both being capable of playing DivX and WMV, alongside a handful of other codecs. Even more importantly in practice, these tablets let you transfer your vids directly, rather than making you sync-in with iTunes.
