You remember the BlackBerry Playbook? That’s the 7-inch tablet from RIM that hasn’t exactly set the tablet world on fire. It was panned at launch for the lack of functionality, but with the release of Playbook 2.0 a while back became a solid tablet. With a starting price of $199, the Playbook is a solid competitor to the Kindle Fire, although without the big ecosystem from Amazon.
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The hardware of the Playbook is very good, so it is a good buy for what it delivers. There is not a huge selection of apps in the App World, but I find all that I need to cover my needs. The arrival of some Android apps in the store is a nice benefit, although RIM doesn’t make it easy to discover those in the market.
Playbook owners quickly developed a method to sideload many Android apps onto the Playbook, but RIM has stated it will do away with that practice with the 2.1 release in the future. It has been confirmed that any Android apps that have been sideloaded will still run after that release is applied, so get them loaded soon if you plan to do so.
The six apps I use most often on my Playbook provide most of the functionality I require on a daily basis. I use many of the preinstalled apps as I find them quite good, but those are not included on this list. It is compromised mostly of third-party apps with the exception of one from RIM.
1. Blaq. I am a heavy Twitter user and the first thing I install on most gadgets is a good app to use the service. Blaq is the Twitter client recommended most often by Playbook owners, and with good reason. It has an attractive UI that makes working with Twitter enjoyable and simple. It handles multiple Twitter accounts for those with multiple personalities, and updates in real-time. It is a solid performer and a good deal for $1.99.
