BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0: missing features arrive too late to save the tablet
RIM has released the first major software update for its BlackBerry Playbook, bringing much needed functionality to the device. The Playbook OS 2.0 update is available for free and brings features such as standalone email, calendar and contacts applications, device management, and an Android app emulator. Despite making significant improvements to the device, the update is unlikely to make an impact as RIM has already seemingly abandoned the product, selling off remaining stock at a loss. While the update will not dramatically change the fortunes of the device, it may tip the balance and bring in some additional enterprise sales in the short term. More importantly, the update gives us a glimpse into what is to come in the future, as the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS will be based on the Playbook OS 2.0 and is likely to share many core features.
OS update adds missing features but too late to save the Playbook
The Playbook OS 2.0 update finally brings a standalone email application to the device, among a number of other features which should have arguably been on the device at launch. On the personal information management (PIM) front, the update brings calendar and contacts applications which feature Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn integration. The update adds improved integration with BlackBerry handsets through BlackBerry Bridge, and enhanced mobile device management by adding compatibility with BlackBerry Balance and Fusion.
The update also brings the anticipated Android Player runtime to the Playbook OS, allowing Android applications to run on the device. However, as noted in the previous Ovum comment, RIM’s BBX puts most of its developers back to square one, applications will need to be recompiled by developers and resubmitted to the BlackBerry App World in order to run on the device, meaning that they are unlikely to have much traction.
This update, combined with the recently reduced price, has finally made the Playbook an attractive product. However, Ovum believes it is too late to save the device in the long term. RIM is now making a loss on each Playbook it sells at the new price points (a fact that it admitted in its recent financials) and given the current competition in the market, even with the new functionality or even new hardware, it will be almost impossible for RIM to successfully increase the price of the Playbook back to a profitable level. Without the benefit of volume cost savings, it is therefore unlikely that RIM will be able to make a profit on the Playbook franchise. Finding itself in this position, RIM is therefore unlikely to commission any further production of the devices and may cease selling the Playbook after the current stock has been depleted.
New features and management tools may bring renewed enterprise interest
Ovum believes that the update is unlikely to dramatically change the fortunes of the Playbook tablet device, in a market which remains largely dominated by the Apple iPad. However, these new features undoubtedly make the Playbook a more complete product, and by addressing the product’s shortcomings RIM may be able to tip the balance for some potential enterprise customers. As with its BlackBerry handsets, the Playbook is arguably the most enterprise-friendly tablet offering, with integrated device management and security features such as BlackBerry Balance. For enterprises that already support BlackBerry handsets, the Playbook offers a relatively simple and low-risk way to trial tablets in the business. When these new features are combined with the more aggressive pricing of the Playbook, some enterprises may consider taking another look at the Playbook.
Playbook OS 2.0 offers glimpse at BlackBerry OS 10
The upcoming Blackberry OS 10 platform, which RIM will use on both its smartphone and tablet devices, will be built on the QNX-based Playbook OS 2. Although we may see some changes to the OS ahead of its evolution into OS 10, it is likely that the two operating systems will share many core features. For this reason, the Playbook OS 2 gives us the strongest indication yet of the look and feel of the upcoming OS, as well as its features and capabilities.
