I wanted to do a hands-on review of the Blackberry Playbook tablet that I recently purchased. To sum it up: I love it.

I’ll start out by saying that I have been an iPad owner for the past 5 months, and the Playbook has now completely replaced by iPad and I use it much, much more. I’ve owned and used the Playbook for about one month now, and I wanted to make sure I had time to properly use it and experience it before writing my review.

The Blackberry Playbook is a really beautiful device. It is the perfect size, small enough to hold and read comfortably with one hand, but still with a large screen to enjoy videos, browsing, photos and more.

I have read many criticisms of the screen because it does not go all the way to the side of the screen, but after using it for a month and comparing it to the iPad… I actually like it better. When holding the iPad, you tend to accidentally click things on the screen or cover up text by holding the device. The Playbook has a nice “safe” border where you can hold it.

The borders themselves are actually touch-sensitive, so you use them for navigating around the device. For example, to turn on the device or go to the home page, simply swipe with your finger upwards from the bottom border. To multitask, swipe left or right to change programs. You can see in this image that I have the camera on (live!), a game open, and Facebook. I can toggle seamlessly between them just by swiping the left or right border. I love being able to pull down a menu at any time either in a program, or to view settings when on the home screen. I can quickly lock the orientation or access important functions of a program (very similar to the “menu” button on a Blackberry phone). I really prefer this system to the iPad and find it much more intuitive.

By far, my FAVOURITE thing about the Blackberry Playbook is the ease of typing. You can comfortably hold this in your hands and type with both fingers, rather than typing with one finger on the larger screen of an iPad. I took a picture of Allan typing on the Playbook (it’s hard to take a picture of yourself typing!) but you can see he can comfortable reach any letter on the screen with his thumbs. I find my typing speed on the Playbook has almost tripled compared to the iPad.

Of course, being able to view any web page with Flash is a huge bonus. I sorely missed this on the iPad and found I was constantly running to the computer to view certain web pages when I couldn’t see them on the iPad. No longer! Flash is fully functional and awesome in its full glory on the Playbook.

I am a Blackberry phone owner, so for me, this tablet is ideal. It’s less useful if you don’t have a Blackberry phone, but you can still enjoy the many features on the tablet. If you don’t have a Blackberry phone you can’t access the email or calendar functions, although I heard this is coming in an update soon. However, for Blackberry owners, being able to view all your messages and BBMs on the tablet is amazing. I just leave my phone in my purse for the most part now and do a lot of my email reading and writing from the Playbook on the couch.

One of the raddest features is using the Blackberry Bridge Browser. YES! Recently on a trip, Allan and I were frustrated because we couldn’t use the iPad for internet since there was no WiFi and we only had a WiFi iPad. Using the Blackberry Bridge Browser, you can tether it to your Blackberry phone and surf to your heart’s delight… FOR FREE. NO DATA PLAN!

The camera and video are excellent. Crisp images, and 1080p high def video. It also has cameras on both sides so you can easily video chat or take photos of yourself.

It’s thin and I love the rubber backing on the device. It feels bomb proof.

You can see that the Playbook and my phone both fit comfortable inside my very small purse (most of my friends make fun of how small my purse is)… the size is perfect for me. I bring it everywhere!

Summary: Overall, I really love the Blackberry Playbook and I find it is perfect for what I use it for: e-mailing, using social media, browsing the internet, taking photos, traveling, and talking to friends. Although it is light on the apps side of things, I find that for myself, I am not missing any apps as that’s not what I use this tablet for. The size is great, the navigation is extremely intuitive and smart, the device is fast, great form factor and fantastic for typing on. It’s a keeper for me, and I’d highly recommend it, especially for Blackberry phone owners.

Note: I was not paid or asked to do this review in any way. I purchased the Playbook with my own money and wrote the review of my own accord.

I’m super stoked on a couple new gadgets I’ve picked up recently, and I thought now would be a great time to do a product review with some photos!

First up, the Amazon Kindle. This device has singlehandedly rekindled (ha ha) my love of reading. Yes, I realize there is an Apple iPad coming out. I’m not concerned. The reason why I chose the Amazon Kindle is for one purpose: reading books.

The e-ink is amazing, and it is EXACTLY like reading a book. It looks exactly like ink on paper, but with a thin protective cover over it. This is why I will not be using an iPad for reading. Yes, I may use it for web surfing, but not for reading. I do not want to read on a backlit screen when I have to sit at work all day looking at a computer screen.

The device itself is gorgeous. It’s extremely light… lighter than a paperback book. Unlike a normal book where you need two hands to hold the pages open, I can read my Kindle with one hand. After reading for 8 hours straight, this is a huge benefit. I love the design of the Kindle.

The back is also really pretty, with brushed metal and a little bit of rubber for non-slip. I should note that this is the 2nd Generation Kindle, but it is not the Kindle DX. The Kindle DX is bigger and harder to hold in one hand… it’s better used for magazine/newspaper reading. Also — the Kindle is hooked up to 3G Wireless in Canada, so you can buy a book wirelessly no matter where you are. There is no data plan or package you have to buy… simply load up the Amazon store on the device and buy a book, and be reading within 30 seconds!

Since I purchased my Kindle a couple months ago, I’ve read 16 books and read over 13,000 pages (yes, the Wheel of Time series is long and took up a lot of that page count). The Kindle is also VERY thin. I bought a Flexstand Bookstand from M-Edge (pictured here) so that I can read it in bed or while eating without having to hold it up. I highly recommend this accessory.

Here’s a photo of all the accessories I have for my Kindle. I bought a pink leather sleeve for protection, a New Yorker leather cover for traveling or when out or about (it hooks into the Kindle deftly so it can’t fall out), and the Flexstand Bookstand. All from M-Edge Accessories.

Needless to say, I’m in LOVE with my Kindle. If you’re a book reader, I would say it is a MUST buy at only $250. After buying 10 books, you will have saved yourself back the cost of your device since e-books are only $5-10 compared to $10-30 for physical books. You. Will. Love. It.

Next up… my new Blackberry Bold 9700. I’ve tried so many different phones, from Nokia to different Blackberries and yes, even the iPhone. But Blackberry just does it right. Everything about a Blackberry is perfect for the type of user that I am. I am completely in love with this phone.

It’s fast, the new trackpad is great compared to the trackball, and the new OS is incredible. I love the new features. The new Blackberry Messenger is much improved, and since 60% of all my friends have Blackberries, it’s the perfect and quick way to communicate with most of my friends.

It’s really small and light. The new grippy back is a nice feature as well. I upgraded from my Curve 8900 to the 9700, and it’s not a huge difference. The 3G is a really great upgrade, and the new OS is too.

There are now tons of apps for the Blackberry, and Blackberry World is very slick. From budget software to games, I haven’t found anything lacking on the Blackberry that I’ve wished for that was on the iPhone. And the keyboard is a big plus. I can type faster than any iPhone user and much, much more accurately. Yes! I challenge you to a type-off. But seriously, I find typing on my phone an absolute pleasure. Everything I’ve ever wanted in a phone, is in my new Blackberry Bold.

So that’s it folks! My new gadgets. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!