So you have a shiny new RIM BlackBerry PlayBook. Excellent. Now, which are the 10 apps you absolutely must install on it? That's a tough question to answer, and for all the wrong reasons. Unlike the iPad and iPad 2, the PlayBook has a relatively scant number of apps available for download at the moment; the BlackBerry App World (formerly known as the BlackBerry Application Storefront) will feature 2,000 to 3,000 apps on the PlayBook's launch day.
That's a decent number, but some of these apps were designed using a developer's kit that was based on a PC, not a touch-screen device. This means that some apps' touch points won't match where your finger taps, because they were designed with a mouse and not fully tested on the PlayBook itself before launch. Conversely, the iTunes App Store has over 350,000 apps and climbing—and many of them are excellent (check out our 50 Best iPad apps feature for a complete rundown). RIM should have taken a page from Apple's iPad playbook and done more to ensure there was a decent selection of whiz-bang apps on launch day.
On the upside, RIM states that it has received submissions for more than 3,000 apps from brands such as Atari, Huffington Post, Sports Illustrated, and The Weather Channel, which will help flesh out the PlayBook's app catalog. In addition, RIM has announced that it will support Android apps at a future date. Although RIM claims that it sees approximately two million downloads per day from the BlackBerry App World per day, there is an overabundance of apps that fail to entice, ranging from a janky Twitter client to ho-hum games.
That's where we come in. In compiling this list of 10 best PlayBook Apps, we focused on quality apps that deliver a unique and compelling tablet-based experience across the business, entertainment, gaming, and social networking categories. Our selections are a mix of titles that came pre-installed, as well as ones that were downloaded from BlackBerry App World (We ignored "apps" that were simply Web site shortcuts, such as Gmail and Hotmail). The selected software will let you sync data, translate text and speech, listen to customizable radio stations, manipulated colored blocks, keep tabs on the weather, and much, much more.
Check out our slideshow below for essential BlackBerry PlayBook apps. Feel free to leave comments below if you agree or disagree with our choices.
1. BlueBox
Dropbox doesn't have an official app in the BlackBerry App World marketplace, but if you want to access files and folders stashed on other computers, you owe it to yourself to download BlueBox. This free PlayBook app lets you access, rename, and delete files, as well as create new folders. BlueBox' only drawback is that you can't upload content from the PlayBook to Dropbox, and there's no way to share files—yet.
2. Documents To Go
Documents To Go—comprised of Word To Go, Sheet to Go, Slideshow To Go—is a free office suite that comes pre-loaded on the PlayBook that lets business-minded individuals create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows. If you want to stay productive while away from the PC, this app trio is one you can't do without.
3. iSpeech Translator
If you fancy learning important phrases from another language, but don't want to shell out the big bucks for Rosetta Stone, the free iSpeech Translator is just what you need. After selecting your native tongue and the target language, you key in—or speak—a phrase. iSpeech then processes the information and spits out a translation, not only with speed, but also with accuracy. Chinese, Dutch, English, Japanese, Italian, French, Finnish, Russian, and Spanish are just a few of the included languages.
4. Meetup Search
Coming face to face with like-minded folk is easy to do with Meetup Search. Simply enter a topic, zip code, and search radius, and you can hunt for groups to join or events to check out. The app conveniently gives you the number of members in a group, the approximate distance of an event from your area, and other useful information.
5. MovieNews
IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes may not have official PlayBook apps, but Mediarl's MovieNews fills in for them quite nicely. The MoveiNews app shows you at a glance the new theatrical and DVD releases for the week, the box office champs, cast and crew listings, and films that are coming down the pipe.
6. People On My Lawn
When earthlings begin to invade your alien homeworld, you must defend the plant by launching rockets at the intruders. This isn't a mindless shooter, however; you must strategically place magnets on the battlefield to alter the rockets' flight patterns so that they hit their targets.
7. PicasaBuddy
PicasaBuddy is a Picasa Web Albums viewer that lets you check out any user photos that have been publicly published to a Picasa album. You can search for photos based on user name, or scan the entire community to return a wide range of results.
8. Slacker Radio
The excellent Slacker Radio arrives on the BlackBerry PlayBook in the form of an attractive, informative app that's sure to delight music fans. The free streaming music service offers plenty of customization—you can favorite and ban your favorite songs and artists—and the sleek interface not only looks great, but also informs thanks to in-depth bio and album pages.
9. Tetris
10. Weather Eye
Staying on top of sunshine, rain, snow, and other meteorological conditions is easy with The Weather Network's Weather Eye app. After inputing the name of a town or city, you can view a location's high and low temperatures, sunrise and sunset times, forecasts, and more.
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