Me and My Orphans

This week, Barnes and Noble announced that they will stop manufacturing color tablets. Then, a few days later, BlackBerry said that BB10 will not be ported to the PlayBook. Both announcements basically making my 2 tablets orphans.

As for the Nook HD +, I expected that Barnes and Noble would exit the tablet business, as the price cut was quite steep. And sales have been disappointing.  I still would recommend the Nook HD + to people who don't need video chat. It is a good tablet for the price and for people who are not sure if a tablet is right for them.

As for the PlayBook, I do feel sorry for people who paid full price for one. I paid $200 for mines. I have never regretted my decision. At the time, November 2011, it was the best tablet for me. Not sure what I would use a tablet for. Turns out, mostly reading news articles, watching videos (not too much streaming videos), paying bills and ordering things online. I do write this blog using my PlayBook. I have played videos onto a LCD HDTV, using the micro HDMI out, but not often.

I do wish the PlayBook had certain apps. The most wanted for me is a text/sms app. But other people want Skype and Netflix. Also nice would be a good VoIP app. When your phone dies, it is helpful to be able to make calls and text. Using a tablet to make a phone call may look stupid, but at least you could do it if needed.

For most people looking for a tablet, I would recommend a iPad, if they can afford it. I find Android has a less apps for tablets iOS. Would not recommend a Nexus 7, as I don't like the screen too much and quality control issues. I would never recommend a Kindle Fire, to locked down to Amazon.

Even though my tablets are orphans, The still have life in them. They might not be the fasted, have all the bells and whistles, but they do what I need and that is all that matters.

Two words of advice. Buy what you need. Buy on what it is and not what will be.

QMplayer for BlackBerry PlayBook

If you go into App World and search for QMplayer, you find a free app. It is free, but it is really a free trial. Which is good, for at least you get to try it. Unlike Remote Media Player or AutoPlay Video, which are more like skins for the native video player, this seems to be a video player itself.

It has some interesting features, like swiping to change volume, fast forward, reverse, video playback speed, or audio playback speed. It plays more types of video, though during my free trail phase, I didn't have a chance to test what files it could play.

Not sure if QMplayer has anything to do with Mplayer. Not even sure what Mplayer is.

But it has a free trial period, I forgot how long. Try it out, see if you like it. If you do, buy it. I didn't,  as I like Remote Media Player better. More choices are better.