Below, a few reviews of the BlackBerry PlayBook ... though I think in fairness they should be thought of as "early impressions" since it seems much of the functionality will be revealed once more pieces fall into place. In his review, David Pogue of the NY Times (available from the Globe and Mail, which doesn't have a paywall) addresses this when he writes:

But – are you sitting down? – at the moment, BlackBerry Bridge is the only way to do e-mail, calendar, address book and BlackBerry Messenger on the PlayBook. The PlayBook does not have e-mail, calendar or address book apps of its own. You read that right. RIM has just shipped a BlackBerry product that cannot do e-mail. It must be skating season in hell. (RIM says that those missing apps will come this summer.) What you do get are built-in versions of Documents to Go, for creating and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. And you get a nice Web browser that plays Flash videos online, which the iPad still can’t do. The PlayBook’s front and back cameras (3 and 5 megapixels) can record stabilized stills and high-definition video... For now, the PlayBook’s motto might be, “There’s no app for that.”

No existing apps run on this all-new operating system, not even BlackBerry phone apps. (RIM says an emulator that will run BlackBerry apps will come later this year.) So the company has decided to start from scratch with an all-new app store for the PlayBook. The company says that it has 3,000 submissions already, in part because it offered a free PlayBook to anyone who’d write an app. But they won’t be revealed until next week. (Reviewers were shown only a skeletal store with a few dozen lame apps in it.) You should also be aware that this PlayBook is Wi-Fi only. You don’t have the option to get online via a cellular network, as you can with the rivals from Apple, Motorola and Samsung. (RIM says that 4G versions of the PlayBook will arrive by the end of 2011.) The PlayBook, then, is convenient, fast and coherently designed. But in its current half-baked form, it seems almost silly to try to assess it, let alone buy it. Most reviewers, however, seem willing to take the fact that there is 'more to come' in stride.

There's a lot of info in these reviews. What might be of interest to those wed to their BlackBerrys is pointed out by the folks at Engadget:BlackBerry Bridge
Bridge was one of the last pieces of the puzzle to come together in the PlayBook, added mere hours ago, and it's one of the strongest yet weakest aspects of the device. Here you pair your PlayBook up with a phone running BlackBerry OS 5 or 6, which must itself be running the Bridge app. The two talk sweet nothings over Bluetooth and, once connected, a new suite of applications is enabled on the tablet.

In this way you get your standard productivity stuff: e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and memos. There's also an option to run the Bridge Browser, viewing the web through the phone interface, but as of this moment that feature is simply busted -- the app crashed every time we tried it. The other apps, though, are good. Simple. They're exactly what BlackBerry smartphone users are going to want, but they're also exactly what non-BlackBerry smartphone users will want and, if you don't have a phone to pair, they disappear.

The most in depth review I've came across is from the folks at Crackberry.com who conclude:"So did the BlackBerry PlayBook hit the ball straight out of the park? Not quite. To me it's looking more like a line drive and an easy run in to second base. But you never know. With some hustle in the form of software updates adding more features like native email, PIM and Video Chat, it might be able to round third. And if RIM can get some more momentum going for the PlayBook on the app front, be it from native BlackBerry app developers or its support for Android apps, it might even have a shot at sliding into home plate."

and from Om Malik:"My Overall Impressions: PlayBook is perhaps one of the best tablets I have used, but it has some glaring shortcomings. What works for PlayBook is what works for iPad –- the chip, the hardware and the operating system are very tightly coupled. You can feel the cohesion, which in turn adds up to a fluid and satisfactory feeling.

Android tablets have a worthy rival in the PlayBook. It lacks the overall polish of the iPad 2, but give it a little time and RIM could get the hardware and experience right. Even with this first release, it is among my top three tablets picks. I am glad they are in the market and will prove to be a worthy competitor." A big day for RIM ... just don't ask 'em any "questions about BlackBerrys in India and the Middle East".

A BlackBerry tablet, but where are the apps?
David Pogue | 14 Aprile 2011
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/...apps/article1985169/

BlackBerry PlayBook review
Tim Stevens | Apr 13th 2011
www.engadget.com/2011/04/13/blackberry-playbook-review/

BlackBerry Tablet, PlayBook, a Notable Debut
Om Malik } Apr. 13, 2011
gigaom.com/mobile/playbook/

BlackBerry PlayBook Review
uk.gizmodo.com/5791814/blackberry-playbook-review-surprise

BlackBerry PlayBook Review
Kevin Michaluk | 13 Apr 2011
crackberry.com/blackberry-playbook-review-official

There is also a lengthy feature in today's Globe and Mail that is worth reading on the topic: RIM makes a play for its future

Instapaper it if necessary!

Also, my own impressions based on the dozen reviews I've read:

Personally, I think the lack of native e-mail is being overstated. I have been asking around and can't seem to find anyone who actually uses Apple's Mail.app on the iPad.

That said, it definitely sounds like there are some issues.

I think it really comes down to what someone wants a tablet for.

Accessing e-mail and PIM functions from the Blackberry itself definitely makes sense from an enterprise IT point of view. There's not much need to worry about security breaches if no confidential data is being stored on the tablet. Plus, it saves the IT department from adding more devices to the BES server, well, until that feature gets enabled anyway.

However, as a freelance writer who doesn't personally deal with corporate IT, my main interest in tablet computers is as a means of eliminate more paper from my life - be they notes, newspapers or magazines. Between the seven-inch screen and the aspect ration, it's not looking like the PlayBook is going to meet those needs compared to the iPad at the same price.

That said, I noticed two of the companies listed as having apps at launch are the Globe and Mail and Post Media, which means most major Canadian newspapers will have apps. At least, I hope they're full applications and not just glorified bookmarks.

That said, I'll reserve my final judgement until I've actually held one in my hand and played with it. Hopefully the store models will allow me to try the Blackberry Bridge feature with my Torch.

I'm with you - I reserve judgment til I've actually tried one out. I strongly suspect many of the reviewers have never worked in corporate IT (I do), and don't understand or appreciate the issues. And what they want is yet another iPad. Amazing how the industry fixates on one technology and decides that anything different is somehow wrong. Until it's not.

Well, I had the chance to toy with a PlayBook briefly.

First off, the screen looks great. The seven-inch size was not as bad as I expected and the browser is fantastic. And yes, Flash really works, including all the animated ads on news sites, for better or for worse.

That said, I have to agree with most of the reviews that it's not the most intuitive device to use. I figured out how to change applications entirely by accident. I never did figure out how to close an app outright, an easy task on my Torch.

Criticisms aside, I do really like the rubber back. It feels pretty sturdy, though I'll leave making a stress-test video of it being dropped to someone else.

My 2 cents worth - I agree that we realy need to get back to the basics - what will this device be used for. I see an excellent application in eHealth, where its security will be both appreciated and crucial. An iPad is so hackable it is a joke. Having secure encryption, a size and screen that work for collaboration will make the PlayBook ideal.

This also applies to corporate applications.

And since the Blackberry is the corporate smartphone of choice, many who would find it useful (traveling executives, sales people) will already have blackberries on their belts, so bridging to a PlayBook will be easy. IT departments and the leadership team will like the security, and won't be fussed that kids can't play games on it easily.

I can see early adopter business leaders and sales people buying this, corporations enabling applications for their employees. With parents and kids, the kids can play games as long as they are near the parent with the blackberry, and that will work just fine for 90% of the time with young kids.

I love that I won't have to buy a separate data plan for it.

Cheryl