RIM’s ‘iPad-Killing’ PlayBook Suffers Fresh Slate of Battery Woes

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playbook-battery-life

Oh, Research In Motion! Can you for one moment stop making your would-be iPad killer suck even harder than it already does?

Panned critically at debut, RIM recently had to recall over a thousand half-baked units. Now reports indicate that a recent patch has made PlayBook performance even worse than it was before.

According to many PlayBook users, a patch released earlier this month for RIM’s tablet enabled new video chat functionality, as well as BlackBerry Messaging via RIM’s Blackberry Bridge application.

But guess what? That update was as half-baked as anything else RIM’s done with the PlayBook. RIM now admits that after upgrading the software, it is common for the battery to drain faster than normal or for the battery level to fluctuate irregularly.

Of course, battery problems are par for the course for the PlayBook, which have been plagued with issues in adapting their QNX touch-based OS (which was originally meant for in-car dashes) to a mobile, battery-powered device.

Even so, this has just become embarassing. You know, RIM… you can let go of the controls once you’ve smashed the jet into the ground, the wheels have popped up and the engine’s exploded.

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