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63 Comments

BlackBerry PlayBook 4G found on eBay!?

By Bla1ze on 2 Mar 2012 08:58 pm
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It's not exactly a secret that RIM has a BlackBerry PlayBook 4G the works, they were announced when the original PlayBook got announced but this, this is a weird situation that doesn't really turn out the best thus far. CrackBerry forums member thetaro describes the tale of purchasing his wife a PlayBook off eBay:

Long story short, my wife likes my Playbook 2.0 and I saw that someone was selling one that doesn't boot up on ebay, so I bought it. I was thinking I can easily restore the OS.

So I received it today, and it is the Playbook 4G Evaluation Unit. I believe the seller upgraded it to 2.0 and it bricked the playbook. The seller didn't mention about it being an evaluation unit and he sold it as is. So I don't think I can get my money back.

So now I got a playbook 4G that doesn't boot pass Blackberry screen. The desktop software won't connect to it neither. It won't connect to the boot rom, but the software can see the PIN. Am I SOL?

My major concern is that the unit could be a stolen unit and I may get into trouble. The playbook clearly says "Property of Research in Motion Limited" Evaluation Unit. Not for sale or lease."

Do you guys think I should contact RIM to see if they want it back? 

We're sure RIM will eventually reach out to thetaro to get the unit back assuming it's a legit 4G unit but what a way to get the first glimpse of a 4G PlayBook. Hopefully RIM will hook thetaro up with some sort of PlayBook package to make up the difference. Legit or fake? Sound off in the comments.

Discuss in the CrackBerry Forums

Topics: BlackBerry Playbook News & Rumors

BlackBerry PlayBook takes the #1 selling tablet slot at Future Shop and Best Buy Previous
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Bla1ze Bla1ze 2968 (articles) 6544 (forum posts)
63 comments

SFWriter

Wow indeed... Congrats on the find and good luck... I hope RIM will be able to do something for you.

axllebeer

That's a pretty awesome story. That should take care of anyone having any doubts about the next gen Playbook. :)
Boldly sent from my 9930

Abrante

Good stuff! sucks that it doesn't work though.

AshDizzle

Try to load 1.8 on there? Please?

illini2097

That is sick, can't wait for it to officially be released!
I hope RIM takes good care of this guy and hook him up with an awesome compensation package.

I kinda wish it was me who found this!

BlogBerry.hk

Most likely it's a stolen unit, I mean....the people RIM pick for evaluation won't be that desperate to make money from selling it!?
You should contact RIM, I believe they would do something for you.

Strider2112

The symptom you describe happened to my friend when he first updated to 2.0, he owns a regular PlayBook. Bought it first weekend.

spencerdl

WOW, send it to me I will get it up and running and ship it back to you.........in about two years :). Only kidding.....I hope RIM compensates you

MoolahMitch

I would try to use Dingleberry to flash it to test it out as well as contacting RIM

MidnightSociety

If you want it to boot pass the BlackBerry screen, ensure you have the lastest desktop manager. Turn the playbook off. Connect it to desktop manager. Then click update. Then it will reload 1.0 or possibly 2.0 back on the unit.

I used this method when I had the 2.0 Beta and it bricked. This was how I loaded 1.0 back on to get the OTA 2.0 Gold.

martinjdub

I gotta hang on ebay more often!

ezrunner

Semper Fi
If RIM is willing take care of you see if you can be one of the first to get a BB 10 devices when released. Just saying can't hurt to try right

Jon Seals

Uhh... What?

Awesome find :P

MBA_STOCKDOGS

More than likely it was password protected & everything has been remotely wiped. It is now a paper weight.

ayekon

I'd bet Dingle would fix that...

hopeforfx

Any more details? SD card slot?

Joe257

I'm speculating, but I think RIM has ditched the Apple model and gone with an SD card! It was foolish to follow Apple down that path. The 4G PlayBook will likely come with 16 GB and you can add a 64 GB SD-XC card to it :) This will allow RIM to have a price much cheaper than Apple and not have to worry about some models outselling others. Rubbish concept!

Hope I'm not just speculating!

BB_Bmore

Yes what's up why no picture of were the sim card goes? Post it please, RIM is gonna hook you up big time bro.

Kat0908

Its most likely a sample 4G sprint playbook that was mentioned a long time ago, therefore there will not be a sim card slot.

BB_Bmore

Yes what's up why no picture of were the sim card goes? Post it please, RIM is gonna hook you up big time bro.

DocDRM

Too COOL!!!

Good luck.

jafobabe

Saunders would like to see this one! Tweet him... and let him see more pics. I'm sure RIM will take good care of you if they want it back.

daves_25

I bet RIM would like to know who the seller was, I'm sure somebody just broke a contractual obligation. Sucks that you bot a bum device though.

maddie1128

It's BGR's "reliable inside source". lol And boy is he gonna get canned now!

moyjoy

can't wait to see how this turns out.

Great PR Opp for RIM and a fun story for you! :)

(and hopefully a new Playbook for the wife!)

Rootbrian

Hope you get something in return for calling RIM and giving it back.

rexrim

Looks like playbook 4G will land to earth so soon! :-p

TeaBoy

The seller is in bigger trouble =)

berrybait

You can tell for sure it's a functional 4G model since it would have the SIM card slot right by the bank of external ports (USB, HDMI and mag charge)

q649

OR, it could be internal.

berrybait

Internal 4G units are like this as well.

JC1968

What!! That's going to be awesome!!!

q649

What processor does it use??

BBZ10FAN

This is where "honesty is the best policy" is most appropriate. I'd give RIM a call and possibly see if you can get routed to Corporate Security. Give them every piece of detail that they need and find out where to send it. If you bought it on ebay, i'd use their "buyer protect" feature qnd get that sale voided out. I'm sure that this unit is very valuable to RIM and they're probably tracking it already. I would think that they can do something for you.

meyerink

You need to sent it to Kevin and team so they can play with it and show us everything. Then send it to rim.

Darrweng

Awesome find dude!
Contact BGR, slap it right smack in the middle of Jonathan Gay-ller's face. tell him your name is Mr Trusted Source, and your company will be releasing it in August in time for Sept back to school sales. I wonder how Gay-ller will make it work against RIM.

birdman_36

If it was Apple they'd send someone to your house.

Chopper110

With a shotgun to get it back.

Don't like Apple, far tooooo arrogant for their own good!

koool1

If they can get BBM on Playbook, I might trade in my Blackberry for a Playbook 4G. I rarely use my phone function anyway!

si001

If it was Apple they'd put you in jail

Abrante

If it were Apple, all of us that even commented would be in jail. lol

UnknownError507

If it was Apple they'd sued us all for disclose of propriety, and we will go to jail. :(

Thanks god im a BB cracked.
--
@UnknownError507

Harley Kid

Wait, I thought that Apple's standard protocol was to sue for everything. THEN throw ya in jail. Bet Apple is scheming on how to sue for pirating technology because they didn't beat RIM to it first!

RevyRah

Contact RIM and give the seller's info.

derrickps3

Tell them someone sold you it on ebay....they'll probably have you send it in to them and give you your money back. Or they might give you a free playbook lol

UnknownError507

Good fin my friend :) hop RIM will give you and awesome treat for that Playbook
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post it from my Awesome Torch 9810 Bridged to PlayBook 64Gb
@UnknownError507
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markproper

It's obviously a faked image.... All you have to do is enlarge the image and you can see the pixels around where someone added the "BlackBerry Playbook 4G". This type of image is so easy to doctor I'm surprised anyone is actually serious about this.

q649

Yeah, we've obviously all swallowed the pill markproper... You're so smart!

You might want to see your doctor, your neck must hurt from sticking your nose so far up in the air.

Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes

I didn't notice this until you said it but I think you are right. Appears to be a photoshop.

blackcaneaddict

Cool find bro!
Haha, guess I'm a total noob as I had to look on my PB (that I've had since launch) to find out what that gray mark was on the left side of the mirco HDMI port in that picture was.

dagerlach

My Playbook has been 4G ever since I got my Bold 9900. :)

guerllamo7

I think a 4G Playbook would benefit non-BlackBerry users. However, on the go I just use my BlackBerry Bridge.

Honestly, this is such an under rated feature. I can share the Playbook with anyone that has a BB and they can set-up their bridge on it. Each user can use e-mail, calendar, etc. and be 100% confident that others won't get their information. That rocks!

Even if I was using the e-mail on the PB and not the BB I can save the $50.00 bucks a month it costs to use a realistic data 3G for web surfing, facebook, e-mail, etc.

I purchased my PB on day one. If you look at it that way, I've already paid for it from the savings of getting a 3G / 4G model.

For BlackBerry users, with the Bridge advantage, the 4G is only an expense we don't need.

If we pile on RIM when they get things wrong, we should also give them credit when they get things right and Bridge was an awesome concept that took advantage of BB Servers to the benefit and savings of Playbook users. The carriers don't like it because they can't monetize it. F them.
Go RIM!

moneyhunster

Well said mate, I love bridge, awesome bit of tech, bought mine from the USA on day one, havent put it down since, loving OS2 too.

dagerlach

You are absolutely right. The carriers hate the Playbook. They don't get to continually bleed you every month. This was the biggest selling point for the Playbook. You could see all the carriers trying to figure out how to prevent the bridge. Thank goodness my carrier Tmobile didn't follow the trend.

maddie1128

I was late to the game in getting my Playbook but I do agree that the bridge was a brilliant idea. Way to go RM!

EchuOkan1

... But I would contact RIM and see if I can get comped.

YourMobileGuru

His device has no SD card slot and no SIM card slot. It also looks almost exactly like the original model. Clearly this is the Wimax model thatwas scrapped last hear. Contact RIM they will likely still want it back. Someone's about to get fired

Android Market for QNX

Are you aware that a truck load of PlayBooks were stolen awhile back? Either way, native BBM on PlayBook would be soooooo sweet.