Following up on our CTIA 2011 quick looks at the BlackBerry PlayBook's native calculator and weather apps, next we dive into the PlayBook's native clock application. Tapping open the app there's a sense of recognition of the clock app as it is on BlackBerry Smartphones running OS 4.6 or greater (the black background, etc.), but from there you quickly realize this app has been seriously overhauled. Instead of being hidden behind the menu key, the Timer and StopWatch sub-apps are found easily on the main clock screen. And one feature that I REALLY love is the ability to create multiple clocks (different time zones, etc.) and set multiple alarms. Very cool and very handy.
On a side note, one of the things I re-realized today is the importance of the down swipe from the top on the BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry Tablet OS. With the PlayBook not having a menu key as is in place on the traditional BlackBerry Smartphone OS, all of your off-screen/non-displayed options are become visible when you swipe down from the top. This gesture-based way of doing things is really nice as it maximizes screen real estate and keeps apps looking clean, but the trick is you do need to think/remember to do that quick swipe down in apps to see what options are available. If you never swipe down, you could miss a lot!
Be sure to check out the video above for a closer look at the BlackBerry PlayBook's native clock app. Enjoy!
