Apps That I Want to See on the PlayBook

With the PlayBook release only hours away, I thought now would be a good time to list the apps that I really want to come out for it.  Since most of these are from bigger companies, I would not be surprised to see them all wait until the native SDK is out.  It’s worth noting that all of these apps are currently on the iPad, and many of them are on Android as well.

Angry Birds

What app list like this would be complete without Angry Birds?  Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Rovio’s Angry Birds has become wildly popular and I assume that a large portion of App World searches in the first few days will be for Angry Birds.  Rovio has stated that they have no intention to write for the current BBOS, but they have an interest in the PlayBook and the QNX OS.  Hopefully they have early access to the native SDK and can get that out sooner rather than later.

Google Maps

The PlayBook ships with Bing Maps, but it’s just not the same.  I prefer she color scheme of Google Maps, not to mention the Street View.  Also nice to see would be some sort of Google Docs app.  I imagine that the answer to a lot of this will be to use the browser, but I still prefer the app experience.

TweetDeck

This should be an easy one.  If you go back to the original PlayBook announcement video, you’ll see TweetDeck near the end in the open applications (except it’s called “Tweet Deck”).  TweetDeck is written in Adobe AIR so it should be just a matter of slight tweaking to get this to work on the PlayBook.  Also, TweetDeck was recently acquired by UberMedia (Note: I can’t find any evidence of this on either of their sites).  UberSocial has been committed to BlackBerry for awhile with UberTwitter, so I imagine we’ll see this eventually.  In the meantime, they have a beta of their web app which you can sign up for here.

Netflix

This is another app that the iPad has that I’m jealous of.  The Netflix app for iOS (and Android?) allows you to browse and watch videos from Netflix’s streaming library for anybody with an account.  I’m not sure if the app lets you also cache videos for offline viewing on your device, but I’d love that feature.  I’d like to think that Netflix will make this a priority because they want to move to streaming over mailing discs, but I remember reading that their tablet apps count for a very small amount of the overall Netflix streaming, so who knows?

Hulu

Hulu currently runs in the browser, but it’s probably only a matter of time before they kill that off to get people onto Hulu Plus.  I’d love to see Hulu Plus app that has an interface optimized for the 7″ touch screen and allows for HD streaming.  If Hulu were feeling very generous, maybe it’d even allow for local caching of videos so they can be viewed later.  I’m not above taking this with me to the gym and setting it on the treadmill, and catching up on TV while I exercise.  I might even pay the $8/month for Hulu Plus to be able to do it.

Citrix/GoToMeeting

In business over the past few years, Citrix has become synonymous with remote access with their enterprise applications and their various “GoTo” products like GoToMeeting.  Citrix has already made an app for BlackBerry handhelds that allows enterprise to run their hosted Citrix apps, so I’m hoping that those come to the PlayBook.  GoToMeeting is also rapidly becoming the standard in online meetings, and their iPad app allows people to join online meetings from anywhere.  As a business professional in my day job, I’d love to see both of these apps show up on my PlayBook.  For the hat trick, I would love it if they made a GoToAssist PlayBook app so when my mom calls me randomly with computer problems, I could assist her when my laptop isn’t nearby.

UPDATE (4/19/2011 12:38AM): Found this article from Citrix talking about their plans to develop Citrix Receiver for their enterprise-hosted apps for the PlayBook.  No word on GoToMeeting.

Skype

Obviously, the front-facing camera on the PlayBook is intended for video conferencing.  RIM has mentioned that they’re going to make their own videoconferencing app.  I asked a RIM product manager if their implementation of videoconferencing will be a closed system like Facetime or if they’d use current popular protocols like Skype.  The manager told me that he wasn’t sure, but RIM has a history of being open with apps that they allow into the App World.  Basically, whatever the protocol is that RIM uses, the door will still be open to a Skype or a Facetime app for the PlayBook.  The question is will Skype build one?  Qik, who was bought by Skype last year, made videoconferencing for Android phones, so hopefully we’ll see something from them.

UPDATE (4/19/2011 12:38AM): I did some Googling and now remember that pic of the App World running on the PlayBook back at CES that showed Skype.  It’s possible that they just put the image in there to fill space, but I doubt it.

Nook

The PlayBook ships with Kobo books, and Amazon announced that they’d support the PlayBook back when it was announced (we haven’t heard anything since), but neither of those help me when my e-reader of choice is my Barnes and Noble Nook.  B&N made a reader app for the BlackBerry years ago, but they never updated it when the Nook platform came out, so it won’t remember my last read page like the Android/iOS/Mac/PC apps will.  Since the Nook handhelds are all Android-based, I’d more likely expect B&N to wait until the PlayBook runs Android apps and port it over, but I want it now!

As of this writing, none of these apps can be found in the App Worldon the PlayBook, but neither are some of the apps that we know are coming, like Poynt, so it’s safe to assume that there are a lot of apps still waiting in the wings.  I sent an email to RIM asking them if any of these companies are working on PlayBook apps and I’ll update this post if they respond.

What apps do you want on your PlayBook tomorrow?

Related posts:

1. RIM Announces PlayBook Support for Android Apps
2. RIM Launches New Ads Focusing on Super Apps
3. Time to Start Advertising the PlayBook