The team at RIM responsible for bringing us the PlayBook tablet has created an exceptional piece of hardware.

They have managed to create a device that, from initial power-on to general usage, doesn’t feel at all like an iPad clone. The packaging is sleek, black and simple, and the device is small enough to fit in one hand, yet large enough for a comfortable user experience.

The first thing that struck my about the PlayBook was the slightly unusual, almost rubbery back cover. After seeing the pristine white back cover of a friend’s iPad quickly gather scratches with the smart covers only protecting the front, I think this is a great design decision by RIM, as the durable rubber back means you can sit it on any surface without fear of damaging it.

Overall, a fantastic user interface and gesture based navigation; very intuitive and great for IT admins.  Also, a very responsive Flash enabled browser for the full web experience.  The only downside is the limited number of apps available at launch, but I'm hoping this will change quickly.