People love to dramatize doom and gloom, but a closer look highlights major praise for the PlayBook

Everyone hates Research in Motion. I get it.

The Waterloo-based tech titan has an incredible history (read BlackBerry: The Inside Story by Rod McQueen) and its line of BlackBerry smartphones is one of the most famous mobile devices ever created. In recent years, it's been overshadowed by "apptastic" gadgets like the iPhone and Android devices, and more recently, RIM has become an industry punching bag. Even though the company has amazingly strong numbers in terms of subscriptions, revenue, and profits, its stock sits at an immensely undervalued price to earnings ratio of just above nine.

It's hardly a surprise that early reviews of RIM's first tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, have battered the company and the device, sending RIM's stock down and eroding public sentiment further. Just as Steve Jobs can do no wrong, it seems Mike Laziridis and Jim Balsillie can do no right. But if you look closely, as many good things are being said about the PlayBook as bad things—but doom and gloom news always makes headlines ahead of the sunshine because it sells better.

Here are just some positive points about RIM and its BlackBerry PlayBook, observed by qualified experts:

Jonathan Geller, BGR says, "The company is entering a brand new space, and I can’t wait to see future versions of the PlayBook and even smartphones that will eventually (in 2012) use the new OS as opposed to the traditional BlackBerry OS. RIM has really made big advancements by acquiring powerhouses like QNX and TAT, but there’s only so much you can do with a limited time frame."

Walt Mossberg says, "I really liked the user interface of the new operating system, which is based on software RIM bought called QNX. It’s smooth and fast, and makes excellent use of multitouch gestures. An area at the bottom of the screen holds the icons, which are divided into sections like “All,” “Media,” “Games” and “Favorites.” When you have multiple apps open, large images of them appear at the top of the screen, and you can scroll though them. It’s a very clean, attractive approach."

Matt Buchanan says, "The PlayBook is the most thoughtful product that RIM's put out in a long time. A BlackBerry has never been this smooth or fluid. It has the best multitasking of any tablet out so far, both in terms of straight-up ballsiness (you can pump 1080p video out to an HDTV via HDMI while dicking around in another app or two back on the tablet and everything runs neatly) and the UI, which it borrows liberally from Palm's webOS."

Joshua Topolsky says, "Let me say first and foremost that the PlayBook is a really solid device with a handsome and clean industrial design, a hefty set of specs, and a new operating system that shows tons of promise. RIM has absolutely delivered in many areas here, proving that as a company it can do a lot more than just utilitarian smartphones. The value of the acquisitions of both QNX and TAT are clearly represented in this product, and it’s clear that this is just the beginning of long relationships between these companies. Relationships that can obviously yield great results."

The BlackBerry PlayBook is due to go on sale at several major retailers and wireless carriers across North America on April 19. It will cost $500, $600, and $700 for 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB Wi-Fi models (identical to iPad 2 pricing).