RIM greenlights second wave of BlackBerry PlayBook price cuts

Shawn Knight

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Research in Motion has given retail partners the green light to slash BlackBerry PlayBook prices yet again. Staples and Office Depot have already jumped at the opportunity with others likely to follow soon, as first reported by BGR.

RIM indicated during a recent earnings call that they would begin price promotions over the second half to get devices in customer’s hands and it appears those plans are well under way.

As of writing, Staples and Office Depot are offering a $100 instant rebate on all three PlayBook models as well as a $100 mail-in rebate. The after rebate price for each model is as follows: 16GB for $299, 32GB for $399 and 64GB for $499.

BGR was also told that Walmart is offering an unadvertised $250 sale on the 16GB PlayBook, although officials at Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.

RIM had high hopes for the PlayBook with estimates to ship 1 million units back in January. During a conference call earlier this month, RIM announced that the company had shipped only 200,000 PlayBooks during the past quarter, a drop from 500,000 tablets that were moved in the first quarter. Based on reports from the Guardian, it is believed that RIM has nearly 800,000 excess PlayBooks still in inventory.

It's still too early to tell if this is the best buy-in point for the PlayBook or if potential suitors should wait it out. Rodgers company employees are now able to purchase the tab at up to 50 percent off, with the 16GB model availabe for only $249.

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If RIM really are calling in quits in the tablet market, they should drop the prices even more. I don't think this second price drop is going to sell many more units then its selling now, but that's just my opinion
 
Sorry RIM, even if you were selling them for 50p, I will not touch one. They are rubbish because your software is rubbish. Or at least, if your Blackberry software is anything to go by, I will need to pull the battery out of this every day, it'll take 10 minutes to boot properly and your battery life will be average. No No, I'm not making the mistake of handing over my money to you ever again...
 
Are they still doing that HP thing where they say: "In coming months we will introduce/support . . ." Then they shitcan the whole thing?
 
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