RIM confirms BlackBerry PlayBook $199 fire sale for US too
updated 01:35 pm EST, Mon November 21, 2011
BlackBerry PlayBook hits 199 for limited time
RIM on Monday confirmed that its $199 BlackBerry PlayBook sale was available in the US. Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max, Radio Shack, Staples, and Walmart stores, as well as carriers Cincinnati Bell and Sprint, are dropping prices by $300 across the board, starting at $199. The promo lasts for a "limited time" that isn't specified, but might run until the same December 1 as in Canada.
Not all of the stores are currently reflecting the new price online.
The discount comes just weeks after a drop to $300 and supports beliefs that the PlayBook may still have problems selling even at lower prices. Among its newer problems is the arrival of the Amazon Kindle Fire, which normally costs $199 and is based on the PlayBook's own hardware, differing just in build quality and a lower 8GB of storage.
Most of RIM's long-term problems have been attributed to its decision to rush the PlayBook to stores for the sake of having an iPad competitor, but without basics such as native e-mail and calendars. It has delayed the needed update three times, moving it from late spring to summer, to fall, and now to February.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2005
Can't Wait...
To put this on my shelf of failed computers, gadgets and companies. Maybe this will sit next to my Newton, Palm and iPaq handhelds.