Sales of the BlackBerry PlayBook continues to fall despite Research in Motion(RIM) selling the PlayBook for about half its original price.
Sales of the PlayBook exceeded 150,000 in the third quarter, down from about 500,000 in the first quarter and 250,000 in the second quarter. RIM claims it has a high level of BlackBerry PlayBook inventory and noted that its promotional pricing has helped sales.
The BlackBerry Playbook went on sale sometime April this year for $499 for the 16GB model. However promotions from various retailers such as in the US and Canada has put the price below $199(RM622). Currently, the 16Gb PlayBook sells for about RM1,133 in Malaysia.
“RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook and believes the tablet market is still in its infancy. Although a number of factors have led to the need for an inventory provision in the third quarter, we believe the PlayBook, which will be further enhanced with the upcoming PlayBook OS 2.0 software, is a compelling tablet for consumers that also offers unique security and manageability features for the enterprise,” said Mike Lazaridis, Co-CEO at Research In Motion.
RIM also said it is taking a $50 million charge for its near worldwide three-day network outage in October and is currently offering customers free apps.
While RIM is still in the process of finalizing its third quarter financial results, the company said it shipped approximately 14.1 million BlackBerry smartphones in the third quarter ended November 26, 2011 which was in line with previous guidance of between 13.5-14.5 million.
[Source]– RIM
