[danimalchil]

'Fantastic' BlackBerry PlayBook sales reported by major Australian retailer

While HP continues its TouchPad fire sale as it exits the consumer tablet market, major Australian retail chain Harvey Norman has gone on record in reporting �fantastic� sales of RIM�s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Ben McIntosh, head of Harvey Norman�s computer-buying team, told Australian technology news site Current that the retailer�s sales of RIM�s tablet have exceed expectations. �Sales of the PlayBook are very, very good,� McIntosh told the publication. �BlackBerry has probably come from a different direction. The PlayBook was always going to be more of a niche product based on the fact that they�re really targeting the BlackBerry smartphone base that�s in Australia and the world.� RIM revealed in June that first-quarter shipments of the BlackBerry PlayBook totalled 500,000 units, and it appears as though the vendor�s debut tablet is maintaining a solid sell-through rate in Australia. �The sales of the PlayBook have been fantastic, we�ve re-ordered multiple times and it�s exceeded our expectations,� McIntosh added.



I smell a momentum swing!!!

[bounce007]

This encouraging to hear... very encouraging. I hope it will be the same in the months to for us over here in the Americas.

[adrenaline_x]

Well Maybe down under

Its is a great device and once the UPdate with PIM, android player and spell check arrive along with the NDK it could be a bright future.

But this needs to arrive soon so that high end apps start showing up so that the tablet can be added to peoples must have xmas lists

[togardergrosse]

Many analysts count sales toward US based, while sometimes ignore other part of the world.
PB sales is good in BB smartphone base such as Australia, but not quite good in here, since Galaxy Tab already gained big momentum and large market share, even though Indonesia is also BB country. Just the same like Galaxy Tab, which the market share is low in US but great in here.

[sportline]

How is the bundle, is it selling well? Telkomsel or xl?
Never saw anyone with on, lately.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[yzf.shaun]

Really good to read about this. The more I also read about the power of QNX I actually believe that RIM can pull this off and despite the gripes from us early adopters I think this is actually coming along rather nicely.

Especially if you combine the PB with the 9900. Really looking forward to seeing what the QNX phones can bring to the party.

[houshinto#IM]

Good on ya mates'!
Glad to hear the Aussie's giving the Playbook a fair go!

[exzibit3]

I'm in Australia and I think that report needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. By exceeding expectations, I think they mean they've sold a few hundred as opposed to a few dozen. Bear in mind that Australia only has a population of about 21 million as opposed to the US at 300 million. So it really isn't even going to be close to the 500k mark that the US did. Try around 10,000 at most I would estimate.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Tre Lawrence]

I'm in Australia and I think that report needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. By exceeding expectations, I think they mean they've sold a few hundred as opposed to a few dozen. Bear in mind that Australia only has a population of about 21 million as opposed to the US at 300 million. So it really isn't even going to be close to the 500k mark that the US did. Try around 10,000 at most I would estimate.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Shush, and let people be happy...

[lnichols]

Blackberry is the official mobile partner of the Australian Rugby National team, and their are two Playbook Apps to follow and get information about the team and videos.

Official Website of the Qantas Wallabies > Fan Zone > Blackberry

Rugby is big there and I would guess (hope) that they are using this in advertising, especially with Rugby World cup almost here.

[togardergrosse]

How is the bundle, is it selling well? Telkomsel or xl?
Never saw anyone with on, lately.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

In here, people should really buy bundled PB from XL or Telkomsel, otherwise the price is ridiculous! IDR4.999.000 is the same as + US$580 for a 16Gb PlayBook.
And yes, I rarely see one bring PB also, but the thread in KasKus is quite active for now.

[crunch27]

Amazing, that this news came from a chap named McINTOSH (precursor to APPLE). Too funny!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[howarmat]

I'm in Australia and I think that report needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. By exceeding expectations, I think they mean they've sold a few hundred as opposed to a few dozen. Bear in mind that Australia only has a population of about 21 million as opposed to the US at 300 million. So it really isn't even going to be close to the 500k mark that the US did. Try around 10,000 at most I would estimate.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

honestly i think most retailers have very low expectations. Best buy said the same thing basically about PB sales but we all know how that turned out. They need Tablet OS 2.0 sooner than later

[gavinn]

Blackberry is the official mobile partner of the Australian Rugby National team, and their are two Playbook Apps to follow and get information about the team and videos.

Official Website of the Qantas Wallabies > Fan Zone > Blackberry

Rugby is big there and I would guess (hope) that they are using this in advertising, especially with Rugby World cup almost here.

Watch this space, I'm doing something with them.

The Rugby World Cup app comes out tomorrow, available on the Playbook & BB.

[lnichols]

Watch this space, I'm doing something with them.

The Rugby World Cup app comes out tomorrow, available on the Playbook & BB.

Awesome. I'll download it the instant it is available.

[lawguyman]

The PlayBook was always going to be more of a niche product based on the fact that they�re really targeting the BlackBerry smartphone base that�s in Australia and the world.�

What are "fantastic" sales for a "niche" product?

[tofo17]

I'm slightly surprised but glad to hear this.

Harvey Norman has slowly been increasing their marketing of the PB. At launch my local store didn't have them (or even know of them) and now they actually have one out with the other tablets and have some signs around. Having said that, the two times I've been there I couldn't get WiFi access (despite help for the sales rep), the OS was old (1.6 something), the HD demo video wasn't on it and neither was NFS. They also had no official accessories, just a few 3rd party sleaves and screen protectors.

As someone else stated, the two Rugby apps (MyRugby and MyRugby TV) are pretty good and are probably helping. Bledisloe is on currently (I'm going to the Wallabies v All Black this weekend!) and the Rugby Worldcup starts next month.

Hopefully the Optus BB 9800 + PB bundle helps too:
BlackBerry� TorchTM 9800 + Playbook Tablet | Optus Online Shop

[Joeisbitter]

Shush, and let people be happy...

Yeah, don't nobody come on here and shed any perspective on the situation. Up here in North America, we assume all the boxes of Playbooks piled at BestBuy and FutureShop are empty; left behind by satisfied Playbook owners too excited to leave their wonderful tablet encased in a box for one second longer than they had to.

[kevinnugent]

What are "fantastic" sales for a "niche" product?

Yeah. Whilst this is positive news and all, it does need to be taken in context. As one member pointed out, they could have sold 10,000 units and be happy.

The sponsorship of the Wallabies is a good thing, and has gotten some air time. We do love our Rugby here but it's the fourth most followed sport in Australia so take it all with a grain of salt.

[dmcclure2]

An interesting post, and I will not be one to denigrate it.

Note that in Oz the PB is positioned as the tablet for Blackberry owners/users. Which makes sense.

It is not positioned as the greatest tablet of all time, the answer to all of your dreams, or even the "perfect tablet for business users." Absolutely not a replacement for a laptop. That kind of verbiage almost sank the PB in the US market.

Though I am happy, when traveling in the US, to carry it for the kind of business I do.

Also, I recall a recent article to the effect that businesses may in fact embrace the PB, as they are not inclined to give up their investments in the Blackberry Enterprise Server and the smartphones in the field. That would be a welcome development.

It would be nice if PB were positioned as less of a consumer video player, hobbyist's toy, game machine or all-purpose business machine, and more as the companion for your BB phone.

[xsacha]

I live in Australia and I don't own a Blackberry (never have), but I imported a Playbook from the US.

I'm very sure sales in Australia are dismal compared to other Blackberry-centric countries.

1. Australians don't own very many Blackberry's -- predominantly Android, Symbian and iOS users here.
2. The Playbook is exclusive to Harvey Norman which is known as the most overpriced tech store in Australia. It regularly gets exclusivity deals on items, only to price them $100 more than the RRP.
3. Online (overseas) purchasing for tech items is becoming very common in Australia. Anyone who can use the internet and wanted a Playbook would have most likely ordered it from US/Canada before paying Harvey Norman.

Harvey Norman often 'kills' products by being the exclusive provider and pricing it out of the market. So, I'm very sure they are surprised that they sold *any* Playbook's.

[kevinnugent]

I should also point out Harvey Norman are the constant **** of ridicule here in Australia. They are widely known as "Hardly Normal".

[Overquill]

In the "somewhat related" category, I noticed today that on the Vodafone Australia website where they were selling the Playbook with a 9780 in a bundle, it has the tag "Out of Stock".

BlackBerry� PlayBook&#153 16GB Tablet +<br />BlackBerry� Bold&#153 9780 Smartphone Bundle Mobile Phone & Plans - Vodafone Australia

But, I guess that depends on how many Playbooks Vodafone had. Or whether "Out of Stock" refers to the 9780. As someone else outlined, Australia is a small fry in terms of market size.

[kevinnugent]

In the "somewhat related" category, I noticed today that on the Vodafone Australia website where they were selling the Playbook with a 9780 in a bundle, it has the tag "Out of Stock".

BlackBerry� PlayBook� 16GB Tablet +<br />BlackBerry� Bold� 9780 Smartphone Bundle Mobile Phone & Plans - Vodafone Australia

But, I guess that depends on how many Playbooks Vodafone had. Or whether "Out of Stock" refers to the 9780. As someone else outlined, Australia is a small fry in terms of market size.

The "Out of Stock" sticker went up over that about 3 days after it was announced. They ran out of 9780's - which they were running down their stock of anyway. Irony is that you can't buy a PB through them without a 9780 and they don't have them to sell.

[Overquill]

The "Out of Stock" sticker went up over that about 3 days after it was announced. They ran out of 9780's - which they were running down their stock of anyway. Irony is that you can't buy a PB through them without a 9780 and they don't have them to sell.

Cheers. I must have missed that sticker when I checked it a few days later. Where did you hear that they ran out of 9780s? I did figure they were trying to clear out the warehouse, but it seems odd that they haven't followed the offer up with a Torch in its place, like what Optus is doing.