[RubberChicken76]

RIM's PlayBook surprises in sales and customer satisfaction | The New Age Online

The company's latest figures show that the much criticized tablet is not only selling well but that most owners are more than satisfied with its performance.

When RIM published its quarterly earnings report this week, there was one surprising number: 255,000, the total of PlayBook tablets it had shipped over the past three months. While not on par with Google, whose Nexus 7 is rumored to be selling 1 million a month, or Apple which is expected to sell 12 million iPads between November and the end of 2012, the total is still very impressive, especially when one factors in the negative reviews the tablet received when launched a year ago and the criticism it still continues to attract from those in the tech community.

When asked about the numbers in the investors' conference call on Thursday evening, RIM's CFO, Brian Bidulka, claimed that some of the tablet's performance had been due to strong promotional activity, such as large discounts and special offers, but it is also because RIM has carried on improving the device since its initial launch in April 2011 and as such is one of the few tablets currently available that supports 4G mobile internet connectivity.

Added to that is the fact that it is a seven-inch tablet, a form which thanks to Google, Amazon and, more recently Apple is now among the most popular with potential tablet buyers. And of course, unlike anything on the market that runs Android or iOS, the PlayBook can read and edit Microsoft Office documents a feature that won't be coming to the iPad until 2013 -- and it can run apps simultaneously for ‘real' multitasking.

Meanwhile, in PC World's annual reader satisfaction survey, also published this week, which polled 45,000 site users about the reliability and performance of their desktop PC, laptops, smartphones, tablets and peripherals, the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook came fourth, just one place behind Apple in third.

Overall, owners were very happy with the product and in category-specific tables it actually came top for the quality of its display, beating not only Apple, but Samsung and Asus (maker of the Nexus 7) too while it was ranked fourth for speed and design and joint second for battery life.

[ibpluto]

best kept secret IMO ......

[njblackberry]

18 month old hardware. 250,000 shipped? How many sold? They stopped making these months ago and have written off the hardware.
Worst mistake RIM ever made. Distracted them and cost them time and money.

[Superfly_FR]

Just imagine it wit BB10 inside .... May be one of 2013 calendar Q1 BIG surprise (I believe,mostly for BB6-7 phones holder waiting for contract renew period that want to embrace BB10 ASAP ...).
P.S : no one ever bet on this, each time I get a "dont even think about it". I do think about it, there's my white stone. I'm ready to ear it again, but won't argue much ;

[lc474]

I always wonder what this tablet could have really been had it been released complete and at a better price point... Hindsight is 20/20 i guess...

[Puz_zled]

As in the phones numbers (8.4 million sold while only 6.9 million shipped), very likely there were more Playbooks sold through than shipped as well as retailers were also running down inventories on these over the last couple of quarters.

[Bobert_123]

18 month old hardware. 250,000 shipped? How many sold? They stopped making these months ago and have written off the hardware.
Worst mistake RIM ever made. Distracted them and cost them time and money.

The PB was the BEST thing rim did since purchasing QNX, how many apps do you think BB10 would have at launch without it?

[YorkieRay]

I was reading this report earlier today.

Is the BlackBerry PlayBook making a comeback? | Mobile - CNET News

[Lehomer]

Of course customers are satisfied. The playbook is great and will only be getting better !

[ghfred]

Don't care what any one says love mine its with me 24 / 7!

[DataWrangler]

LOL at the CNET review. Guess who drank the Kool-Aid!!

"The bottom line: The BlackBerry PlayBook ably showcases RIM's powerful new mobile operating system, but its middling size diminishes many of its best features."

A year in and I still love my PlayBook. My wife loves it when a website won't work on her iPad.

[SparkyBC]

18 month old hardware. 250,000 shipped? How many sold? They stopped making these months ago and have written off the hardware.
Worst mistake RIM ever made. Distracted them and cost them time and money.

Stopped making them months ago? I purchased another one a few weeks ago it was manufactured Nov 2012. So learn the facts before posting the usual BS you have no idea what you're talking about.

[CairnsRock]

Just imagine it wit BB10 inside .... May be one of 2013 calendar Q1 BIG surprise (I believe,mostly for BB6-7 phones holder waiting for contract renew period that want to embrace BB10 ASAP ...).
P.S : no one ever bet on this, each time I get a "dont even think about it". I do think about it, there's my white stone. I'm ready to ear it again, but won't argue much ;

Agreed. I cant believe that more BB6-7 owners are not picking these up at around $120 before they disappear completely. Free BB10!

[Banco]

Agreed. I cant believe that more BB6-7 owners are not picking these up at around $120 before they disappear completely. Free BB10!

Precisely what I did. And for RIM, the PlayBook does have value if it gets savvy potential BB10 customers into the product line. It's now a loss leader for future benefit.

[DuexNoir]

RIM's PlayBook surprises in sales and customer satisfaction | The New Age Online

When RIM published its quarterly earnings report this week, there was one surprising number: 255,000, the total of PlayBook tablets it had shipped over the past three months. While not on par with Google, whose Nexus 7 is rumored to be selling 1 million a month, or Apple which is expected to sell 12 million iPads between November and the end of 2012, the total is still very impressive, especially when one factors in the negative reviews the tablet received when launched a year ago and the criticism it still continues to attract from those in the tech community.

So after the "rumored" and "expected" numbers are dispelled, I wonder what the real numbers are. I'm sure they are well beyond that of the PB but how much are they really selling?

I personally don't buy anything from Asus (maker of Nexus 7); I find their products to be low in quality and not that cheap in price compared to others. But that, of course, is my opinion and personal preference.

[dphjeff]

Amizon has the playbooks for under $225.00. I have talked six people into buying the playbook. It didn't take much talking after I showed them my playbook.

[RubberChicken76]

18 month old hardware. 250,000 shipped? How many sold?

1) The PlayBook hardware has been updated since April 2011. See the August 2012 PlayBook LTE with 1.5 GHZ dualcore processors

2) While it's fun to imply that RIM keeps piling unwanted inventory into the channel where it will sit unsold and gather dust, anyone who has ever done any work with retail products knows this doesn't last long. The retailers demand a) discounts; b) retail advertising (often in support of discount pricing) or c) the products to be returned to the manufacturer

At the end of Q1, RIM announced PlayBook users (not shipments) had topped 1 million. In subsequent quarters, they announced shipments and noted that sellthrough was 'higher than that". In the most recent quarter, they announced that the PlayBook inventory is improved substantially. As of the end of their Q3, they've shipped about 2 million in total and the sellthrough is likely fairly close to that at this point.

The number of PlayBook promo sales, sellouts and re-orders ('getting more in') being reported in these forums suggests that the product moves well enough at a lower price point to keep it as a SKU in stock for many retailers. Otherwise, they would have done one big sale, sold what they could, sent the rest back and dropped the sku entirely.

They stopped making these months ago and have written off the hardware.

They wrote down the hardware, not 'wrote off'. Which basically meant they accounted for the price reduction. As for the "they stopped making them months ago", where is your evidence of this? Note: I don't consider an analyst or journalist's speculation "evidence".

[GTiLeo]

Stopped making them months ago? I purchased another one a few weeks ago it was manufactured Nov 2012. So learn the facts before posting the usual BS you have no idea what you're talking about.

RIM bought the parts for them and has them stored they are assembling them but i doubt they will be building any more after these parts are done with, why do you think they are sold out everywhere, and the rumor is there will be a new one next year perhaps the LTE will be the new one as well as a 10" playbook.

I've purchased three of them, one for my mom, one for myself and one for my girlfriend, once BB10 comes for it it'll probably end up being one of the best tablet on the market and at the price most of us got it for the best value also

[alan510]

18 month old hardware. 250,000 shipped? How many sold? They stopped making these months ago and have written off the hardware.
Worst mistake RIM ever made. Distracted them and cost them time and money.

[kill_9]

I always wonder what this tablet could have really been had it been released complete and at a better price point... Hindsight is 20/20 i guess...

The BlackBerry PlayBook could have set the platinum standard for tablets especially with existing BlackBerry smartphone users. However, the tablet has been more akin to highly-pressurized carbon material which produces coal rather than diamonds. Without a few key small independent developers stepping up to the plate to deliver some high-quality applications it is safe to say the BlackBerry PlayBook would be solely relegated to an entertainment device instead of the powerful and awe-inspiring Clydesdale we have come to know. I dare speculate most of the recent sales of BlackBerry PlayBooks are intended to be used as entertainment, ahem media consumption, not as business, education, nor productivity-enhancing tools. A sad commentary on the bungled foray into the tablet form-factor. If Research In Motion drops the tablet from its portfolio there could be a backlash by the core user base against the company which potentially sends the company into a financial tailspin and into irrelevance in the mobile communications industry...an industry pioneered in no small part due to Research In Motion. Thorsten will wish the Mayan calendar had indeed meant the end of the world.

[hsianloon]

Im satisfied mostly because of the price. Just the lack of Skype, else it would be perfect

[kill_9]

RIM bought the parts for them and has them stored they are assembling them...

So you're saying Research In Motion has adopted the manufacturing and assembly of Santa's Workshop? Did they pluck Leprechauns from the Irish countryside and send them to work in Waterloo, Ontario, or maybe Bentonville, Arkansas. Oh those wee people have a sense of humour second to none.

[mathking606]

well skype will be there. I BB10 Believe!

[Andrew4life]

RIM bought the parts for them and has them stored they are assembling them but i doubt they will be building any more after these parts are done with, why do you think they are sold out everywhere, and the rumor is there will be a new one next year perhaps the LTE will be the new one as well as a 10" playbook.

You do know that the Playbook LTE has been out since the summer now right?

[kill_9]

LOL at the CNET review. Guess who drank the Kool-Aid!!

"The bottom line: The BlackBerry PlayBook ably showcases RIM's powerful new mobile operating system, but its middling size diminishes many of its best features."

A year in and I still love my PlayBook. My wife loves it when a website won't work on her iPad.

Yep. The 7-inch form-factor makes the BlackBerry PlayBook portable and non-obtrusive compared to the maxi-pads. Get your wife a BlackBerry PlayBook and hide her Apple iPad...claim Santa upgraded her tablet.