[alnamvet68]

I handled that Samsung 7 at Best Buy....nice, but I couldn't help notice the lightweight, plasticy cheap feel of the device...and this is a objective hands on observation...perhaps if it was sold at, say, $199.00, then it may be worthy of a second look if you must have rhoid and the 7" form factor is for you.

[zorecati]

I had ordered a 32gig from walmart for 299 not more than 3 weeks ago. I then tried to order one from shopblackberry for 250 but they flagged me as being a crook and a cheat so I told them to go scratch. Which is good because walmart was selling the 64gig for 263, but it required to take the rapid charger for 30, the dock for 30 and the convertible stand/case for 25. Total came to 348 plus tax. I ordered it yesterday and received no cancellation thus far.

[Interloper.]

As a Canadian, I just tried an U.S. mailing address but " transaction failed, please call..............."

Shame on RIM, they don't even offer this to Canadian.
BTW, I'll return the 32gb ($281 in total) to BestBuy and buy the 64gb ($299, no shipping and NO tax + $2.50 from the postal service @ Blaine). But it really sounds fishy.

I assume they sold even less of the US stock of 64 gigs than in Canada. Different inventory level + different regional management deciding prices = different prices. If you are patient I'm sure the price contortions going on will favour you up here eventually.

Re cross border shopping. Don't forget duty. The Canadian customs officers won't.

[silversun10]

link to canada:

BlackBerry - PlayBook Where to Buy

[millet]

Come on RIM, show us some discounted Playbook love in the UK

[Unsure2]

Strange, the different US and Canadian pricing by RIM. You'd think it would be the same, as this is just going to tick off some customers.

[palmless]

All 3 sizes are 299 why would anyone buy anything other than a 64?

Everyone will order a 64gb while available, but once those are gone, the 32gb's will go at that price, etc.

Could be they are trying to beat these guys to the punch, don't let them grab a pricing advantage.

[travaz]

This is starting to feel like a product dump. Usually that means it is discontinued or, there is a new model comming.

I pulled the trigger on a 64GB now got the whole set . I disagree, I think its smart move on RIM's part. The more they get out in the hands of the public the more popular it becomes. I think it pays off after the new update and BBX phones. People will see how good the tablet is and maybe get a BB Phone.

[tropicalmom]

I had ordered a 32gig from walmart for 299 not more than 3 weeks ago. I then tried to order one from shopblackberry for 250 but they flagged me as being a crook and a cheat so I told them to go scratch. Which is good because walmart was selling the 64gig for 263, but it required to take the rapid charger for 30, the dock for 30 and the convertible stand/case for 25. Total came to 348 plus tax. I ordered it yesterday and received no cancellation thus far.

That's an amazing deal. Went to get one for my husband but sold out online... Drat.

[cgull]

yes, i've tried three times. order failed each time. of course the call center is closed so you cant speak to anyone even though the error message says to call the customer support line.

Same here. Well I got a 16 and a 32 at least. Maybe they will fill my 64 order tomorrow. They must be moving some serious inventory. Hope this gives the platform the boost needed.

[leanneleg]

I keep getting the error message to.... I want a 64....

[jtwarrin5]

I just ordered one of the 64GB Playbooks off of shopblackberry.com! We'll see if the order sticks. I received a message that said "Thank You For The Order." That will give us a 32 GB and a 64 GB Playbook to use around the house and for me at work.

[anon(757282)]

Wishful thinking and spin aside, the most likely explanation is the obvious one: RIM is getting out of the tablet business and is selling off its remaining stock.

Not wishful thinking or spin. RIM has said they are committed to the tablet.

Much more likely explanation is that CES 2012 is next week, and RIM will be announcing and showing the new PlayBook 2.0. So the sale pricing will prompt a new surge of sales and help clear the decks of current configurations before the new models are offered for sale. The nice bonus for current buyers is that you will get the update to OS 2.0 on your low-price PlayBook.

Of course, there will be a swarm of posters saying they don't believe RIM and don't believe OS2 will be released, and the PB is dead, etc. We (I) really don't want to hear your venom on the Crackberry site. Thank you for your consideration.

[app_Developer]

Not wishful thinking or spin. RIM has said they are committed to the tablet.

Much more likely explanation is that CES 2012 is next week, and RIM will be announcing and showing the new PlayBook 2.0. So the sale pricing will prompt a new surge of sales and help clear the decks of current configurations before the new models are offered for sale. The nice bonus for current buyers is that you will get the update to OS 2.0 on your low-price PlayBook.

I agree. It just doesn't make sense to dump the inventory to squeeze out a couple hundred million in revenue and then cancel the Playbook all together. All that goodwill lost for that little money?

New (probably cheaper to manufacture) models next month makes much more sense. The interesting thing will be to see where they price them.

[BlazorBoy]

I just ordered a 64g. Got an email confirming saying only that order has been placed, shipping details etc (including credit card charge) to follow. May return my 32 gig.

[OMGitworks]

Not wishful thinking or spin. RIM has said they are committed to the tablet.

Much more likely explanation is that CES 2012 is next week, and RIM will be announcing and showing the new PlayBook 2.0. So the sale pricing will prompt a new surge of sales and help clear the decks of current configurations before the new models are offered for sale. The nice bonus for current buyers is that you will get the update to OS 2.0 on your low-price PlayBook.

Of course, there will be a swarm of posters saying they don't believe RIM and don't believe OS2 will be released, and the PB is dead, etc. We (I) really don't want to hear your venom on the Crackberry site. Thank you for your consideration.

I hope so but I doubt they will be shipping units with 2.0 anytime soon. More likely the first thing new users will have to is upgrade to 2.0 I suspect they will be working on 2.0 right up to the very end and won't get pre-loaded and update 2.0 units out there until late March or April at the very earliest. Hopefully we get 2.0 very soon.

[dandbj13]

Something doesn't add up. Just how many of these things do they have left? They are doing fire sales almost everywhere. They couldn't possibly have many of those 64 GB units. Yet, this sale is going for until next month: another 4 1/2 weeks. Why didn't they just announce the sale for until supplies last? Instead, they are anticipating having enough units to last. Are they actually still producing units? That makes no sense. If they are just trying to run out, they should just say so. It will be interesting to see if a backorder occurs and how they handle it.

[anon(757282)]

Depends on what hardware RIM shows at CES and the release dates.

If they show a new hardware PB2 at CES with release a couple months later, they risk the "Osbourne Effect" of cancelled sales of current devices to wait for the new device. The impact will depend on how the PB1 and PB2 compare in specs and pricing, and the fact that PB1 is available now (for those who do not want to wait) and can be upgraded to OS2.

In the meantime, $299 for a 64GB PB is pretty attractive. Wonder if RIM has a cache of 64GB memory modules that they can quickly insert or swap out into the tablets as they sell. That could explain the 10-14 days needed before they ship. The 64 GB memory modules are probably still very cheap, so this new "sale" pricing scheme may be a good move if it does not leave RIM with a bunch of 16 & 32 units in the warehouse.

[doxa sub750T]

I am tempted to do that so I could video chat with my sister. But what holds me off is that 64 gigs is a lot of data to keep in sync and then copy to restore. As of now, I cannot backup my 32 gig. So if I have to do another Security Wipe that is HOURS of data copying and restoration. A 64 gig would make it entirely onerous if backup failed and a wipe was again necessary.

Thanks for the warning. So far I have zero issue with back up. The process takes less than 5 minutes for about 600MB total files and data back up. So i think 64GB should be fine. Anyhow, I feel the file size should be larger for this full backup.


When connecting to the PC, I make sure that it detect my PB drive and enter the password. Then my backup has been flawless.

Cheers

[Unsure2]

Not wishful thinking or spin. RIM has said they are committed to the tablet.

Much more likely explanation is that CES 2012 is next week, and RIM will be announcing and showing the new PlayBook 2.0. So the sale pricing will prompt a new surge of sales and help clear the decks of current configurations before the new models are offered for sale. The nice bonus for current buyers is that you will get the update to OS 2.0 on your low-price PlayBook.

Of course, there will be a swarm of posters saying they don't believe RIM and don't believe OS2 will be released, and the PB is dead, etc. We (I) really don't want to hear your venom on the Crackberry site. Thank you for your consideration.

My post had no "venom" in it. You're entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine. None ou us really knows what this latest odd move means. But, we'll soon find out...

[waterfrontmgmt]

i think this is more of a move to get more PB into people's hands because of the iPad saturation. it's like selling concert t shirts....sometimes they are very cheap because everyone that wears one is an advertisement. rim needs more PB's out in public and in peoples hands.

that and the 2.0 update lead me to believe that this is no bail out.

and i was able to order one from the link on the main page. 64GB, free shipping. i have an order #, email confirmation...all is good. i will be returning my 16GB one thanks to extended holiday returns

[Dapper37]

Will they ship internationaly. like Thailand?

[Quake97]

I think others have said this, but this feels like a test. Since the Playbook is already a massive failure, I think they're testing out price points for the next Playbook. They've seen that $199 for the 16GB is pretty good, so maybe they're trying to see if $299 works. Who knows what it costs to make these things, so I wouldn't be surprised if $199 is sold at a loss. With the Kindle Fire at $199, RIM is going to have a tough time with anything that costs more than that.

Joe

[BlazorBoy]

But why put all three at the sane price. At $300 the 64g is great as a music library for your hifi system ignoring all its other features.

[alnamvet68]

I think others have said this, but this feels like a test. Since the Playbook is already a massive failure, I think they're testing out price points for the next Playbook. They've seen that $199 for the 16GB is pretty good, so maybe they're trying to see if $299 works. Who knows what it costs to make these things, so I wouldn't be surprised if $199 is sold at a loss. With the Kindle Fire at $199, RIM is going to have a tough time with anything that costs more than that.

Joe

Where did you read that...do you have a name of a credible, unbiased, impartial, and objective source? I can name a whole boatload of folks who don't fit the criteria I just listed, but can you give us one name that fits the criteria?