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When I saw the USA Radio Shack stock plunge this week I was thinking RIM should buy them to create a retail experience in the USA.

Bad idea. There are WAY too many RS stores. In my neighborhood alone there are almost As many RS' as there are Starbucks. I believe there are upwards of 170 RS stores in Manhattan.

I never understood why they would have so many stores competing for what are technically the same dollars in Manhattan. It has to have a significant impact on their profit margins.

They should scale back on retail operations and shutter some of these stores.

[Economist101]

Bad idea. There are WAY too many RS stores. In my neighborhood alone there are almost As many RS' as there Re Starbucks. I believe there are upwards of 170 RS in Manhattan.

I never understood why they would have so many stores competing for what are technically the same dollars in Manhattan. It has to have a significant impact on their profit margins.

They should scale back on retail operations and shutter some of these stores.

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

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Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

That has to be one of the most ENTERTAINING articles I have read in an extremely very long time.

"There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I'll be damned if I know what it is," Day said. "You wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn't have this desk to sit behind all day."

Jesus, that is hysterical!!

Makes you wonder how many CEOs sit in the dark and wonder when the house of cards will finally come crumbling down.

Only in America!!

Gotta love it!

[cbvinh]

I'm really jealous... I want a 3rd PB.

Come on US retailers, do the same thing...

Oh no. RIM has turned us into horders...

(I have two myself and only intended on one.)

[TommyBB]

this is a telus sale, not rim

b i n g o !

[palmless]

Kindle Fire pretty much has set the consumer to expect a "non-iPad Tablet" to be $199, max.

RIM is wisely lowering the wholesale price to select partners to move out the inventory. Perhaps the first huge writedown anticipated this, perhaps another quarterly surprise is coming.

Either way... if you have to eat a frog, it's best not to stare at it too long. Cut to the market clearing price and try not to let it happen again.

Makes you wonder how many CEOs sit in the dark and wonder when the house of cards will finally come crumbling down.

Only in America!!

Er... well... er... er...

[[email protected]]

Kindle Fire pretty much has set the consumer to expect a "non-iPad Tablet" to be $199, max.

RIM is wisely lowering the wholesale price to select partners to move out the inventory. Perhaps the first huge writedown anticipated this, perhaps another quarterly surprise is coming.

Either way... if you have to eat a frog, it's best not to stare at it too long. Cut to the market clearing price and try not to let it happen again.

Agreed! The back and forth hurts the product.

[kennyliu]

Engadget just posted an article that says that RIM allegedly informed Telus of the Playbook's End-of-Life. Don't know how accurate the info is.

[palmless]

Engadget just posted an article that says that RIM allegedly informed Telus of the Playbook's End-of-Life. Don't know how accurate the info is.

Huh.

Yep, here.

[narci]

This is a funny thread.

Telus is getting rid of PB's cheap becuase they don't make any money off a wifi only device.

3G/LTE version of the PB is what Telus would make more money from by selling data plans to go alongside a PB.

Also had a thought about pricing. How the heck is TELUS (or any carrier) going to price a 3G/LTE version for above the sale prices going on now? Easy, subsidized PB when signing up for a 1,2,3 year data plan.

[auditman]

Telus have special deal with blacks. They are kinda another storefront for telus. There is no fire sales. It's only telus sale clearing out old stock.

[ssbtech]

One thing is for certain - when OS2 hits the update is going to take a day to download

[slalom]

Telus have special deal with blacks. They are kinda another storefront for telus. There is no fire sales. It's only telus sale clearing out old stock.

The special deal is that Telus kinda owns Blacks. Bought the entire chain about 3 years ago, I think.

[phoreoneone]

think about it...

a lot of people will end up buying a playbook because of the low prices.

Is it a coincidence that the price is being lowered (again) as the days for OS 2.0 are getting closer?

NO.

this way RIM will be able to push out the new OS to many more users, thus preparing new customers for the BB10 phone lineup.

*I am writing this up, after having 4 beers ... so this may make no sense at all. I will probably end up changing it in the morning ... after losing my hangover*

[auditman]

The special deal is that Telus kinda owns Blacks. Bought the entire chain about 3 years ago, I think.

Thx. That's the reason why telus and blacks have the same pricing on their websites.

[si_chindo]

anything to get more pb on consumers hands

[Azeron]

If they drop the 64GB to $199, I'm going to get mighty cranky. $299 for the 64GB was the sweet spot for me.

Why not just buy another 64GB?

[dandbj13]

This is a funny thread.

Telus is getting rid of PB's cheap becuase they don't make any money off a wifi only device.

3G/LTE version of the PB is what Telus would make more money from by selling data plans to go alongside a PB.

Also had a thought about pricing. How the heck is TELUS (or any carrier) going to price a 3G/LTE version for above the sale prices going on now? Easy, subsidized PB when signing up for a 1,2,3 year data plan.

Sounds like Telus didn't think it through. If they couldn't make any money off the wifi PB, why did they stock a bunch of them in the first place? Everyone knows that 3G tabs are far less popular than the wifi only versions. If they couldn't sell the wifi version, what makes them think they will make bank with a far less popular version? Adding 3G does not make a tablet easier to sell. Just ask every carrier that has tried to sell a tablet other than an iPad.

[Sonic77]

The only thing that sells worse than a wifi tablet is a 3G one?

When most plans allow tethering for free,
very very few want to add more upfront and monthly cost just for a 2nd sim.

Question of the thread is on the timing...
Surely in 2 weeks with OS 2 a 32GB could fetch more than $149?

[oilgeo10]

Why would 3/4G tablets be harder to sell? I am assuming you have the option to connect to the net thru wifi or dataplan with them, is that correct?
The carriers presumably want them because they want more $$ from tablets thru dataplans.
But the bridge or tethering would be fine for many tablet users, including me. I'm actually finding that there are more than enough free wifi spots in towns & cities, to connect as required when out doing something for pleasure (not business) and needing info.

[omniusovermind]

In 5 pages of posts have any of you stopped to consider that it would not have even dawned on most people to shop at a mobile carrier store for a Playbook? They're probably sitting on crap nobody's buying because they're all going to BBuy/Walmart/whatever big box and they want to sell these units. And they're undercutting the big box stores to do so.

[dandbj13]

Why would 3/4G tablets be harder to sell? I am assuming you have the option to connect to the net thru wifi or dataplan with them, is that correct?

3G tablets are more expensive. If sold by a carrier, they are almost always attached to a multi-year data contract, just like a phone. No one would by a 3G tab if all they were going to do was tether it or use wifi.

[robsteve]

It is old stock. I got one of the 32gb and the product date on the box was the same as the 32gb I bought in April.

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Also had a thought about pricing. How the heck is TELUS (or any carrier) going to price a 3G/LTE version for above the sale prices going on now? Easy, subsidized PB when signing up for a 1,2,3 year data plan.

Forcing consumers into data plans will fail. This is why Apple has a 3G iPad(which) I own but always consumer to decided when they want to untilize the service. Without an extended term contract.

A forced contract and this will fail.

[palmless]

3G tablets are more expensive. If sold by a carrier, they are almost always attached to a multi-year data contract, just like a phone. No one would by a 3G tab if all they were going to do was tether it or use wifi.

Your note and others refer to the 3G tablets as slow sellers...

The 64GB 3G iPad is the top-selling and most-expensive model, accounting for 1/3 of sales, and has no multi-month data contract or carrier subsidy.

Folks see the functionality and the various models and say "I can get the top of the line for only $829? Ring it up." The second best seller is the $499 16GB wifi only, since many buyers of any product buy the entry-level model.

The 3G buyer can activate 3G month to month, or leave it off and only activate it for summer vacation road trips or whatever.

If sold by a carrier, they are almost always attached to a multi-year data contract, just like a phone.

Only a slim minority of 3G tablets sold are other than iPad, so 3G tablets (even if sold by a carrier) are ALMOST NEVER attached to a multi-year data contract."

Any word on the 3G Playbook being unsubsidized like the iPad and sold with a month-to month plan? That would really be a big plus for folks looking at it as a second device.

Bottom line - iPad dominates tablet sales, 3G models are significant (perhaps the majority) of iPad sales, so 3G tablets are NOT slow sellers at all. Month-to-month unsubsidized sales model encourages folks to "try" 3G, knowing they can dump the charge if they decide wifi is enough.