[andino]

I posted my 16gb pb last night and it was sold for my asking price this morning. Less than 24hrs after I posted it. I'd say no is buying. I'm purchasing a 64gb tomorrow

[Fenrir26]

Then, the HP fire sale happened, and I missed out on THAT...

I didnt know about that sale till it was pretty much over lol would have loved to get a few of them for myself and the family.

[Unsure2]

...
their first born to have it. If Apple has proven one thing it's price doesnt matter. People may get more out of Android or even QNX but iOS is still king.
...

Some truth to that. Apple got there first and still has by far the best software base, which has made iPad sales almost immune to underpricing by the competition. People I know have actually bought the iPad just so they can run particular specialized apps available on it. Apple is also doing a great job marketing the iPad--just walk into a Best Buy and look at the difference between the iPad displays and all the other tablet displays.

But, even with all of Apple's advantages, it sees the writing on the wall. Rumor has it that the next iPad lineup will include a lower cost model (maybe the current iPad2) that will compete pricewise with the competition.

RIM has always had to worry about pricing (but maybe didn't know that at first). The Playbook is a good product and will get better once OS2 and mail arrive. But, the Playbook needs to be both good and competitively priced in order to sell in sufficient numbers to keep the OS alive.

[Economist101]

But, even with all of Apple's advantages, it sees the writing on the wall. Rumor has it that the next iPad lineup will include a lower cost model (maybe the current iPad2) that will compete pricewise with the competition.

It's less of a "writing on the wall" and more of the company doing exactly the same thing it did with the iPod and iPhone, which was to start with the high-end and work its way down. A lower-cost iPad model would just be more of the same.

[blue-b]

The point is that the $199 Fire has set the bottom of the range for 7" tablets, and those $249 quad-core tablets apparently soon appearing are going to set the top of the range. That makes it hard for RIM to sell the Playbook at a profit. You may be willing to pay $500 for a Playbook while similar tablets go for <$250, but most people won't.

BTW, I've compared them, and the Playbook and Fire are very similar in their hardware and feel. Not surprising since the design and production of both were outsourced to the same company--Quanta. Screens are almost identical. Playbook has better sound, more RAM and more storage. The Fire is way ahead in the software department, with just about everything that the Playbook lacks.

There is actually quite a bit of difference, why the pb at current prices are extremely good deals. Fire lacks camera (pb has 2), fire has 1/2 RAM 512MB vs 1024MB, no gps, 1/2 the memory space 8GB vs 16GB. There are a ton of differences! Any sub $200 tablet will need to make sacrifices, the key is to make the right sacrifices, we'll see how these new tablets do, enough fires have sold to make it obvious not everyone cares if their tablet has a camera. It's all about investing in what people want, and cutting out the things people can live without.

We have 3 pb in our house, and I continue to try to spread the good word

[Tank1978]

You and few other die hard RIM fans willing to purchase PB at whatever price won't make a difference at all. To OP, of course people are buying PB now, but even with deep discount, more people still choose others over PB.

Again, everyone around me at work who purchased PB recently, the sole reason was the discounted price and flash support, AND they had BB. None of them were considering purchasing PB before it went on sale.

Of course thats why people purchased them...But I can also tell you none of them would have considered purchasing an i pad, unless it went on sale.......

[SugarMouth]

I would have to disagree. Here in Vancouver it seems like tonnes of people are buying this thing! When they were at 200$ people snatched them up. When they did the all three for the same price, people snatched them up. Out of my friends and family i have one, uncle has one, a couple of my buddies have one. even my grandma bought one!

This device is amazing in my opinion, i really love the multi-tasking and would say that is the best os to date. There are a few kinks that still need to work out and i think once 2.0 is released everything will be smoothed over. The android market will fill the app gap. Also the new remote controlling with your bb is an amazing concept. Not to mention being able to type with your bb keyboard on your PB. Wow that is amazing if you ask me, being able to use my 9900 keyboard on my bb? Fantastic.

I would like to congratulate rim on what i consider to be an outstanding product!
Thankyou RIM

Nobody was buying the PB when it was $499, it just did not compete at that price point. To say it is selling well at $200 means your putting it at the price point of an Archos tablet. I'd agree at $200 it is a nice tablet, just not $500.

That being said, I think the PB has a ton of potential, BlackBerry as a company has a lot of potential. Currently they just are not competitive. I really like the improvements in 2.0. The addition of active sync took forever but finally is here! Blackberry still has a chance in the tablet market as long as they get the ball rolling ahead of Windows 8 tablets.

[conix67]

Of course thats why people purchased them...But I can also tell you none of them would have considered purchasing an i pad, unless it went on sale.......

Of course, none of those I mentioned would. However, iPads were still selling to others which is what matters.

So to put this into perspective, a lot of new buyers of PB are doing so mainly because the price dropped to impulse purchase range, and they were never a serious tablet consumers.

[Snap51]

Who cares what is the main reason for people purchasing. The fact is
people are buying them which is good for Rim and consumers.
Currently sitting at an airport lounge with 16 people present: 2 PB being used
and no other tablets that I can see. That's what I like.

[playbookster]

I just bought one on friday.. all the 64gb were sold out, i got the last 32gb. Love this thing!

[Kevstra]

I definitely agree with the sentiment of this thread. I've seen a number of people pick up PlayBooks in the engineering wing of the University where I go to school. I like to think my ownership sold itself, always having access to PDF notes the professors post, kicking back and reading a novel. Big enough to be a great browser, reader, etc. Small enough to be truly portable. Fits in my coat pocket!

[Jay619]

I just got mine on friday. I am loving it.. The screen resolution is SWEET!!! best I've seen.. 7inch is the way to go.. hoping on the next model that there is more viewable screen and keeping the size.

[BBplaybookJS]

Of course, none of those I mentioned would. However, iPads were still selling to others which is what matters.

So to put this into perspective, a lot of new buyers of PB are doing so mainly because the price dropped to impulse purchase range, and they were never a serious tablet consumers.

I would agree with that, my sister-in-law went looking to replace her bookreader after christmas and bought a playbook because of the price. She is amazed at everything it can do but her purchase had nothing to do with knowledge of what he was capable of.

But does it really matter if the end result is another happy playbook owner?

[bintaro_gw]

I want PB..!

[conix67]

I just got mine on friday. I am loving it.. The screen resolution is SWEET!!! best I've seen.. 7inch is the way to go.. hoping on the next model that there is more viewable screen and keeping the size.

How do you get *more* screen while keeping the size? You mean increased resolution? The pixel density is good enough already for 7".

By the way, most other leading 7" tablets have same resolution. I do love my PB's screen, but it's not very unique to PB.

[Unsure2]

How do you get *more* screen while keeping the size? You mean increased resolution? The pixel density is good enough already for 7".

By the way, most other leading 7" tablets have same resolution. I do love my PB's screen, but it's not very unique to PB.

Easy, by shrinking the bezel, Playbook could become an 8" device but keep the same overall size.

[vanfred1]

In the UK I didn't notice much interest in the Playbook until the price dropped in the week leading up to Christmas.

I wanted a Playbook since they were first released but was not going to pay anything like the original asking price. However I was confident the price would drop, so I waited until it reached my price point which was �200 or less (all IT devises sell for more than their $ equivalent in the UK) and picked up a 16GB for �169 and a 64GB for �217. What surprised me was that I have just sold my 16GB for over �20 more than I paid for it.

I'm assuming that the positive reviews for V2 is causing increased interest?

[ryansmithknowsbest]

i convoinced my auntiie to buy one. she loves it. people just hsve tp tivd it s cjabce

[Flexin]

I showed it to my mother and showed here ebooks on it. She was impressed. She has a ebook that runs Android. Hers is not a power house so she noticed the speed right away. She also said the Playbook is heavier but it wasn't bad.

She was telling some people at work about it.

James

[LewLew23]

Lol I saw Vancouver and decided to come in this thread since that's where my girlfriend goes to school. It never occurred to me to make her get a PB for easier video chatting and other things. Looks like I have a new mission.

[crackman22]

Happy everyone is enjoying their playbook! Much love from Vancouver

[The_Kills]

Last i check th Best Buy's here in Manhattan, every single store was out of in-store stock when the sale hit. I don't know much about how sales are measured, but that is something I think speaks for itself.