PlayBook gloomy prospect RIM said it will not abandon

According to foreign media reports, BlackBerry maker RIM's Tablet PC PlayBook has been slow to sell. Last week, Canadian retailers reduced their prices. US retailers also followed this week to lower their prices, hoping to clear up stocks by the end of the year.

By the end of August, RIM's profits have been significantly reduced. This wave of price reductions will further reduce RIM's profitability. Some analysts have estimated that RIM is already selling the tablet at a loss after calculating the parts and manufacturing costs based on the price of the currently lowered PlayBook (about $200) for some retailers (such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart).

A RIM spokesperson refused to respond whether the price cut action would affect the company’s profitability.

According to RIM, PlayBook opened its first quarter sales of 500,000 units earlier this year, but tablet sales have fallen to 200,000 units in the most recent quarter. Users criticize the Tablet PC for inconvenient use. Most of the time, the PlayBook cannot run the email app without using the BlackBerry smartphone.

Even if PlayBook sales are dim, RIM cannot abandon it. RIM executives have said that this is very important for the company's BlackBerry smartphone transition period. RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said last month that RIM is still 100% committed to operating the PlayBook. The next generation of BlackBerrys that RIM plans to introduce next year will be equipped with the same operating system BMX.

RIM has acknowledged some of the shortcomings of PlayBook and promised to launch updated software to provide independent e-mail functionality. RIM also hopes to create more apps for the PlayBook by allowing developers to use it more, but this commitment has been postponed to next year from October. February.

Before this wave of price cuts, RIM launched a two-to-one sales promotion plan for corporate customers before the end of the year.