The BlackBerry PlayBook beat sales expectations at Best Buy, claimed the retailer over a week after the tablet went on sale.
“Best Buy has had great success selling BlackBerry smartphones in North America, so our sales expectations for the BlackBerry PlayBook were very high,” Best Buy said Thursday. “To date, we have far exceeded those expectations and we’re finding that customers are even more interested in purchasing once they’ve tested the PlayBook in the store,” said Best Buy.
The 7-inch PlayBook began selling on April 19, but it met disfavor with many reviewers who complained it lacked a built-in email client (it relies on a tether to your BlackBerry phone for email). Some also said the software was buggy.
Still, the device sold about 50,000 units on day one, estimates RBC Capital Markets, possibly more than the Motorola’s Xoom or Galaxy Tab in early sales, notes PC World. Apple sold 4.69 million iPads in the recent quarter.
Meanwhile BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is facing challenges in sales of its smartphones. It issued a warning this week of lower sales for the BlackBerry this quarter, which sent its stock tumbling 11 percent in after hours trading, said The Wall Street Journal, which called the warning “fresh evidence that RIM is struggling to compete with Apple Inc. and other smartphone makers, especially in the U.S. market.”
Part of RIM’s woes are that it is delaying a release of new BlackBerry phones until later this year, as it shifts over to products with touch screens and that run on a new operating system.
Source: PC World, The Wall Street Journal
