The blogosphere was abuzz Monday with a report that Research in Motion (RIM) may discontinue production of its nearly new WiFi 7-inch tablet, as it failed to compete handily against Apple’s iPad.
The rumor, in OTR Global, was quickly refuted by RIM, in a statement that claimed “Rumors suggesting that the WiFi version of the BlackBerry PlayBook is being discontinued are pure fiction. Over the past month, the PlayBook has launched in 16 additional markets around the world and further rollouts are planned for Southeast Asia, Western Europe and the Middle East in the coming weeks,” according to The Loop.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky noted that RIM may be refocusing its efforts on a 3G/4G tablet which is expected to launch in 2 or 3 months, and therefore winding down production on the WiFi-only PlayBook.
RIM is also putting much of its focus on ‘superphones’ based on its new QNX operating system due in early 2012, as well as on upcoming BlackBerry products, said Abramsky, according to AppleInsider.
Last month, DigiTimes reported that RIM slashed its internal estimates for the PlayBook in half.
RIM said it shipped about 500,000 PlayBooks to retailers as of mid-June, but it did not reveal actual sell-through levels to consumers. The PlayBook first went on sale April 19.
For more see AppleInsider.
–Lynn Shannon
Source: AppleInsider, ZDNet
