TORONTO - Some Canadian retailers have slashed the prices of Research in Motion's PlayBook as the company is expected to bring out a new version of the tablet computer's operating system.
Two of Canada's biggest electronics retailers, Best Buy and Future Shop, as well as the Staples office supply chain have cut the price of all three versions of PlayBook by $100.
The tablet started selling at Canadian retailers in April with list prices at $499, $599 and $699 depending on the model, which had between 16 gigabytes and 64 gigabytes of memory.
But the PlayBook has struggled, with Research in Motion (TSX:RIM) shipping only about 200,000 PlayBooks in its most recent quarter, about half of what analysts had been expecting and below RIM's own expectations.
Part of the PlayBook's problem has been the intense competition in the tablet market, including from Apple's iPad and iPad2 but also from a host of other rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which uses the Android operating system.
The PlayBook has also suffered by the perception that Research In Motion has fallen behind the pack in terms of bringing out new products as it transitions through new generations of BlackBerry smartphone operating systems.
The company is expected to bring out a new version of the PlayBook operating system that's capable of running Android applications, widening the RIM product's potential market, and integrating with BlackBerry email and calendar functions.
Research In Motion executives told analysts on Sept. 15 that the company planned to introduce a major revision to the PlayBook operating system at company's DevCon event for developers, running Oct. 18-20 in San Francisco.
They also indicated RIM would take steps to boost PlayBook sales.
"We have promotional plans in place for the fall intended to drive both enterprise and consumer adoption of PlayBook, including special incentive programs for enterprise, a loyalty program for existing BlackBerry customers and rebates through consumer channels," RIM co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis said.
"We are confident these activities will generate an increase in demand and sell-through in Q3 and into the holiday season."
