BlackBerry PlayBook gets dramatic holiday discount: prices and problems

Analysts are starting to respond to RIM's $485m loss on the BlackBerry Playbook, and the outlook is not positive. Bloomberg Businessweek outlines a compelling theory of the burden the Playbook places on RIM: it's a necessary evil that RIM can't afford to simply kill (like HP did with the TouchPad) because it's the only device RIM offers that runs its next-generation BBX OS. At the same time, massive price cuts mean that RIM is losing significant money on every Playbook it does manage to sell. Amidst this turmoil, RIM's shares have dropped 71 percent since the beginning of this year, while an analyst from Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel referred to the Playbook as an "albatross or a yoke around the neck." While the albatross is shot dead in the classic Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem, the Playbook lives on — it seems RIM can't afford to shoot it down yet.

150,000 PlayBooks were shipped to retailers in the third quarter, but RIM has seen very positive feedback to the deep discounts it has been pushing and claims that the number of sales to consumers during that period is higher still. Though these numbers are relatively small and the writeoff announced today is undeniably big, RIM has chosen to look on the bright side and intends to treat the discounted sell-off of the PlayBook as a constructive exercise that gives the PlayBook OS a wider audience and firmer foothold.

There's no sign of panic within the company and we're assured that "RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook and believes the tablet market is still in its infancy." In other words, there'll be no HP TouchPad fate for the PlayBook, RIM is in for the long haul with its QNX-based OS and interrelated smartphone and tablet strategy.

Earlier today we reported that Best Buy customers that had taken advantage of the retailer's recent BlackBerry PlayBook sale were allegedly having their orders canceled, even after being charged for their purchases. Best Buy has now issued a statement on the matter.

So there you have it. Best Buy confirms it ran out of stock of the 7-inch tablet, but doesn't comment on why customers were sold devices it didn't have in inventory. Nor does it address whether those customers will still be able to get the tablet at the price they paid for it — even though Best Buy confirms it will be getting more PlayBooks in stock. We'll keep you informed of any further developments, but at the moment RIM's holiday discount is looking nearly as chaotic as HP's TouchPad fire sale.

Does $199 sound like too much for the BlackBerry Playbook this holiday season? RIM seems to think so, but only for its employees. According to multiple sources, the 16GB 7-inch tablet is now available to RIM employees through a special corporate portal for $99. The 32GB version is $149 and the 64GB model for $199. We have also been told that employees can only order up to eight models. Of course, that means that it's only a matter of time before we start to see the QNX tablet on eBay, but hey, maybe RIM will just pull an HP and roll out the savings to everyone.

RIM recently announced a holiday season promotion that saw the price of its BlackBerry PlayBook cut $300 across the board. Best Buy followed suit with a Black Friday sale at the same price points, but online shoppers that took advantage are now complaining their orders are being canceled by the retailer outright. SlashGear confirms that at least one location has nixed orders, with multiple customers in Best Buy's support forums reporting that their credit cards were charged before being informed the device was on backorder, and that their orders were then canceled altogether. We saw similar situations with the HP TouchPad fire sale, but rather than an indicator of impending doom, this simply appears to be a case of a retailer selling stock they didn't have. Best Buy still has the device up on its website as of this time — listed as out of stock for both online ordering and in-store pickup — while RIM is offering all models of the PlayBook on its online store, with shipping listed as one to two days. We've reached out to Best Buy for further clarification on the cancelations, and will update you with any new information we receive.

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