RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook went on sale April 19th and there are estimation that it has exceeded sales of 250,000 units. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky believes that the tablet has the potential of hitting 500,000 by the end of the first quarter, but yesterday was a report by BGR that based on sales from a “major big box retailer” that PlayBook sales are falling short of targets “being returned at a much higher rate than the XOOM”. There is no word mentioned on who the big box retailer is but it’s assumed it’s Best Buy but could also be Office Depot or Staples.
RIM has taken the time to make an official comment on the rumour and has stated:
“The source of the reported comment is anonymous and unknown to RIM, but the comment is certainly inconsistent with the positive feedback we have received from our main retail partners. As previously indicated, RIM will provide a business update on BlackBerry PlayBook results on June 16.
For reference, here is a public statement recently offered by Best Buy:
“Best Buy has had great success selling BlackBerry smartphones in North America, so our sales expectations for the BlackBerry PlayBook were very high. 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.”
RIM commenting on this rumour is interesting because rumours like this are made everyday… but I guess RIM is incredibly sensitive about every detail on the PlayBook and its success. The truth will be heard on June 16th.
Source: BGR
Via: BerryReview
