RIM PlayBook a success, analysts claim 250,000 units sold
Despite some mixed initial reviews, the latest tablet from Research in Motion (RIM) is apparently doing quite well in its first month of sales. In fact, the company has moved over 250,000 PlayBook units, at least according to RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Mike Abramsky.
Abramsky made his claim through “channel checks” and by probably keeping close ties with retailers and other resellers. The analyst believes that the PlayBook will continue to keep its pace, reaching 2 million units by the end of the year. Still, this is much lower than Abramsky’s initial predictions of 4 million units by the end of 2011 and 6 million during its first 12 month run.
Compared to the Motorola Xoom, which was the first major tablet device to sport Android 3.0, The PlayBook has matched it in sales in about half the time in market. Xoom sales so far have widely been considered modest, especially for a device running on Google’s latest Android.
The 7-inch RIM PlayBook launched last month in the U.S. on April 19th and will be coming to the UK come June 16th.The tablet has become the showcase device for RIM’s proprietary BlackBerry Tablet OS and BlackBerry App World market. Rumors of a larger, 10-inch PlayBook and a 4G-enabled model could both see releases later this year.