That the PlayBook has been struggling to find buyers ever since it was launched is a well known fact. RIM’s inability to come up with a quick solution didn’t help matters much for the PlayBook either. So what does retailers do who already are sitting on a pile of the PlayBook tablet PCs? Drop prices of course and its hardly surprising they have started with that with full enthusiasm.
So while many had drawn out elaborate plans to dole out the PlayBook for a sub $200 price during Thanksgiving and the holiday season, things seems to be a bit more desperate at BestBuy and Buy.com in Canada as they have made it clear they can’t wait that long. As such, both the retailers have started giving off their stock at $199 already, and the trick seems to be paying off as BestBuy has announced they have run out of the base $199 version that comes with $16 GB of storage. So its only the 32 GB and 64 GB version left to be picked up, with prices being $299.99 and $329.99 respectively.
Then there is Walmart and Newegg where too one would be able to procure the PlayBook at $198 and $199.99 respectively. That’s also the price that can fetch one the Kindle Fire and if one compares there would be close similarity observed between the PlayBook and the Kindle Fire from Amazon. That is not all for as its the Taiwan based Quanta that is the OEM of both the Kindle Fire and the PlayBook tablets.
As for whether going for the PlayBook does make for a sensible buy, well the spec sheet is impressive to say the least and there is no denying the tablet is strong on the hardware aspects. Like it is powered by a 1 GHz TI OMAP4 processor and has a 7 inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The tablet comes with a 1 GB RAM while a 5 and 3 megapixel camera dons the rear and front of the tablet respectively.
However, the PlayBook is let down severely on the software front. It  runs on the QNX based BlackBerry Tablet OS. This OS has not been very popular amongst third party developers like it is with the Google Android OS. In the process there aren’t many third party applications that can be found which would work on the PlayBook. There is however a next version which is in Beta stage as yet and that has the features which will allow android applications running on it. This OS is expected to be available in early 2012. Before that, making good use of the discounted price may be a god idea after all.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
