Chalk one up to RIM, whose Blackberry Playbook is apparently outselling all their rivals save for the  iPad 2 (who dominates the tablet market).
Since its April 19 launch in the U.S., Abramsky thinks RIM has moved about 250,000 PlayBooks. Further, he believes RIM is on track to sell 500,000 PlayBooks by the end of the quarter. […]
“Checks at 180 Best Buys show 14% of the 16 GB sold out, 71% of the 32 GB sold out, and 84% of the 64 GB sold out; however, 32 GB/64 GB stockouts appear allocation-related,” he wrote. Are many PlayBooks being returned? Not really, he said, calling PlayBook returns “nominal.” (Information Week)
Despite being half the size of Motorola’s Xoom as well as requiring a Blackberry device in order to access basic features like a calendar (note: seriously RIM?), the Playbook seems to be a hit amongst the masses.
Motorola also reported 250,000 units sold, although they only mentioned how many tablets were sold to stores and not directly to consumers (which is a way of saying a product is a dud).
Although RIM’s quarter million sales to consumers are not blockbuster figures, it does give them something to boast about when addressing their critics (this author included).
If RIM is able to perform this well underneath Apple’s shadow with a mini-tablet, how much better could they do with a full sized tablet with all of the bells and whistles? Food for thought.
Originally posted on May 18, 2011 @ 1:42 pm