RIM recalls PlayBook tablets

“BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. has recalled about 1,000 of its PlayBook tablets that were shipped with faulty operating systems that may have prevented users from performing the initial setup of the device,” Stuart Weinberg reports for Dow Jones Newswires. “In a statement, RIM said the majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven’t reached customers.”

MacDailyNews Take: Of course they haven’t.

Weinberg reports, “The statement followed a report on the Engadget blog Saturday that said the faulty batch of PlayBooks were shipped to Staples. The blog didn’t identify whether the Staples stores that received the recalled devices were in Canada or the U.S.”

MacDailyNews Take: Imagine Staples carrying the best tech products for a change. We know, quite the stretch.

Weinberg reports, “The highly-anticipated PlayBook launched to lukewarm reviews last month… RIM hasn’t yet indicated how many PlayBooks it has sold to date. It is expected to provide this information when it reports its results in June.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Another great week begins for DCW.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]

Related articles:
Needham downgrades RIM, chops forecast; blames ‘clueless’ half-CEOs – May 5, 2011
Jefferies analysts: ‘We were wrong’ about RIM; downgrades to ‘underperform’ – April 29, 2011
Research In Motion warns of weak BlackBerry sales; shares plunge – April 29, 2011

41 Comments

  1. Save the headline. It will be useful in a year or two:

    RIM recalls PlayBook Tablets

    Article begins: Remember RIM’s meager attempt to compete with the iPad? RIM sure does…

  2. Ok, RIMM recalled about 1,000 of its PlayBook tablets. Was that the first, last, middle, or all? That is a gutsy group. I did not think they even made 1,000 of those turds. Were they the floor models?

    Isn’t there about 1,000 Staples and BestBuy stores? Are they recalling the hole deal before it really starts? This is like the Microsoft Zones mp3 players. I have never seen one in the real world.

    If you never see anyone with the device, did they ever really make them?

  3. What perplexes me is why is RIM still in the game? They’re the North American version of Nokia, an organization run by clueless managers who refuse to acknowledge there’s a problem with their product lineup and stubbornly continue to churn out the same horrible plastic designs running on an antiquated OS.

    Did they not research the market sufficiently before launching the Playbook? Who in their right mind would buy a product half the size of an iPad which costs exactly the same, dime for dime?

    It’s no wonder that quality control broke down seeing how RIM likes to promote broken down pieces of plastic junk for sale. How can they distinguish that and the Playbook? This reflects badly on management thinking – rushing out a product if only to compete against the iPad but being clueless about ensuring strict quality control and completeness of features.

  4. “…the majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven’t reached customers.”

    Be assured they were already counted as “units sold.”

  5. Apple should do a recall on iPad 2 because of bleeding issues. That would be a mess of about 2 million units to be recalled. My friend returned 3 units due to bleeding and finally gave up and returned it.

      1. I wondered how long it would take for a RIM employee or a Blackberry distributer would take to do their ‘Fair and Balanced’ thing.

        Tablets are defined by their Apps. iPad isn’t a winner. iPad running a Medical App for a Doctor, Nurse or student is a winner. Same goes for iPads running other killer Apps like games, text books, music Apps, GPS Apps, Science Apps, News Apps, the list goes on and on.

        I’ve been watching the Playbook ads on TV. Playbook has only one killer App. It’s not e-mail. It’s not texting. It’s not that stuttering Flash player.

        Look at the TV ads. Powerbook’s killer App is video playback in 4X3 and glorious 16X9 format. Oh that the other Tablet makers could have thought of this.

        Video playback is king! Wish my iPad and my Xoom could do that.

  6. AAPL’s Incompetent Competition: RIMM
    … They can not catch the iPad period!
    No email on theirs!

    … Buy AAPL stocks before it goes past $422 this year 🙂

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.