“Research In Motion’s PlayBook tablet computer launched in almost empty stores on Tuesday, in a far cry from the frenzy that accompanies the debut of anything from rival Apple,” Alastair Sharp and Sinead Carew report for Reuters.
“At an Office Depot in Midtown New York, just three PlayBooks, RIM’s answer to the Apple iPad, left the shelves in the 20 minutes after the store opened, a store employee said,” Sharp and Carew report. “‘It’s going to be a tough sell to the consumer,’ BGC Partner analyst Colin Gillis said of the PlayBook, a sleek but flawed gadget that doesn’t yet offer the secure email that is the trademark of RIM’s ubiquitous BlackBerry.”
Sharp and Carew report, “Early reviews panned the WiFi-only PlayBook for lacking email and organizer applications — the gadget needs a BlackBerry to access those. In a likely blow to RIM, key U.S. carrier AT&T said it will not support the BlackBerry Bridge function that lets the PlayBook mirror a BlackBerry smartphone. AT&T, the second largest U.S. carrier, said it was still testing the secure software… The PlayBook launch was a stark contrast to the frenzy when Apple launched its iPad 2 a month ago and consumers lined up overnight to buy the gadget.”
MacDailyNews Take: They’re still lining up for iPad 2 outside Apple Stores every morning.
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “krquet” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
RIM’s half-CEOs whine: It’s not ‘fair’ that our ‘superior’ tablet is getting bad reviews – April 15, 2011
Pogue reviews RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook: Half-baked, buggy, and missing important features – April 14, 2011
RIM’s half-CEO Lazaridis walks out of BBC interview – April 13, 2011
Research in Motion’s half-CEO admits to being clueless – April 11, 2011
Apple corners market for display panels – April 7, 2011
Apple’s upfront cash payments secure components, blocking out competitors – April 7, 2011
Gassée: ‘The inmates have taken over the asylum’ at BlackBerry-maker RIM – March 28, 2011
Apple to consume majority of touchscreen displays in 2011 and 2012 – March 14, 2011
RIM shares drop as marketing chief leaves company on eve of supposed PlayBook launch – March 4, 2011
Analyst: RIM’s expensive, flawed PlayBook tablet will be poorly received – February 1, 2011
Steve Jobs: I don’t see RIM catching us; Android is a fragmented mess; 7-inch tablets will be DOA – October 18, 2010