HP’s Touchpad might have flamed out on launch, but it may not be the only tablet in danger of doing so. Reports suggest RIM’s PlayBook tablet is not selling in anywhere near the numbers analysts had expected. DigiTimes reports (via AppleInsider) that Playbook manufacturer Quanta has cut back production lines for the tablet and may lay off 1,000 workers.
In April, RIM forecast sales of 4-5 million PlayBooks in 2011, the sources noted. However, RIM shipped fewer than 800,000 units during the first half of 2011 and monthly shipments dropped to about 100,000 units in the third quarter, [industry] sources said.
The Guardian suggests that RIM may have as many as 800,000 unsold units stockpiled, and the production cuts suggest RIM may not expect to have cleared its inventory backlog by the end of its fiscal year next May. It reports that RIM’s inventories have grown substantially over the last few years,
Is the PlayBook going to be a casualty of the iPad’s unsinkability? It wouldn’t exactly come as a surprise. It lacks either the Android operating system of most popular iPad-competitors like the Galaxy Tab, or or the content on offer from competing tablet manufacturers Amazon or Barnes & Noble. There doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to buy it save for its integration with the BlackBerry smartphone.
