iPad challenger RIM PlayBook tablet to cost less than $500

iPad challenger RIM PlayBook tablet to cost less than $500

RIM or Research in Motion is planning to sell its new Blackberry PlayBook tablet for just under $500 to compete with Apple’s iPad which retails at a price of $499 for the most basic variant.

The announcement was made by RIM co-chief executive officer Jim Balsillie in an interview with Bloomberg. “The product will be very competitively priced,” he said.

RIM plans to start selling its PlayBook tablets with Wi-Fi feature in the United States and Canada in the first quarter of next year and to the rest of the world market in the following quarter.

Apple has fuelled the demand for tablets since its introduction of the popular iPad. The $499 model has 16 gigabytes of memory and Wi-Fi capability. It is available up to $829 if the consumer opts to add more upgrades. Apple reported that it sold 3 million units during the first 80 days alone, surpassing the performance of its other bestseller, the iPod player.

Seeing the iPad’s success, other manufacturers like RIM, Motorola Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Samsung Electronics Co., are all rushing to launch their own tablets top get a sizable chunk of the tablet product segment.

Canada-based RIM’s stock surged to its highest level in nearly five months to $58.44 as of 4 p.m. New York time at the NASDAQ.

RIM touts its Flash content capability, which the iPad does not have. Flash is the basis of most of today’s Internet videos.

The company hopes that its tablet would erode the dominant market share of the iPad. Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs downplayed the challenge from competitors, saying that developers would not be so eager to work with them and their smaller gadgets.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Thursday November 11 2010, 5:02 AM EDT. Ref: Bloomberg. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0