RIM Terminates Its Most Popular PlayBook SKU, Saves 32, 64 GB Models

From DailyTech: Research in Motion, Ltd. (TSE:RIM) product has been beloved by a small set of fans, but has generally been considered a market dud. A prelude to RIM's troubles in the smartphone market, the tablet was an expensive sales flop for RIM, despite repeated price cuts and an impressive operating system overhaul.

RIM originally offered 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB models at identical prices to market leader Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad. But customers seemed uninterested in a $500 USD entry price for a 7-inch tablet -- especially that 7-inch tablet. The tablet earned mixed reviews from most major news publications, with many arguing that its downsides made in remarkably inferior to the iPad and Android tablets.

Now RIM has officially axed the 16 GB SKU, writing to Engadget:

RIM will no longer be making the 16 GB model of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The 16 GB PlayBook will continue to be available for distributors and retailers while quantities last. We continue to remain committed to the tablet space and the 32 GB and 64 GB models of the BlackBerry PlayBook continue to be available from our distributors and retailers around the world.

There is more value for our customers in the higher capacity models (32 GB, 64 GB), and as such we have decided to focus our efforts here.

The 32 GB model now sells for $278.59 on Amazon.com, Inc.'s (AMZN) page, a 53 percent mark-down of the original asking price of $599. The 64 GB model's price was slashed 57 percent from $699 to $299.98.

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