I founded omnes.tv, host the Device Drivers show and produce/engineer the Revelator show. With the little time I have remaining I delve deep into tech topics and publish my findings here on TenFingerCrunch.
The RIM BlackBerry PlayBook has so far been a dud. Even with steep discounts, RIM is still left with inventory, forcing the company to take a $485 million charge. From AllThingsD:
RIM sold just 150,000 PlayBooks “into the channel” this quarter, down from about 500,000 in the first quarter and 250,000 in the second.
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Because of the tablet’s lousy performance, the company will take a $485 million charge and will not meet the $5.3 to $5.6 billion in revenue it had forecast when it last reported earnings.
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Despite the PlayBook’s lousy performance at market and its deleterious effect on the company’s bottom line, RIM’s leadership says it has no plans to ditch the device.
The phrase “into the channel” is key. These numbers do not represent the total units sold to consumers, but rather sold into retail inventory.
The fact that their management wants to continue with this device is amazing. Consumers have shown that they are only willing to part with $199 for a new PlayBook. Considering that is the same price as the Kindle Fire—which had demand from the day it was released—I have to wonder what the PlayBook can offer that Amazon can’t, even at a loss.
Developers Chris Wade, neuralic and xpvqs have successfully rooted the BlackBerry PlayBook, coining the yet-to-be-released tool DingleBerry. Not only will this tool allow you to gain root access to your PlayBook, you will also be able to enable viewing Hulu in your browser.
Below is a video demo of a rooted PlayBook:
You can find more information at CrackBerry as well as a video demo of Hulu running on the rooted PlayBook.
Best Buy raised questions on Thanksgiving weekend after it suddenly started cancelling Blackberry PlayBook orders. Shoppers have frequently reported orders being dropped, even if the order had already been charged and was virtually ready. Those on Best Buy’s forums have mentioned the retailer being “overextended,” while our own checks had one store say that “all” orders had been cancelled.
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While it’s potentially to discourage rain checks, the cancelled orders come just as Best Buy also appears to have pulled listings for the PlayBook itself, leaving only accessories[…]
If Best Buy is truly “overextended” with sales requests, why would they remove the PlayBook from their listings instead of showing it out of stock? Considering the PlayBook’s lackluster sales—partly due to its limiting software—I wouldn’t be surprised to find Best Buy and other retailers cutting their ties to the fledgling tablet.
