Report: Best Buy Pulling the Plug on BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM hasn't given up on its 7-inch PlayBook tablet, but it seems Best Buy is done with the tablet that's failed to catch on. Reports are coming in that Best Buys are canceling all PlayBook orders.

Electronista reports that one of its sources says that "all orders [PlayBook] had been canceled." Best Buy forum members are also reporting that their orders for PlayBooks have also been canceled for no reason.

The cancellation of orders comes after RIM temporarily dropped the price of the PlayBook from $500 to $200 for the holiday season to put the heat on the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.

Is this the end of the PlayBook as we know it? RIM is rumored to still be cranking away at either a PlayBook successor of some kind, perhaps with a 10-inch display.

Since its launch the PlayBook has been criticized for its high price, puny selection of BlackBerry App World apps and delayed suite of native BlackBerry PIM services along with the promised Android support.

While many will find the Amazon Fire's $200 price much more attractive, the PlayBook remains one of my favorite tablets to use on the go. It has a great browser (with Adobe Flash), is a fantastic tablet for watching movies, is great for editing documents on the go with the included office suite, and is a brilliant 1080p HD video recorder.

For most tablet users, Web browsing, videos and music is plenty to justify buying a PlayBook. Like the HP TouchPad, it's not nearly as "perfect" as the iPad, but it comes close. At $200, I'd take one of these over the limited Kindle Fire any day. That is unless you need the Kindle app, then you're outta luck, because the PlayBook doesn't have one. It has a Kobo reader, if that's comforting to know.

Via Electronista

For the latest tech stories, follow DVICE on Twitter
at @dvice or find us on Facebook
Copyright DVICE - DVICE
Contact Us