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RIM offers up buy 2, get 1 free deal for the BlackBerry PlayBook to business customers

By Bla1ze on 27 Oct 2011 08:25 pm
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Now that the consumer deals for the BlackBerry PlayBook are starting to go away, RIM is looking towards business customers for PlayBook sales. A recent email sent out, highlights how business customers can get their hands on some free BlackBerry PlayBooks. Simply buy two PlayBooks from any Value Added Reseller and you'll get yourself another BlackBerry PlayBook for free. As a bonus, RIM is also offering some free PlayBook accessories. Hit the link to learn more.

BlackBerry PlayBook for Business site

Topics: Research In Motion BlackBerry Playbook News & Rumors BlackBerry Apps

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58 comments

Yamcha

Thats a pretty good deal.. But I think its clearly because the Kindle Fire is getting released on November, and sadly I think it will kill the Playbook, the specs are very similar and costs $199.. And the screen size is 7" so I think it competes with the Playbook.. There has already been huge demand for the Kindle Fire..

Will see how Blackberry will handle it..

xxplosive82

The Fire is not a business device. It's geared toward content consumption via Amazon didgital services.

Yamcha

Your probably right, but I think a decent amount of users bought the Playbook purely for media consumption, I know I did..

buwee

And you think the Playbook is a business device without even a contact list, email, calendar, etc?? LOL

sk8er_tor

It's actually a very powerful and very secure tablet using Bridge.

buwee

Really? All I have been able to do with mine since April is surf the net on it and not much else.

kingbernie06511

hopefully with OS2 (laaate) RIM will offer a souped-up PB with upgraded specs....

they cannot drag their feet anymore...

HabsSuck

it's because RIM has not sold many Playbooks and during their Q2 earnings they announced they would have various incentives to move playbook inventory during Q3.
Spec for Spec Kindle doesn't match up with the Playbook

AZ87

Kindle fire is basically an e-reader.

Its sad you think they basically have the same specs. Where are you getting this 'huge demand' from. It will probably sell well as Amazon's top of of the line e-reader.

So as for specs this was posted for developers:

Your app cannot require a gyroscope, camera, WAN module, Bluetooth, microphone, GPS, or micro-SD to function.

Ouch.

Yamcha

Well, lets look at the specifications.

Android OS 2.3
TI OMAP 4 4430 Dual Core Processor (Same as Playbook)
512MB Memory
7" Multi Touch Screen 1024x600 Resolution (IPS Display) - Same as Playbook
Power VR SGX540 Graphics Card (Same as Playbook)
8GB Memory

It'll be able to run Android OS games of course, so as you can see the specifications aren't to far apart.. And consider that this is a device that retails $199.. It will have an accelerometer, sure no gyroscope but still a huge market of games that will work fine..

Also pre-orders hit 95,000 in the first 24hours.. I think its a lot more attractive then what RIM is offering, the entry level Playbook now retails $499 (CAD), the Kindle will retail half of that.. I think its a very compelling offer..

And I do think that it may put Playbook back with the sales..

Not to say that I don't love my Playbook.. I'm just pointing out that its a worthy competitor..

jokeracing

took too long to load 2nd post

rgm#cb

Really? A tablet that is a year old and have very little basic functions. The best update is coming next year when the 2nd tablet from RIM should be due for release. RIM is a joke. How about just giving them away to loyal fans that seem willing to take RIM's BS.

HabsSuck

how about you grow up or move on else where.

makaveli28

Since they raise the price back up to $499 at most retailers, why don't they just do the BOGO deal. Buy one get one free. Works out to the same price reduction you could get them at when purchased at $249 for the 16gb model. I still wouldn't buy one even at that price but could be used to get more stock off the shelves then the simple $249 deal. Perception of getting the free one goes over better.

easydoesit99

rgm for RIM President and CEO! :D

rkevwill

Sadly, shades of Palm.

kenshaw

YAY 3 paper weights for the price of 2

Liquid_Revolver

+ 10, Crapberry trying to sell this trash. Give it away lol

JTWJ

Once mighty RIM has fallen so low...

koool1

If you say it's a paper weight, you have no clue what you are talking about.

HabsSuck

that's why he's an idiot

JonManu

If you compare.the PB to the tablets that it is meant to compete against, the paperweight comparison would be pretty accurate. How is it at all comparable to the Ipad 2? Cost maybe. It is functional, that is not a compliment, that is a minimum.
PS. HabsSuck kind of makes you a bit of a homer no? I mean the name shows how you think. You love BB, but still find fault in them. I mean, I love the Leafs, but man, they are poorly GM'd. They are doing well now, but they pull this crap every year.
I loved RIM, but they haven't give me what they promised. It makes them a ****y company.

HabsSuck

one thing i never do is trash other products because essentially all products are decent but obviously some are better than others.

The only major negative on the PB is the lack of apps but the selection has increased since its launch but preface this from a Blackberry users perspective, If I did not own a Blackberry i would not even consider the Playbook.

TongueDar

I absolutely prefer my PlayBook to my iPad -- which outside of development and world of Goo is a toy I don't care to play with.

In my case, my iPad is a paper weight and a poor one when it comes down to it, as its size gets in the way.

Abrante

My boy asked me yesterday "why do you stick with RIM, they are 10 years behind". I am actually thinking twice about it and am starting to see the meaning. I have stuck with RIM and plan on continuing, but, this is definitely not a year to be proud of.

The Playbook has been almost "given away" since September and I still haven't come across anyone else that has one. Could be a NYC thing or it might just be that they still have a ton of units in the warehouse.

I went through 6 PB's in the past month (5 of them either had 2+ dead pixels in obvious areas and the rest had way too much dust under the screen) The one I actually kept has 1 decent size dust particle but compared to the other 5 I can live with this. Furhermore, I had to do a hard reset the first time I powered the one I kept off because it didn't want to turn off the backlight. Now I see why the return rate has been above average.

sk8er_tor

Mine's been perfect since day one. No exchanges and no refunds. Very happy with it.

buckeyeind

So they want to triple the wait and triple the frustration for a customer wanting an update? Who in their right mind is going to walk out of a store holding three of these. Try to imagine yourself walking out of a store with 2 of these and then being excited waiting for the 3rd one...ummm, I don't think so. They need to quit playing the advertising game based on current circumstances. Anyone who has been shopping these knows this effort is a shell game and any CEO of a company is not going to give the green light to purchasing on this ad.
They simply need to go to $229, $329, $429 (no rebates); offer the same "choose your accessory" or go $199, $299, $399; show an expiration date to the sale and make it known that these prices will never be seen again and STICK TO IT. Create a demand!
Does this really strike anyone as a deal and make you want to go out and participate?

HabsSuck

"Who in their right mind is going to walk out of a store holding three of these"

try a company that has a number of employees, has everyone here taken their idiot pills?

buckeyeind

what I'm trying to get across is that their using a grocery ad mentality trick by advertising "get the third one free" by raising the price on the purchased two in order to cover the the cost of the third. Nothing has changed in the final price structure.
I hope for the success of this product. This is an ad that would work wonderfully AFTER the update; not now. We'll see how many playbooks this ad moves and then you can get back to calling people idiots. I hope they empty the warehouse with this ad and everyone in the production line is building more. That is the object, isn't it?

ghostzapper

This must be the brainchild of RIM's CMO. Remember the guy that said RIM would leapfrog the competition with pending announcements at Dev Con.

buwee

Yea, what a total idiot! I don't believe anything they say anymore and will be moving along.

tropenman

GREAT, i feel like the biggest loser. Bought my playbook 64 gb for US$ 800 on ebay, because on our island they where not sold. First one never arrived. bought another. yes arrived. paid tax over it. but oke. after 1 month, playbook did nothing anymore. unsupported country for repairs, so had to send it to somebody in a sorting country. Shipped it with fedex to holland. paid US$ 80 fedex. to that person was send an empty box, and the playbook was shipped of to germany for repair. after 5 days it came back. and for another US$ 80 it was shipped back to my island. there they asked me to pay tax over it. screw them. its that i know people i did not have to pay. But then in holland the send me a bill afterwards to demand me to pay 130 euros tax over it.
did you do the math? this stupid thing cost me a fortune, and just does the half of any other tablet.
And now they sell them for half prices, or get one free.
Also i can't buy any app. not pay pall not visa not nothing. or my app is not in a supporting country.
WTF with worldwide????
They should put fisher price on this device.
i buy at least every year another BB phone. so when this tablet is 1 year old. what is it exactly???
useless

buckeyeind

you're right. which brings up another marketing mess. Once a company starts discounting, it's either an admission of an overcharge OR they have manufactured a large quantity and the product is not moving and their staring at a lot of boxes, which adds up to a substantial amount of money. A company with a rock solid reputation has been taken to the lowest levels AND THEN today introduce a $2000 phone. Who in the world is making such decisions for a publicly traded, global company? You cannot be successful when you are making these decisions, and at the same time, your stock just hit a 52 week low while the rest of the market is up. It is absolutely baffling, and rather painful, to watch. It is getting down to hope for loyal customers because faith is disappearing and that isn't good in a global, competitive market. I want to see this ship turned around.

HabsSuck

the discounting is due to excessive inventory, have a read of the Q2 earnings its right there in black and white.
I don't understand your issue about the Porche BB a company that has over 17000 employees can be working on a number of different products and promotions at the same time.

buckeyeind

I'm aware that the issue is excessive inventory, just thought I would share some experiences.
Also, I agree that there would be a number of different projects going on, that the Porsche phone is unique and is appealing to a niche clientele but this isn't the kind of niche RIM needs right now.
Revenue needs to be generated, inventory needs turned or the future Q earnings will read the same and the stock continues its current path, as you know.
No issues with the company as a whole or, for sure, the employees; just with who is making the marketing and public relation decisions. They just keep repeating the same "blah". The sexiness of BB needs to be rediscovered but first they need to unload inventory...in my opinion anyway.

xweb10

If I paid $800 I would feel the same way! $250 for my 64GB seems about right to me.

gordongr

That's horrible. I don't think I would even admit it if I dished out that much for it, I love mine but good grief, you have spent a lot for yours, I sure hope they get these tablets right & make it possible for you to get apps.

MattBerry08

The discounting has to happen, they're awash in inventory. 699+tax on 4/19 here, darn close to the 800 mark. all the more reasons to be miffed about a very pricy web browser/magnified viewer of my 9650.

I LOVE the "oh my PB is so much better than the Kindle Fire" commentary. (Sarcasm). We'll see about that - the camera/gyro/storage differences are far outweighed by the cloud, ecosystem and apps - as well as the price point. Not sure how RIM missed the boat here other than horrendous management (not news).

If Amazon doesn't sell more KF's in the first 3 days than RIM has by the release of OS2, I'll be shocked.

They've had the opportunity to fix this - its sad that discounting is the best they've done to date.

TeaBoy

Not a bad deal i must say.
Too bad i don't own a business.
Or else i will take up on this promotion.

bb.pl

Seriously toy are offering a buy 2 get 1 deal on a tablet.
How did this ad mishap or promotion disaster even get approve??

Buy 2tablet get 1tablet free...who in their right mind comes up with something like this ?
just wow rim ..what a fail.

efd2051

I do not know what the right price for playbook should be, maybe $199 ? ..given that it does not VPN into a corporate envrironment (no cisco client which is the predominant standard)< No support remote desktop - and can't wifi into anything besides simple WEP/WPA.

This is clearly not something anyone can use in the corp environment - and THAT is the reason you do nto see to many of them around.

Disparishun

Discounts for businesses? Fine. But they should be taking the same approach to reaching out to businesses, as they do for developers -- figure out what businesses need, and help give it to them. How about an SME Hotline with a dedicated team of 10-15 developers? If you're a small or medium business and are wondering what the PlayBook can do for your business, you call the hotline. They'll discuss your business, how PlayBook can fit into and enhance your workflow -- and, if there's more than a few businesses that all need functions or apps that don't exist, the developers create apps for that.

nasigorengpete

Be careful businesses, do not fall into RIM's trap. A lot of us did. Unless your business is not using email and calendar then this is the tablet for you!

This is the price RIM has to pay. Messing with their loyal fans and now they're doing this desperate attempt to sell.

herrbremerhaven

2 for the price of 1, then maybe I would go for this deal. At 3 for 1, it's just a bad idea, especially that the recent $299 deals were better. If they drop the price to $250, or do an HP WebOS style blow-out at $99, then maybe I'll get one. The Amazon Kindle Fire is looking like a better deal as we approach the official launch date. How do RiM expect to sell any PlayBooks during the holidays.

Xterra2

Only way to sell. More playbook units by giving out 1 free

Xterra2

Only way to sell. More playbook units by giving out 1 free

Xterra2

Only way to sell. More playbook units by giving out 1 free

mavsguy842

How about a retroactive rebate for everyone who bought the PB early and has been waiting through missed deadline after missed deadline for everything that was promised "90 days after launch"? Or $100 off your first BBX phone? That would go a long way to keep me as a BB phone user, because with all the delays on my PB, I'm really worried that RIM can't handle keeping BBX up to date on phones.

mechanoid

I see the offer is only for USA and Canada again...

909F2

I agree that a tablet that can't email, no calender, no contact will appeal to any business user. This is another pathetic move by RIM. I will find my PB useless if not for my BB smartphone to do the things above. But then again a smartphone is sufficient to do all the PIM works. Sorry RIM, try harder.

---------------------------------
 9810 & PB 16g

mypb16

This deal is LAME unless you are getting the 64gb!!! Buy 2 get 1 free? LOL. Who does math up in RIM? If I understand this correctly:

Buy 2 16gb at full price $499 = $998 get 1 free
Buy 3 16gb on sale $299 = $897

Buy 2 32gb at full price $599 = $1198 get 1 free
Buy 3 32gb on sale $399 = $1197

Buy 2 64gb at full price $699 = $1398 get 1 free
Buy 3 64gb on sale $499 = $1497

There you go. You can save $99 only if you buy the 64gb models. You do get some free accessories but I don't think they count that much.

LittleLord

This "deal" isn't going to cut it. RIM needs to significantly drop the price of the Playbook to get sales moving. I fully realize that the Playbook has great features and excellent specs, but the facts are the facts. iPad is still dominating the market and the Kindle is going to make a killing with the Kindle Fire this holiday season at $200. The fact that the Kindle Fire isn't a business class machine doesn't matter. Most tablets are used for reading, video, basic web browsing & online shopping. They're basically convenience devices -- toys if you will.

RIM can no longer settle for catering to the business marketplace. Many big companies (mine included) have opened up their BYOD policies to support iPhones and Androids based on huge employee demand. So, RIM is losing the business market as well.

I don't know what the answer is for RIM other than to develop some technology that again revolutionizes the industry. But sadly I just don't see that happening.

msxtreo25

Not really a deal at all, I checked a few of the vendors and they all appear to be selling the PB for 499 ea(16gb). Correct me if I am wrong but this would be 1000 for 3(with this so-called deal) or if I go to staples I can buy them for 299 ea 3*299= 900 ? Am I missing something?

Joe257

Someone spoke of the Kindle Fire. The Kobo Vox looks pretty good too for book reading and running less taxing apps since it only has an 800 MHz CPU. The plus is that it runs Android 2.3 apps from the Android Market. The Fire is more powerful at the same price.

RIM's buy 2 get 1 free deal is okay, but I would rather just have $100 off the device to make it competitive and more attractive than the other tablets. Many 10-inch tablets are being sold for $499; the PlayBook is smaller. The lack of native email and 3G/4G option is very limiting for non-BlackBerry users.