Earlier this week we saw some news that the BlackBerry PlayBook will be sold at Staples (among plenty of other retailers) and it looks like it will be on the way to Office Depot as well. As seen in the image above, the 16GB Wifi version will sell for $499.99 and be available in "week 17" (late March/early April-ish). This is the first solid sign of a price tag we've seen in print thus far and it's definitely a welcome one at under $500. So far it looks like there will be no shortage of places to find the PlayBook once it launches either. Thanks @champaigno
Reader comments
16GB BlackBerry PlayBook Priced at $499 and heading to Office Depot
whatever you all say, tablet without Flashplayer is worthless if you want the true web browsing capability.
I would never buy an iPad, no way. Looked at all the tablet availabe, Playbook will b the only one worth spending meoney on.
And when it comes to the price: If you have no money, don't even look for a tablet.
If you have money, don't whine, buy it and that's it.
Most tablets have Wi-Fi and optional 3G/4G, but you have to buy a data plan with a cell provider.
Playbook will be the first and so far only one that pairs with your smartphone, no additional plans necessary if you have a data plan with your cell phone provider.
I agree with many posts. What is with thinking BB are a cheap device and should be priced cheaply? I have used RIM products since 2002 and not only have they made major improvements in both functionality and aesthetics, but they continue to be the industry leader for the professionals (where it all began). I'm in my 20's, yes, and I am a business professional, but there's no argument against a majority of sales of the other devices go to the ''younger'' and ''gaming'' demographic. Simply because every child in grade school has an IPOD or each child in middle school is rocking an Iphone or a BOOST Android handset, doesn't give the new tech more credibility. If anything, it makes me detest the ideology behind those who do not respect the powers of a handset and almost undeservingly purchase because Tommy has one. Truth be told, those who know and those who care will go with a RIM product.
In terms of PlayBook pricing, the $499 is on par and is not set in stone (much could change upon launch, not to mention incentives/rebates). It's a BB and if you truly want functionality, fun, and a bit more character than white ear buds...you'll truly appreciate the product and purchase without hesitations (should it fit your lifestyle). If you wish for a cheaper ''tablet,'' choose one of the cheaper Android tablets that are flooding the market (some for as low as $99). As for me, and many others, I respect RIM and have chosen to support their products for many years and will no doubt take advantage of a PlayBook upon release. I'm simply willing to pay for quality and substance, not simply hype or status. And, talks are underway and development happening that would enable your device to run compatible applications from the big Android.
And besides, I'm human, not a green ''monster'' and I know that ounce for ounce, blackberries are far more nutritious than apples.....
I think what most people don't see is that the pricing falls in line with their smartphones. In some cases it's actually cheaper (Torch). So yeah while $499 is a bit pricey, most of their phones are around this range. Which is weird to me because I think tablets are capable of doing more.
RIM plz let tis little puppy be Jialbroken and it will be more successfull device you ever produce.
screw the price. Americans get the best of the best and still complain. i just wish you guys would be happy for being the 1st to get anything at such a good deal.As for the other parts of the world, when you add up the delivery fee, custom taxs and so forth, it could easily cost double or even triple the price.
but most importantly which i'm sure everyone wants to know is, will exisiting blackberry users be able to use BBM on the PB? cause if that works, it'll be super awesome. imagine this, we have group chats which can support 30 people texting simultaneously and maybe RIM could develop a higher version of BBM which enables video conferencing as well in group chats?
food for thought.
People are right, no one NEEDS this, just like no one NEEDS an ipad, but wanting this is a different story. I want a Playbook & have some money saved up for a "splurge item" & think this will be it. Reading the description though makes me wonder a little, it says "Wirelessly tether to your BlackBerry for Email, calendar, address book, task list" did anyone else notice that there's NO mention of surfing the web thru tethering?? Now I'm sure I'll get responses but in video posts it's always shown on Wifi & not browsing thru a Berry. Is the BlackBerry bridge really going to give us the ability to surf the web using our existing data plans if we buy a Wifi Playbook? Has this question been officially answered or are we just assuming? That will be a BIG factor in my decision because because I really don't need another data plan bill that's for sure.
I was wondering the same thing and that vague description about it working for email, callendar, address book, task list. That is my main reason for having so much interest in the playbook. I should work for RIMM considering how many people ive sold on getting this thing for that feature alone. I would sleep a lot better hearing official word that if I have a blackberry and pay for the data plan on it that I can use my phones data plan to get online w. the playbook. If it does not then I definitely will not be getting it despite how amazing it looks. If that is the case, and you can use the phones data to get online w. the playbook at no additional charge, I will be the first person waiting online to get one.
Yeah it's on their website. You can use your existing BB smartphone to act as a modem.
$500 is a good price. Cheaper than I expected. It works out at £311 but if it comes in just under £400 in the UK, I'll be getting the Playbook straight away.
You guys forget one thing, this price is a stand alone price from a general shop, when the carriers will sell it i'm pretty sure they'll bundle it at a reduced price with new blackberry contracts.
I think a lot of people are underestimating the ammount of disposable income that young people have, even in this economy. Sure, it may seem a little high to those of us that have recurring bills like rent or mortgages and car payments etc, but for students and such, this isn't such a bad price, especially if they already have a Blackberry they can tether the data plan from.
As far as apps go, most apps are a replacement for a website that won't load or function on a mobile device the way they were designed to. This won't be an issue with the Playbook. Also, people are talking like nobody is going to develop apps for the Playbook once it comes out. With how easy it is to develop for Air and QNX, that definitely won't be the case.
It is quite unfair to dismiss the majority of apps as just being website replacement, while this is true in some cases, there are vast numbers of apps that do far more than that, albeit some of them are only adding functionality that should already be in the ipad.
$499 is what I expected, a decent price IMHO. Playbook exceeds in every dept spec wise. All good things in life come with a price and RIM is not a charity organization where they can sell something for less than it costs to make one .
Everyone here is comparing the playbook to ipad... But do you remember the samasung galaxy tab debued at close to 700, and it doesn't offer the same comprehensive web experience.
For the younger people out there that can't afford this price all you can do is hang on. My guess is by next September you'll see a price drop or maybe even an 8gb version. Remember RIM is the company that gives you the 9800, 9780 AND the Curve. I think they fundamentally do understand that having more people with Playbooks in their hands is good for getting more apps, but coming out of the gate they need to take all the money off of us early adopters as they can. My guess is early units will sell very well. All of us BB fans are just dieing to have a gadget with a super "flashy" and fluid OS. So there is probably little concern at RIM that early production will go unsold, but as I said long term they are going to want to get the Playbook in as many hands as possible.
For those complaining about the price, look at this.
I live in Australia, where even though the dollar is the same as the U.S(maybe more as I heard today) the playbook will probably release at a price closer to $1000.
Iphone 4 over $1000. Torch $1000. 9780 $920. And they are all getting sold..... Quickly.
Take that $500 and be happy, Aussies damn sure would.
Ps. The people who keep stating how extensive apples appstore is, keep leaving out how many of those are the EXACT SAME APP.
I don't usually find much to agree with most Aussies about, but you've hut the nail nicely on the head there, twice.
Ahhhhhhhhhh take cover!!! The hordes of whinging morons are descending on the juicy tidbit that is the "outed price" of the Playbook.
Suck it up fools........ "under $500" and "competitively priced" were stated pretty much from day one for the entry level 16Gb WIFI only device, and most savvy people understood this to mean $499.99 when compared to the IPAD entry at $500.
In fact, this price was bandied about on the forums thousands of times and was pretty much widely accepted. Only pipedreamers would have expected the price to be much lower than that for a device which will run rings around most of the current tablet devices on offer.
Get with the program, yes, it's YOUR dollar... spend it or don't spend it, but don't whinge about your decision. Nobody really gives a toss........ I suspect that most of the loudest whingers are consumers who wouldn't understand or even use most of the capabilities of the device anyway, and it would end up sitting on their coffee table much like many of the IPADS because they're nowhere near as portable or capable.......
Now excuse me whilst I slip into something more comfortable like my flame retardant jump suit LOL...
Lol crackberry is always stocked with marketing and financial experts who can predict the future! The PB will be sold EVERYWHERE and it will catch on like wildfire. Once they start getting spotted around the web and in commercials it will take off. RIM knows exactly what they are doing with PB, from marketing to pricing to advertising. They have been putting all their focus on this thing and you can bet they havent missed a step. It will succeed not to mention it will rock! Ill be ditching my laptop for one.
Although a bit higher priced then thought, one point many are missing is that maybe the Ipad 2 is going to be $50 more than the current version (wouldn't be the first time for Apple to inflate the price for second or third gen devices), thus the PB will be undercutting them.
I have an Ipad, great for games around home, and take to our friends who have one too. PB would fall in the "not sure if I need it" gadget, but can be justified because of the tethering (assuming my exsisting phone data plans is good enough, not buy a seperate data plan). The smaller size is welcome too if its going to be carried everywhere (or at least, more places then the Ipad goes).
And yeah, that has to be officedepot.com...office depot in Canada are completely irrelevant; I'd be surprised if they have pentium processor computers!
I was thinking very similarly. OfficeMax and OfficeDepot are just not the go to place.
PB needs to be priced more competitively. Yes hardcore blackberry users will probably pay $500. But we also know there are plenty of school kids who use their blackberry curve solely to update their facebook status. They will not get a playbook. For playbook to be a success we need more than just hardcore crackberry addicts to buy one. The big deal about apps is companies make apps to promote their product. Its like television commercials, the more people watch a program the more exposure your product gets. That's why they can charge more for a superbowl commercial. Ipad and iphone are immensely popular thus companies want the exposure on them thus more apps, blackberry isn't exactly the hottest mobile platform right now. Apps mean your product has relevance. Less apps less relevance. It's reality. For the non crackberry addict the price need to be cheaper so when they consider which to buy they have a reason to look twice. I decided to not upgrade to a 9780 from my 9700 because for a similar cost I could keep my 9700 and buy a galaxy tab. I well get a playbook when it comes out but the tab to me was a viable option while I wait because it cost about half the price of a 32g with 3g +wifi ipad. $349 plus $30 for additional 16g sd card. Price does matter.
I completely agree...
With 16GB we can all load up a good amount of converted movies on this for travel. A full DVD movie is around 4GB and that is everything. I would like to see how the higher memory units will go for before I fully decide.
My current Tablet PC has 32GB and I never went that high and it has a complete OS with MS Office with Outlook running. Never ran out of space.
My wallets telling me I'd have preferred a 399$ price point for the 16GB wifi PB. That being said, I'll probably cough up the 499. Though no micro sd slot still pisses me off. I might just not be an early adopter at this price point.
The 399$ price point though would have made it an easy sell for me to clients.
The PLAYBOOK WILL SUCCEED!
I really don't get why people debate on items they had no core interest in,
if you want a pure media device "disguised and marketed " as something REVOLUTIONARY get your IPAD , However if your somebody who wants a Practical Portable Device that will potentially do more than "Angry Birds" and get your job done ! get your PB,
i'll admit RIM/ Blackberry platform was never the most lush platform ever ! but when it came to the PRACTICALITY supporting your reasons buying a SMART-PHONE it was true to its purpose !
Subsequently improvements have been made to appeal to GUI centric persons, so really stop bashing and allow people to enjoy their own interest.
i'm a BB user and i doubt that will change.
Is RIM really setting this pricing? Fine they said under 500, but they must have had to work out some deals with the vendor. I am trying to remember where I saw this post, but the tablet is costing them over 300 to make. So they are not really taking a margin, the margin is going to the retailers/carriers.
Secondly people stating its a smaller screen so it should be cheaper then a 10 inch screen. is a 12 or 14" laptop really cheaper then a 15 or even 17" screen one. NO.. in some cases its more expensive and it probably cost a little bit more to manufacture.
Good point on laptop size and no RIM does not set the final retail price, that is illegal. They can only set MSRP - suggested retail price.
Recall that when AT&T cut the price of the Torch all the press was like woooo bad for RIM but Jim B said he was delighted because RIM sells the unit to AT&T at a specific price AT&T can sell the phone at whatever price they want.
In the case of a tablet, there would be some reduction in the cost due to the smaller display, but nowhere near the $100 that some people come out with on stuff like this when comparing it to the ipad's pricing.
I agree that 16gb isn't enough to justify $500.
And I hate that 499.99 is "under $500" - it's a freakin penny less, i could give a crap about a penny.
Ever see the price of gasoline? 9/10 of a cent was created for 1 reason and 1 reason only. Marketing. And everyone buys into it. Yeah I got gas for $2.99! Uh no you didn't you paid $3.00.
It is the same with all products.
They don't want to compete with the ipad but with the ipad 2 !! The ipad 2 price would be like $ 600 ( for the 16 gb with wifi ) because they can't sell it cheaper then the old ipad !
But rim 399 sounds better ! ;)
I think this is the perfect price. I might move to Blackberry full time as my phone.
WHOOOOOOOO yes cant wait to buy one and sooo happy its not 700 thats my cut off price :)
weeeeeell I dunno why people are making wifi only devices .. that just has faIL written all over it
3G x is where its at .. if this thing is released and there are no apps for it .. it will be a door stop
Uhh because some people don't want to pay for another data plan.
YES! Somebody else gets it besides me!
LOL! Riiight. Know how many iPad Wifi were sold compared to the 3G variant?
Your post has fail written all over it.
Yes! he Failed, Hot-Mess in my opinion.
People, people, people. People will always complain about prices - it should always be cheaper, do more and be bigger (or thinner, or smaller even). This is cheaper than an iPad, and so far as I can see, it does more. You're upset because the iPad has a better app store? Yeah, and you've got to pay for most everything you get.
App world is relatively new, so far developers have only had to make things for small-screen phones. Now that there will be a bigger market for more apps, the App store will get an overhaul. Besides, most of the things that you have to pay for in the App Store are available for free on the Web.
An interesting point to note also is that Android will be working with Sony, bringing Sony PSN games and PSOne games to Android devices. If Android and Blackberry hammer out an agreement (I haven't heard any of this) then perhaps Sony would be interested in expanding their market? Good news for people who might be looking for games on their device. Which is a lot of what the App store is anyway....
I'm so excited that the PlayBook is finally nearing its release date!! The price range is about what I expected it would be, I'm most definitely going to get this wonderful piece of technology. People are always going to complain and about pricing but I just ignore them. There are probably lots of good reasons they chose this price range i.e. the cost of constructing the QNX OS for this tablet size, materials, hardware tests etc. the list goes on people. If they sold it for $399 they wouldn't be around much longer as they do have to satisfy stockholders' pockets and create a major profit from this. This does lots more than an ipad or ipad 2 will ever do except in apps but seriously apps aren't everything. Plus considering all the tools they gave developers, I can see a lot of them creating useful apps for this device by the time it gets officially released.
Hmm...well I must say I am surprised at this price. Apple is doing serious damage to the market right now. If you want to eat into their pie you don't make a pie and sell it at the same price you sell it lower. Samsung was smart to drop there price..I wonder if RIM will do the same.
Or you make a better pie.
Agreed but the playbook isn't that much better. I have been waiting for this to drop. But when you say it's going to be under 500 and you make it 499 you piss off the consumer.
Well, that's only your opinion. Other people will find that the PB offers things that other tablets don't. For example, I want portability and desktop-like web experience. Apps aren't that important to me (as long as I have "uncompromised web") and games even less.
If you want cheap tablet, look elsewhere. Wait until the iPad2 comes out and then buy the first-gen iPad.
True this is my opinion but don't kid yourself Intosh. Most tablets all do the same thing with a few exceptions here and there. RIM needs to gain ground in the market not lose any of what they are holding onto right now by way of their outdated phones. I continue to use BB because I love them but I am very well aware of the fact that Os..Android and Web os are better. If RIM is going to stay competitive then they have to price to stay that way. Of course this is "my opinion"
My guess is price drop after iPad 2 comes out so just hang in there a bit if this is too expensive. Early adopters always pay more.
That's always the case, it's marketing/PR, everyone does it. Want a burger under $1, $.99, new iphone for under $300, $299 etc.
HA! Good one!
Or you make a better pie for the same price. Which RIM did.
mckillo: Great minds think alike
The Tab has only dropped in price on contact. You have to rember that the PB pricing is without a 2 year agreement. I have heard that when the wifi-only version of the Samsung comes out, it will be priced much more than $500. I think the PB pricing is more than fair.
Hmm..What can i do with this blackberry playbook,
I already have a smart phone that checks all my email and can do all my texting.
I have a laptop to do all my other stuff on..
So which part of the blackberry playbook does it function and fits into my schedual??
playbook or kindle?
Hopefully it will have the function for spell checking your posts.
LOL
LOL
Definitely playbook.
They said the same thing about the iPhone. Then the itouch came along, then the iPad. Now the iPad 2 is looming.....
sigh, SMH
Just enjoy life and quit bitching. Don't get it if you don't need it. I have a desktop,laptop,netbook,and blackberry and I am still getting it. They are filling every niche like the new BMW lineup. Someone might get the playbook and say, "why would I ever need a laptop?". Everyones different...
You are right, you don't REALLY need it, but I have the kindle app on my laptop and still prefer to read on the kindle (holding it closer just feels better). I can see surfing the web being more enjoyable if I can hold it in my hands as well.
I have to laugh because I recall God Jobs with the iPad saying something like "holding the web in your hands," but he really had to put the iPad in his lap because the damn thing is too heavy to hold.
I can also see taking this thing to a meeting and following along looking at pdfs rather than printing them out. I do not carry a laptop to a meeting where we go through and discuss an agenda, it's just too much of a pain to carry around.
To me the absolute key to the Playbook is portability. If it had all that it now has now but was 10 inch I'd like it much less. Bravo to RIM for going with 7 inches. the Xoom to me is just silly it's even bigger than the iPad!
Uh, week 17 is when Office Deopt sell it. This doesn't mean it won't be out sooner.
You people that are hung up on choosing the bigger app store - you're thinking in the totally wrong fashion. As mobile devices and tablets get closer to total and complete web fidelity, applications will not be needed as much. That's why (even though my playbook will nearly always be tethered anyway), I don't mind using gmail in the web browser, because the playbook has full flash 10.1 and a great browser in general. 499 for a 16gb wifi playbook - sign me up. The iPad is a toy.
Finally, some common sense.
You Sir/Madam are very smart.
+1 again! Bunch of microwave b****es! Everybody wants stuff now and exactly their way!
Best comment i have read in a long time. You hit the nail on the head. I was thinking the same thing people are so shallow.
Why would i need apps when i can just go on the website and do everything and more that the app will be able to do?
All the app does is take up space and slow up your system.
Playbook please be available ASAP, i am dying for a good product, and i think i have found one with the playbook.
BINGO!
Nobody gives a shit about apps when shopping for a laptop, but everyone's kye-eyeing about the lack of them on a tablet that offers the same full web experience.
Yeah, I agree with you that the iPad is a toy. But we shouldn't completely ignore the power of native apps. E.g. a native app could integrate with the PIM features of the BB, or have a nicer, integrated UI. E.g. I have to admit i use the VLC Remote app on the iPhone. I can access each computer on the network easily, without having to enter a different web address each time. Also, native apps can easily access local resources (e.g. local mp3s) in a slightly more secure fashion than a web page..
I really wonder what the architecture of the PB OS is. They refer to it as QNX, but I wonder if it's just the QNX Neutrino RTOS and everything else (e.g. the UI elements) can be easily replaceable. Then this machine will rock!
i want any information. Whit the theatring i can surf on internet with my future playbook??
get with the times bud
I agree that the price complaining is probably coming from stingy-ass people, I find the price to be perfectly reasonable with 16GB storage, and Wi-Fi...I might get one if I were rich lol.
I am stingy. Thats my money. AND consumers on the average will feel the same. this isnt a BB thing or and Apple, Android fight. This should be RIMS time to shine, but it wont happen like it could with these prices on a wifi only device. UNLESS i am the only stingy one left or possibly the only one thinking about value for MY dollar.
If you want 3G so bad right away...Instead of paying for a separate data plan like the ipad, go get a blackberry for $150 on contract and just use the bridge for your connection...same price per month as ipad plan but you can use it as a phone too.
Then don't buy it plain and simple, no one is pointing a gun to your head and forcing you to buy the damn thing. I also won't buy it since I do not want/need a tablet but I think $499 is a reasonable asking price, could be discounted if sales don't take off like RIM hopes.
I would say they should price it at least $50 to $100 cheaper than the equivalent sized Ipad. Sometimes price alone will get an extra look from those trying to decide between the two platforms. I currently have a galaxy tab. Price was a drawing point plus you can expand memory from 16GB included.
I'm going to get one.... Working over time will be worth it.
I don't get the price crying. Do we know everything the Playbook can do? Really. Is it coming with an Office suite and does the iPad come with one also.
I do kind of understand that maybe the Playbook should be a little cheaper than the iPad and ONLY for the reason that the iPad commands a higher price just because it is an Apple product.
That will be hard to sell to the AVERAGE CONSUMER. considering bigger is better mentality(# of Apps,Size 10"). I think that is the problem with the price. people have heard the under 500 remark, but i think many were also thinking that would be the wifi and 3G 16GB version.
Then that consumer is a stupid consumer. RIM has stated for so long that there won't be 3G on the PlayBook. If RIM has repeatedly stated this, why would someone be disappointed that it's the case? Geesh.
I don't believe that this will actually be aimed at the average consumer. Then again, the average consumer won't be buying a tablet.
I've got a BB and an iPhone4, each with the 6GB data plans. I wonder if the PB will be able to pair with the iPhone4 as well as my BB...
I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about. RIM always stated it would be under 500 and it is, and now everyone is saying 399. If the price came in at 399 you would be complaining that it should be 299. Why doesn't RIM just give them away for free!!
It is comparable to the other tablets in the market. Fine the apps are not there, but if they port over the android apps that point is gone as well.
This thing from the videos looks super crisp and smooth, no lag and looks to be a great device. I'm not sure what else everyone is looking for.
As for the release date, I am sure and hoping it will be released prior to end of April, but staples may only have it available at that time.
Probably an Apple logo and/or a funny green robot type OS.
+1! Thank you for saying this!
$499...... damn.. add another $50 at least for the case.....
man.....
A little pricey I'm going to have to save up.
Just to help everyone out:
BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB Wi-Fi: $499
iPad 16GB Wi-Fi: $499
iPad 32GB Wi-Fi: $599
iPad 64GB Wi-Fi: $699
iPad 16GB 3G+Wi-Fi: $629
iPad 32GB 3G+Wi-Fi: $729
iPad 64GB 3G+Wi-Fi: $829
EDIT: Also,
Motorola Xoom 32GB 4G+Wi-Fi: $799
imo, ur pricing may be off. i dont see them charging 100 per upgrade in memory. i see it as follows..
$499 16gb
$549 32gb
$599 64gb
i was really hoping $299 but realistically thinking $349-$399 launch. i thought they had an 8gb version as well?
He gave the prices for iPad's, which increase in $100 increments for memory. We have yet to see prices for any other playbook models afaik. Hopefully it will be like you say, with $50 increments though
Just to help everyone out?
How does guessing at prices help anyone?
btw I think your guesses are high.
he wasnt guessing tard... those are the actual prices...
Is this Playbook only WiFi or will it 3G also? I would really like to know more as I really want to buy it. I'm a RIM lover and don't want an iPad!
This is the wifi-only version.
This may be the 3G version due to the fact that on the Blackberry 2011 road map it showed the playbook in Q2, so they may have made a mistake on this being a wifi only version
I don't know why anyone would want this when you can get an iPad for around the same price. The BlackBerry App Store really sucks! Not interested unless it gets Android powered or BB AppStore improves.
maybe because iPads stink and can't even do true multitasking?
Yea I'm not an iPad fan, but if I am going to pay that much for a tablet, then I want a good app store to go with it. BlackBerry definitely does not have it.
It has been said that QNX, which runs on the PlayBook, can and will run Android apps at some point.
I know a great app store: the entire Web.
LOL GOOD ONE ! AND TRUE.
Ahh look at your first statement above, you are an iPad fan.
Because the iPad is 10 years behind the PlayBook, so the price isn't comparable at all.
So true!
RIM just leap-frogged Apple.
If you think RIM was going to give you an amazing deal by selling its brand new tablet for less than marketprice just because its app library is not as large as others, then you are seriously mistaken.
You think full web experience, true multitasking, great display and portability are free?
If the sheer number of apps is so important to you, then you shouldn't be looking at the PB in the first place. Are you going to a Ferrari dealer asking for a better deal because the cars don't seat four adults?
I've got a whole slew of Apple products, and I still think that a vast majority of the apps on the app store sucks. 300,000 apps? sure. But 299,000 of them sucks.
Seriously - how many of them are useful? or as full featured as a decent BB app?
BOO!! Should be coming out in Late Feb or Early March, and for 16 GB I'd pay $350, for 32 I'd pay $400, and for 64 I'd pay $50. The rumors that this will fail will be true if they stick to make it so expensive!!!
Didn't you hear that RIM wasn't really aiming for the low end of the market? To be honest, I don't think that this is really that expensive. It's not cheap, but it's not outrageous like the Xoom either.
considering that this thing blows the iPad out of the water and the 16GB wifi model of the iPad is $549 at future shop...not sure how anyone can say this is too expensive.
This thing does 10x more than the iPad. Being 7" doesnt justify statements claiming it should be even cheaper when the internals and all are much better.
Because I can't access my BES without tethering it. $399 and I might be in on it.
and with an iPad or any other tablet you can't access a BES and take advantage of any of its features at all.
So, what's your point?
With everything else even, larger app store outweighs Flash.
Flash outweights apps.
Most app, I can access with the web browser. For lots of websites, if you don't have Flash, they are unusable.
Also, most popular apps will eventually come to the Playbook, will Flash eventually be on the iPad?
But hey whatever floats your boat.
Haters gonna hate...:(
Ummmm ... No. Good apps will come to this but flash will never come to iPad. So I think you underestimate the value of apps.
Going to a website without flash is going to be the iPad equivalent of a battery pull ;-)
Stupid statement! can you do that with any other device ?
ohhhhh the ipad2 comes with the BES feature i see, oh my bad ! damn idiot.
additional this DEVICE WAS JUST LAUNCHED ! who knows the potential feature with subsequent software updates u FANBOY
+1
The Android Fanbois and Apple disciples just make themselves look stupid when they try and dis the PlayBook.
I have no preference from one to the next but I would much rather have the playbook. The real estate the Apps and the fact that their are now many tablets on the market. This is OVERPRICED for 7 Inches of 16GB WIFI only.
If you think this is overpriced what are your thoughts on the $799.99 Xoom running Android.
I wouldn't buy it either,lol. I am only interested in the Playbook mainly because of its size and its a BB.
I don't believe that this is an accurate price shown here, maybe office depot will be selling it for more, I hope that RIM will be smart enough to price the PlayBook at the rumored 399 price, and also week 17 isn't that accurate do to the fact of the leaked Staples employee training date on March 16
I am excited... but I'm not paying 500 for a wifi 16GB 7inch Playbook. I could see 400 for wifi only but that's is nuts. Hopefully that will change.
Doesn't week 17 put us @ the end of April early May or does week 17 mean something else
Called the price to the penny. Too expensive.
+1
for me price = fail
Maybe you should get a Xoom for $800?
and then pay for an additional data plan.
Since you are so well off maybe you can just flip me the extra cash and then I can get one.
I said price for me was a fail, not everyone else.
You like the price, go get 'er.
+2 I don't see the difference between the pb's pricing and the iPad afterall they said it will be competetive. I was thinking it would be a bit cheaper which would also be a smart marketing strategy. Oh well we'll see how much the carriers sell it for, if its different then the pricing is contolled by the retailer.
Week 17 is end of April since my workterm is 17 weeks pay starting jan ending april 29th.
That's correct - week 17 is April 24-30. Could be Office Depot will be late to the party, but it's disappointing if it's the true release date.
Perfect timing just after my birthday
Anyone know if this is OfficeDepot.com or OfficeDepot.ca???
If this is .com then Canadian price will be nearly $600 BUT if this is .ca then the US might come in at $399ish
Just a thought.
The dollar is at par....
ipad canada 16gb wifi = 500
ipad usa 16gb wifi = 500
Apple USA IPad = $499.00
Apple Canada IPad = $549.00
Going with this pricing as RIM seems to be following:
CAD 16G wifi PB = $549.99
There are a ton of comments on price here and below. Everyone should remember retailers are free to set whatever prices they like, RIM can only "suggest."
My guess is Best Buy and Amazon will offer the product at a discount to RIM's MSRP. I'm looking for an Amazon pre-order!