RIM extends festive offer on PlayBook by a week

New Delhi: Within days of slashing prices of its PlayBook tablet PC by almost half, Blackberry-maker RIM has said the device is sold out in retail outlets across the country, which has prompted it to extend the festive offer by a week.

"We are pleased to see the excitement and overwhelming response to our limited festive season offer on BlackBerry PlayBook. I believe that the 16-GB and 32-GB version of the PlayBook is completely sold out in the retail channels," Research In Motion Managing Director India Sunil Dutt said.

Buoyed by the huge response, the company has now decided to extend the offer by a week, he said.

The company sold more than 12,000 devices in just four days since the offer was announced on December 28 and distributors - Redington and Ingram - are waiting for new stock to come in.

"This limited festive offer has propelled a huge surge in PlayBook purchases in the last few days. We have sold over 12,000 PlayBooks across the country within these four days of the offer period, which ended on December 31, 2011," the distributors said.

Fresh stock is coming in to cater to the demand of customers for the extended offer period of one more week, they added.

Canadian firm Research In Motion (RIM) has slashed the price of its PlayBook by more than half to Rs 13,490 for the 16-GB version to cash in on the festive season and rising demand for tablet PCs in India.

A tablet PC, though smaller in size, has PC-like functionalities. "BlackBerry continues to be an aspirational brand and we have seen a huge uptake in the market across the country for PlayBook during this offer period," Dutt said. RIM, known for its BlackBerry series of phones, had introduced PlayBook in June in the Indian market. The 16-GB version of the PlayBook is available at a more than 50 per cent discount from the regular price of Rs 27,990.

Prices for 32 GB and 64 GB versions were also cut. The 32-GB version was available at Rs 15,990, while the 64-GB model was priced at Rs 24,490 under the offer. The devices are originally priced at Rs 32,990 (32GB) and Rs 37,990 (64GB).

The Canadian firm had launched the PlayBook in India, along with other markets like the UK, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and the UAE. The seven-inch tablet runs on a new operating system built by QNX Software Systems - a RIM unit that makes software used to run everything from cars to nuclear reactors. Users can go online only using a Wi-Fi network or by synchronising the device to their BlackBerry smartphones.

According to analysts, sales in the tablet PC segment in India are expected to touch one million units over the next 12 months.

With 3G (high-speed internet services) being rolled out aggressively, the opportunity has only expanded, they said.

Since the launch of Apple's iPad in the country, the tablet market has been witnessing huge competition, with more and more new contenders launching their devices.