Research In Motion (RIM) has put an end to false rumours that they will be discontinuing the BlackBerry PlayBook.
BGR had initially reported “Research In Motion has reportedly stopped production of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and is considering exiting the space altogether.” – BGR
RIM responded to these rumours by issuing a statement Thursday saying, ” “RIM doesn’t typically comment on rumors, but any suggestion that the BlackBerry PlayBook is being discontinued is pure fiction,” a RIM spokesperson told BGR in an email. “RIM remains highly committed to the tablet market.” BGR reported earlier on a note from Collins Stewart analyst John Vinh stating that RIM’s manufacturing partner Quanta had been ordered to discontinue production of the BlackBerry PlayBook in light of weak sales.
RIM has said it’s preparing to roll out an updated version of the PlayBook’s operating system, which includes the BlackBerry email system for the tablet, at a developer conference in mid-October. It’s hoped the upgrades and promotional marketing efforts will help stimulate sales of the PlayBook.
BlackBerry smartphones, while still strong among its business and government users, have been struggling in the consumer market against Apple’s iPhone and phones that use Google’s Android operating system.
Some of RIM’s institutional shareholders have been asking for changes to the company to make it more competitive, including putting itself up for sale or spinning off its patents into a separate, publicly traded company.
Source: Canadian Press