RIM slashes Playbook 64 GB price in India

March 13, 2012 08:20 pm | Updated 08:31 pm IST

Blackberry has slashed the price of its premium 64 GB version of Playbook tablet PC in India. Photo: AP

Blackberry has slashed the price of its premium 64 GB version of Playbook tablet PC in India. Photo: AP

Canadian firm Research in Motion (RIM) has slashed the price of its 64 GB version of tablet PC PlayBook by around 18 per cent to Rs 19,990.

In December last year, RIM had slashed the price of its PlayBook to Rs 24,490 for the 64GB version. It was retailing for Rs 37,990.

“We have seen positive momentum with the promotional pricing levels and have decided to maintain an aggressive pricing strategy in order to help continue the momentum,” Research In Motion India Director Marketing Krishnadeep Baruah told PTI.

A report released by Cybermedia Research had indicated that Blackberry had 21 per cent market share in India, he added.

“The pricing combined with features in the new operating system (PlayBook OS 2.0) and locally relevant applications make the PlayBook extremely competitive,” he said.

However, the price of the 16GB version has been raised to Rs 13,990 from Rs 13,490 (available under the offer). The device was launched last year at Rs 27,990.

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.

RIM, known for its BlackBerry series of phones, had introduced PlayBook in June last year in the Indian market.

Recently, the company had announced the launch of PlayBook OS 2.0 with additional functionalities, like ability to run Android-based applications, advanced messaging features, increased social integration and better browser, among others.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.