PlayBook Price Slash Promised As Shares Slump

BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has seen its stock price tumble in the aftermath of its dreary Q2 financial performance, and plans to slash prices of the BlackBerry PlayBook in order to motivate sales of the slate. After reporting earnings that mustered less than half of Q2 last year, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie attempted to rally interest by confirming that PlayBook OS v2.0 would arrive in October. However, it's likely to be heavy discounting that prompts sales, if anything can.

The exact amount that will be sliced off of the 7-inch PlayBook's sticker price is yet to be confirmed, with Balsillie only saying that there will be rebates for individual customers. Enterprise sales, meanwhile, will be encouraged with an incentive program, though again it's unclear exactly what that promotion will entail.

RIM was expected to announce shipments of as many as 700,00 tablets in the most recent quarter; instead, the Canadian company admitted to having only shipped 200,000. Among the changes the new OS version should bring in are native email, contacts and calendar functionality, rather than the PlayBook relying on a tethered BlackBerry handset for those arguably essential tools.

The company's share price has dropped from a high of almost $70 in February 2011 to under $30 today.