RIM offering three BlackBerry PlayBook models versions tablet for the same $299 price

The company has dropped the price of all three BlackBerry PlayBook models to $299. The 16GB model originally shipped at $499, while the 32GB and 64GB versions went off at $599 and $699, respectively. RIM says the PlayBook sale will end February 4. For those hoping to buy the higher-end models, RIM's new pricing scheme might be quite welcome. RIM's new pricing scheme eliminates that ability.

What's worse, at $299 for the 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook version, RIM could risk the chance of pricing the 7-inch tablet out of the market. Pricing has quickly become one of the easiest ways for tablet makers to attract consumers. A second run at that price yielded the same result. Sony earlier this month cut its Tablet S price by $100. Amazon's Kindle Fire, which launched at $199, has been selling extremely well, due mainly to its cheap price. Apple, meanwhile, has been the only major company to eschew price cuts.
Following the holiday sales that saw the BlackBerry PlayBook fall to as low as $199 for the 16GB model, RIM is now offering all three versions of the beleaguered tablet for the same $299 price.

That's right, you can get the 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB models for up to $400 off of their original prices. RIM's frenzied attempts to offload bags of its unpopular PlayBook tablets continues, with prices on all models in the US slashed to $299. On the 64GB model, that gives a saving of a massive $400 off the original retail price of $699. However, in the UK, prices remain at the same reduced rate from RIM as they had in October, putting a British 16GB tablet at £249 direct from the BlackBerry shop, 32GB at £329 and 64GB at £409 ($637). Dixons has the 64GB fondleslab at the same price as RIM's, but the 16GB is down to £169 (there's no 32GB on offer). Meanwhile, Amazon UK is offering the 16GB at £197.99, the 32GB at £244.99 and the 64GB at £339.90, and warning that stocks of all three are running out.

The price-cutting in the US is the latest attempt by RIM to clear massive stockpiles of the PlayBook, which has failed to spark much interest in the slab-fondling community. HP managed to ignite some interest in its beleaguered Touchpad when it dropped prices to rock bottom and introduced various promotional gimmicks to shift the tablets. Dixons has the 64GB fondleslab at the same price as RIM's, but the 16GB is down to £169 (there's no 32GB on offer). Meanwhile, Amazon UK is offering the 16GB at £197.99, the 32GB at £244.99 and the 64GB at £339.90, and warning that stocks of all three are running out.