RIM Denies Rumor It’ll Discontinue Wi-Fi PlayBook Model Production
The Waterloo-based maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone and the not-so-popular BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer, Research In Motion LTD., officially denied rumors that it was planning to stop producing the Wi-Fi only version of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
The rumor was fueled by a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) securities manager, Mike Abramsky, who wrote in a note to his clients today that, “RIM is possibly planning to stop production of the BlackBerry [Wi-Fi] PlayBook,”
RIM has faced intensifying pressure from competitors in the mobile market space, particularly from Apple and Google, who offer consumers a better user experience on their respective devices.
To curb the mass consumer exodus from BlackBerry smartphones, RIM plans to power future BlackBerry devices with its new QNX operating system, the same OS used to power the BlackBerry PlayBook. The PlayBook has experienced weak sales at best, largely because key features, like native email and native BlackBerry Messenger support, are not included.
RIM will release its new BlackBerry Bold Touch smartphone on the Bell network in Canada on August 14, according to a source at the company that spoke to us on condition of anonymity because the release date was not yet made public.
RIMM stock price, 1-year, Jul 2010 to Jul 2011.
The Bold Touch will be powered by BlackBerry OS 7, and will feature a 720p HD rear camera, which will likely become quickly dated as Apple is rumored to launch its iPhone 5 about a month later.
Given the current roadmap, RIM would likely release the first QNX powered BlackBerry smartphone some time after Q2 2012.
Because of the lack of enthusiasm surrounding QNX, investors have called on RIM to adopt Google’s Android mobile operating system to stay competitive, but that isn’t likely to happen any time soon.
The RIM stock (NASDAQ:RIMM) closed down about 300 basis points to $26.68 per share.
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