If the BlackBerry PlayBook drops to $299, will anyone buy one? We’ll find out soon enough, because RIM has slashed the price of its poorly received tablet. Surprisingly, the 16, 32, and 64GB versions of the 7″ tablet are all on sale for the same price. All three are listed as in stock on the BlackBerry website, and the price should be good until the sale ends on February 4—or until quantities run out, presumably.
Newegg only carries the 16GB version, which has been discounted to $299 already. There are still better deals to be had, though. Amazon sells the same model for only $243. If you live in Canada, the 16GB PlayBook can be found at Future Shop and Best Buy stores for just $200. Best Buy’s US site lists the base model at $500, however.
In the realm of uber-cheap tablets, I think I’d rather have a PlayBook than a Kindle Fire. That said, recommending the RIM tablet is difficult due to its lack of a native email app and the hoops one must jump through to get Android apps running on the device. The PlayBook may prove popular among enterprising tinkerers who missed out on the TouchPad, but I suspect the Kindle will ultimately win the hearts of cash-strapped consumers unwilling to pay a premium for larger tablets.