Lately, there had been rumors about RIM planning to yank its Wi-Fi only PlayBook off the market. Though, the company was quick to
issue a denial and claim that the tablet is very much in circulation and is getting launched in several countries, but there is no smoke without fire, right?
The rumor was apparently started by OTR Global and was corroborated by RBC Capital Markets. The tablet, launched in April this year, had met only mild success and was said to be in low-production mode due to modest demand. The Canadian company currently only has Wi-Fi model in the market, but is planning to launch 3G and 4G models later this year.
While, the company may deny that it is discontinuing the table, but the rumor has cast a big question mark over the viability of the company's tablet venture. RIM is now said to be concentrating on fine tuning its QNX operating system, which it plans to use for its tablets and smartphones.
Research in Motion quashed the rumors with terse "Pure fiction. No plan to discontinue" tweet. The company also claimed that it shipped 500,000 PlayBooks in the fiscal first quarter of the year. In the meantime, Apple has sold about 25 million iPads globally. But let's not rain on RIM's parade. Half a million units shipment is a big deal for a tablet which does not even have a dedicated email client. So well done, RIM.