According to comments provided exclusively to Bloomberg from Research in Motion co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie, RIM’s forthcoming answer to the iPad will be competitively priced and available for less than $500.
RIM’s new touchscreen tablet dubbed the PlayBook will be released during the first quarter of 2011.
Balsillie contends that the PlayBook will be poised and ready to compete, not only in terms of the tablet’s attributes, but also its pricing.
At present, the lowest-end iPad model retails for $499. Many industry analysts expect the PlayBook to retail for no more than $489, and no less $399.
One of the reasons for the lower price is that the first generation PlayBook will not offer any wireless carrier internet connectivity.
In the final analysis, however, the added competition within the tablet marketplace will ultimately work to lower tablet computer prices across the board.
Matt Thornton, an analyst at Avian Securities LLC, tells Bloomberg: “There’s going to be a lot of tablets on the market so I think pricing is going to start coming down.”
