Retailers Slash BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Prices by $200

A handful of major electronics retailers are cutting the price of Research in Motion's BlackBerry Playbook Tablet due to lagging sales, according to multiple reports.

RIM's retail partners -- including Best Buy, Staples and Office Depot -- have all cut the Playbook's price by as much as $200. Both Staples and Office Depot have reduced prices of all three versions of the tablet by $100 and are offering an additional $100 off with a mail-in rebate.

In a statement, RIM told PC Magazine that the official price of the tablet -- starting at $399 for the 16GB -- has not changed, and that retailers have independently offered the promotions to create interest in the Playbook.

As mentioned on the Q2 earnings call on Sept. 15, we have a number of promotional plans in place for the fall with our retail partners that are intended to drive sell-through and increase adoption of the BlackBerry PlayBook, the company stated.

RIM also said it plans to release a software update for the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, although it did not specify when it would be released.

Like other companies who have released tablets to compete with Apple's extremely popular iPad, so far, RIM's tablet is struggling to make a name for itself in the market. Last week, Quanta, which manufactures the PlayBook, announced it will cut 1,000 people from its factory in Taiwan where the tablet is manufactured.

In addition, earlier this month The Guardian reported RIM is sitting on a stock of 800,000 unsold tablets, and only shipped 200,000 PlayBooks last quarter.