ie8 fix

Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King
Home / News & Blogs / Between the Lines

RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?

By | November 23, 2010, 2:31am PST

Summary: Research in Motion’s PlayBook is garnering some enterprise and analyst attention as expectations steadily rise for the tablet.

Research in Motion’s PlayBook is garnering some enterprise and analyst attention as expectations steadily rise for the tablet.

Nevermind that few folks have really played with the tablet, analysts have to model something for their spreadsheets and projections. Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron was among the first to take a stab at estimating PlayBook sales.

In a nutshell, Kidron said:

  • RIM will sell 100,000 PlayBook units in the fiscal fourth quarter ending Feb. 28.
  • For fiscal 2012—a year from February—RIM will have sold 3.2 million units at an average selling price of $540.
  • Add it up and you’ll have 3.3 million PlayBook units in the market.

Why the optimism? Kidron cites enterprise interest from the likes of Sun Life, Manulife and SAP as a sign that the product may have legs. Companies are at least interested in piloting the PlayBook.

Kidron said:

If executed properly, the PlayBook could help RIM defend its enterprise leadership against intensifying competition from Apple, Android and WP7. With that said, much uncertainty remains and we’re not convinced RIM has successfully addressed its competitive smartphone gaps.

It’s clear that RIM has an opportunity to strike in the tablet market. The one conundrum is that the PlayBook hasn’t been put through its paces yet.

Related:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “Between the Lines”

Topics

Research In Motion Ltd., RIM, RIM BlackBerry, Kidron Inc., PlayBook, Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

Related Discussions on TechRepublic

Did you know you can take part in these discussions with your ZDNet membership?
Ask a Question Start a Discussion
21
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

good idea about android
gavin.chan 2nd Oct
A good post. Thanks for sharing.Hi, do you own a tablet pc? We supply kinds of tablet computers, including wholesale android tablet and windows 7 tablet pc. Buy a hd android tablet from China at wholesale price.nywaS
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
Another non-story
MG537 23rd Nov 2010
Mr. Kidron must elaborate on what questions were asked of Sun Life, Manulife and SAP to support his conclusions.
Have representatives of those companies been invited by RIM to actually play with the Playbook? Has RIM offered them any incentives? Any apps that they can simulate on a desktop computer?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
CowboyJake 23rd Nov 2010
The Playbook is too late, Apple owns this segment right now. They are a year ahead in actually having a product to purchase. They also have had the last year to develop the next version of the iPad. Nothing to see here except monumental cash loss....
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Regulator1956 23rd Nov 2010
@jakecamp12@... Windows owns the PC OS market and has for years. For how long have you been telling Apple to dump all their Mac OS products ??
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Darkninja962@... 23rd Nov 2010
@jakecamp12@...
Apple also had a head start with the iPhone, and Android caught up to that pretty quick. Plus, the new Samsung Galaxy Tab reportedly sold 600,000 units in its first 3 weeks on the market showing a public interest in non-Apple tablets.

This looks pretty good, I wish RIM the best.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
kitko 23rd Nov 2010
@Darkninja962@...
Did it...? Apple owns smartphone market. As a manufacturer, no-one comes close. You have Motorola, Samsung, HTC and others competing for the same folks with differently botheched up versions of Android, further restricted by networks.

Ever ventured out to Android Market? Works on my Incredible. Doesn't work on my Desire. Works on Hero once, then force closes.... And it's just three phones from a single maker.

Android App Store doesn't have a single app made for tablets. Of course, Android is not supposed to work on tablets. Store is geographically very limited for users and developers. Quality of apps is inferior on Andriod. The number is limited.

And RIM's apps store is a joke even compared to Android market place.

More importantly - Apple has never been after market share. But it still owns MP3 player market. It owns multimedia player market. It owns tablet market. It controls online music sales.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Intosh Updated - 25th Nov 2010
@kitko@...
"Apple owns smartphone market."

LOL. I guess you have a definition of "own" very different from everyone else's.

Windows' sheer number of apps makes Mac OS' library look like a desert. Does that stop people from buying Macs? No. Because at some point, every must-have apps are available on all platforms and 90% of what a user wants/needs is already on the device. A fully capable web browser, a media player, picture viewer and messaging app are all that most people use. They don't care how many thousands of apps are out there. The only people that care are the fanboys for bragging rights.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
johnmckay 27th Nov 2010
@jakecamp12@...

Did you read the article before writing a reply?

ENTERPRISE.... RIM BES.... IT SITS BEHIND THE FIREWALL. It's on the corporate LAN; IT can see the corporate sharepoints; IT can see EXCHANGE without a PITA app.

The ipad is a greaat consumer device, no argument. But it's too big for general portability in the office, and it's not enterprise friendly. This RIM ofering may or may not deliver but it's got a head start as the BES is already in place, and the form is that bit smaller and more likely to be portable in the office. I've said it from the start; others are now agreeing now that they've thought about it. Lets see the device, in the enterprise, and then talk about it. I, personally, am very hopeful.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Goldie07 23rd Nov 2010
iPad is a toy, nothing more nothing less.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
cyberslammer2 23rd Nov 2010
@Goldie07 Thanks trickytom3, your toy ruse is old, as is your multiple logins.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Goldie07 23rd Nov 2010
Most Apple apps are toys for kids. iPhone? Get a real phone, grow up already. My daughter dropped her Blackberry while crossing a busy intersection and a car ran right over it, crunch? She picked it up and it didn't have a scratch on it, but the LCD didn't work. Put in a new LCD screen and it works perfectly. Try that with an iPhone. iPhones get damaged setting them down on a table, or putting a cover on them. Joke.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
cyberslammer2 23rd Nov 2010
@Goldie07 Yes, iPhone and iPad is such a toy, tell that to the millions who already own it...

You're just bitter and jealous, and no one is going to base their decision to purchase anything on your garbage.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Intosh 25th Nov 2010
@cyberslammer2

"tell that to the millions who already own it"

Well, lots of people like toys.

Pick any random guy with an iPad. 99% of "apps" on it will be games or some entertaintment app.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
humb1962 24th Nov 2010
@Goldie07 well, you are not supposed to drop any phone on the street specially in busy ones i wonder how did she manage to get it back if the intersection was so busy or you just made that up, and regarding the iPhone as a toy is not that bad because everybody got a child inside.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
saieazby 25th Sep
@Goldie07 Whatever may people assume can be the difference amid generic Propecia in addition to buy Finpecia?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
Goldie07 23rd Nov 2010
"Ever ventured out to Android Market? Works on my Incredible. Doesn't work on my Desire. Works on Hero once, then force closes.... And it's just three phones from a single maker."

I'd chock that up to user error. I've never has a problem with an android phone.
0 Votes
+ -
Defending Enterprise Leadership By Pushing Adobe AIR and Flash?
Colin_Best Updated - 24th Nov 2010
If RIM is so focused on defending their enterprise leadership, why are they pushing Adobe AIR and Flash? Yes, its a key differentiator from the iPad and Tab but how will this help them defend their enterprise market share?

When you have enterprise customers asking how to leverage their BlackBerry devices for 'more than just email', you would think RIM would focus more on...say... how to integrate with a few popular back-office systems, extend them to the BlackBerry smartphone as a mobile app, and secure and manage them using the BES - not flaunting the PlayBook's Flash capabilities.

Maybe I am the only one who is confused as to what RIM's actual strategy is.

Colin
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
humb1962 24th Nov 2010
Wondering when they will sell the first one, any guess? because to reach any number they should start selling them first, right?
0 Votes
+ -
Expectations are so low, it will be easy to beat
mstrsfty 8th Dec 2010
Frankly, if RIM can produce a tablet a little better than the Tab, it can sell 3 million easily. Personally, I didn't think the Tab would sell as well as it has. I thought it was overpriced when sold with a data plan. Apparently, I was wrong. People really want these things and they are willing to pay bucks for them.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: RIM's PlayBook: 3.3 million units a smidge more than a year from now?
birumut Updated - 20th Jun
Well done! Thank you very much for professional templates and community edition
sesli sohbet sesli chat
0 Votes
+ -
good idea about android
gavin.chan 1st Oct
A good post. Thanks for sharing.Hi, do you own a tablet pc? We supply kinds of tablet computers, including wholesale android tablet and windows 7 tablet pc. Buy a dual core android tablet from China at wholesale price.Jhmri
0 Votes
+ -
good idea about android
gavin.chan 2nd Oct
A good post. Thanks for sharing.Hi, do you own a tablet pc? We supply kinds of tablet computers, including wholesale android tablet and windows 7 tablet pc. Buy a hd android tablet from China at wholesale price.nywaS

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix