RIM drops Blackberry PlayBook to $199 for "limited time"

RIM's perpetually struggling PlayBook tablet may have a lifeline this holiday season.

Confirming rumors, RIM announced today that it plans to drop the price of the 16GB PlayBook to $199. The drop, however, isn't a permanent one, and is limited to retailers Best Buy, Wireless Giant, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart.

With the price drop, the PlayBook finds itself at the same price as Amazon's Kindle Fire, which is a big deal. The Kindle Fire's price is considered one of its strongest assets, and RIM may steal away some potential buyers of Amazon's tablet with the PlayBook's almost impulse buy-worthy price.

But the price drop is bad news for the PlayBook, whose price has dropped a full $300 since its release earlier this year. While RIM says that PlayBook's new price is only a temporary one, it would come as a big surprise if RIM didn't cut its losses make the price drop stick.