14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion is killing the 16GB version of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PC, the latest reports on the matter suggest.
Apparently, the company has already started sending emails to users informing them on the fact that said tablet model won’t be available for purchase in the future.
The device is still available on shelves, which means that users will be able to acquire it for a while from third-party retailers, but it might not be too long before it will be completely gone from the market.
Those who would like to purchase one have to hurry, otherwise they will have to settle with a larger capacity version of the device.
The 32GB and 64GB variants of the tablet are still manufactured, and they will continue to be sent to users even after the 16GB version is gone. In a statement offered to CrackBerry, the Canadian mobile phone maker underlined that.
“In regards to your question about the 16G PlayBook -there is more value for our customers in the higher capacity models (32 GB, 64 GB), and as such we have decided to focus our efforts there,” the company reportedly said.
Apparently, RIM has some strong reasons to kill this flavor of the device, including the fact that users often run out of space for storing movies and other media files for having them on the go.
Additionally, CrackBerry suggests that the low price tag the tablet flavor featured at most retailers prevented it from providing RIM with enough revenue to continue manufacturing it.
Not to mention that RIM is preparing for the launch of the next version of the device, the long-expected 4G PlayBook, which means that it wants to ramp up production for it.
The next flavor of the device was said to arrive on shelves in 16GB / 32GB / 64GB variants, but it seems that there is a possibility that the smartphone maker will only launch the higher-capacity models.