Amid the poor revues and analyst concerns, Research in Motion’s PlayBook tablet has at least one vocal supporter, electronics retail giant Best Buy. Without offering any hard numbers, the retail chain announced its sales of the tablet “far exceeded” its expectations.
“We’re finding that customers are even more interested in purchasing once they’ve tested the PlayBook in the store,” BestBuy said in a statement. The positive statement from an important big-box retailer comes as RIM tries to rally the troops at its annual BlackBerry World Conference this week.
In April, Jeffries analyst Peter Misek estimated RBC sold between 45,000 to 50,000 PlayBook units on the first day of availability. At least half of that figure came from pre-orders. RBC analyst Mike Abramsky credited the PlayBook for a stronger launch that Motorola’s Xoom or Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, but questioned whether that high level of demand would last.
The alt tablets, such as the PlayBook, may be benefitting from the scarcity of Apple’s iPad 2 in some retail locations. A cursory check found some Upstate New York Best Buy stores had long waiting lists and only a handful of iPad 2 shipments per week. Online, the Apple Store is reporting a one to two week wait for shipping.
