Initial reviews deeming the device “half-baked” meant a bad start for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and things just got a little worse as RIM recalls nearly 1,000 units.
Over 900 units have shipped with an OS build that “may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.” It seems only 16GB models of the device are affected by the issue, most of which are still in the distribution channel and are yet to make their way into the hands of customers – which is good news for early adopters.
However, if you feel you may be the victim of a dodgy unit, you can check its serial number against the list of recalled devices – and read RIM’s official statement – over on the CrackBerry website.
If you are one of the unlucky ones, RIM will replace the device for a nice new one free of charge, so it’s not such a big deal. Though, this issue along with the bad reviews may be enough to put some people off the first generation of RIM’s tablet.
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
13 responses to “PlayBook’s Poor Start Gets Worse as RIM Recalls 1,000 Units”
The writing is on the wall for RIM…
Yeah, too bad for them they don’t appear to know how to read.
Great comment!
They had a recall, So what it happens to the best.
Only sold and delivered a thousand of the 16GB units….
An actual Vancouver, Canada Craigslist ad for a Playbook Tablet…
“only 4 days old MINT condition blackberry playbook with everything in box…dont really use it much so i would like to trade it for a new laptop windows or mac or other tablet …or offer me what u have….or trade it for $450 cash…thanks”
Definitely seems like this should be selling better…
And their ad announces that amateur hour is over…
I know this is a Mac site but come on at least try and be a little unbiased. Here in Canada I’ve already ran across a few people proudly sporting their new Playbook. They all seem pretty happy with their new tablet, heck one guy I was talking to showed me a movie clip on it and I had to admit the video looked crystal sharp. Even the teen kids seem excited about it. Go into a mall and you’ll see a mess of them around the demo playing with it.