Jim Balsillie Says BlackBerry PlayBook Will Sell for Less Than $500

Screen shot 2010-11-10 at 10.30.28 AM I was really hoping RIM would undercut the market with the BlackBerry PlayBook. Back in September I gave my reasoning on why RIM did not announce the price of the BlackBerry PlayBook during their big unveil. They would not want to give away a competitive advantage and open themselves to comparison before the launch.

Bloomberg is reporting that Jim Balsillie went on record during an interview in Korea stating that the PlayBook will sell for under $500 in the first quarter of 2011. He also said that “The product will be very competitively priced” which is enticing. That sub $500 mark is key since the main tablet with 95% market share currently is the iPad which on the low end costs $499. Balsillie also said that RIM is looking to sell the PlayBook through both carriers and retail stores like Target and Best Buy. He also confirmed that South Korea would be one of the first countries to get the PlayBook after the US launch. They will also start selling the Torch in Korea this year or early next year.

The other thing I found to be very interesting is that Balsillie confirmed that the 50% price cut by AT&T has been “hugely good” for sales. “That’s a dream come true,” he said. “New pricing, new promo, right into the holiday season — what can I say? I couldn’t be happier.”

Now that is exactly what you should be hearing from a CEO. So what do you think about these latest developments?

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