How Many BlackBerry PlayBooks Did RIM Sell?

The reviews for the BlackBerry PlayBook might prompt tablet fans to think twice, but according to one analyst, first-day sales of the Research in Motion device were solid, with the company possibly selling 45,000 PlayBooks.

“While the launch of the Playbook is not attracting overnight crowds, preorder sales and in-store demand in major cities has been solid; however, AT&T’s prohibition of free tethering is an unexpected negative,” Peter Misek, an equity analyst with Jefferies, wrote in a Wednesday note.

 

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The PlayBook went on sale on Tuesday and in first-day checks, Misek found that sales skewed toward pre-orders, as well as the 32GB and 64GB models, while inventory and demand was higher in urban areas. He predicted that Best Buy and Staples sold about 20,000 units, excluding pre-orders, while consumer pre-orders totaled 25,000.

“If correct, 45K+ sell through on the first day would be a success,” Misek wrote.

Despite more glowing reviews for the Motorola Xoom, Misek speculated that PlayBook sales “are far exceeding” the Xoom’s.

One controversial aspect of the PlayBook is that it’s tied to a BlackBerry smartphone via the BlackBerry Bridge software, which pipes over email and messages and lets the PlayBook get on the Internet for free. That feature, however, is not yet available via AT&T.

“AT&T is working with RIM to make the BlackBerry Bridge app available for AT&T customers. We have just received the app for testing and before it’s made available to AT&T customers we want to ensure it delivers a quality experience,” AT&T said earlier this week.

Misek estimated that of the 60 million BlackBerry users, about 8 million are on AT&T, so “the lack of free tethering support is obviously disappointing,” he said.

RIM, meanwhile, has promised that the PlayBook will get a native email client in the next 60 days.

For more, see PCMag’s full review of the PlayBook and the slideshow below, the unboxing, our review of the BlackBerry tablet OS, and PCMag’s comparison of the Xoom, PlayBook and iPad 2.