RIM Offers Buy Two, Get One Free BlackBerry PlayBooks (NewsFactor)

Research In Motion hopes to move some PlayBooks before the end of the year with a promotion that aims at business users. The BlackBerry U.S. Web site is making an offer it hopes mobile business users won't be able to refuse.

From now until Dec. 31, BlackBerry business customers can get one free PlayBook tablet with every two purchased from an authorized retailer. To make the pot even sweeter, business customers can also choose a premium accessory for each tablet, either a leather sleeve, a charging pod or a six-foot cable.

Optimizing for Enterprises

The promotion comes just days after RIM announced a delay in PlayBook OS 2.0. David Smith, senior vice president of BlackBerry PlayBook for RIM, specifically mentioned enterprise plans in his Oct. 25 blog post. In a move that plays on RIM's historic strengths,, he said, RIM is addressing barriers to tablet adoption, including device manageability and enterprise application deployment.

"Enterprises will uniquely have the ability to manage tablets from a centralized server, while BlackBerry Balance ensures a seamless user experience for personal and professional needs and gives CIOs the peace of mind that corporate data is secure," Smith wrote.

Smith said BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 will also offer dedicated shelf space inside the BlackBerry App World storefront to make approved enterprise applications available to an organization's end users more quickly. RIM hopes these features will help change the way enterprises view and use tablets.

The PlayBook OS 2.0 update will also include advanced integrated e-mail, calendar and contact apps, a new video story, as well as new functionality that will allow your BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook to work together even better.

Overcoming Downsides

"RIM is trying to boost sales with this promotion and this is one way to do it. The PlayBook is obviously not selling and it can't compete with the iPad, and it has shortcomings that we've discussed before," said Michael Disabato, managing vice president of Network and Telecom at Gartner.

The PlayBook offers true multitasking capabilities. But a major downside so far is that it has to be paired with a BlackBerry smartphone via a special application to access e-mail, calendar, address book, memo pad, task list, BlackBerry Messenger, and browsing functions. With the OS update put off, it remains to be seen if business users will take the PlayBook plunge before they see the software improvements.

Another downside is the lack of a strong system of developers and applications. As Disabato sees it, if RIM is going to compete with Apple and Android, it needs to attract more developers and roll out a user experience that doesn't require two pieces of equipment. At the end of the day, Apple still has the advantage.

"With this promotion, RIM will get traction with people who are thinking about buying a PlayBook or planning to buy one," Disabato said. "The government might decide employees don't need an iPad, they just need a tablet, and decide to buy the PlayBook. But this promotion is not going to displace any iPad sales before Christmas."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111031/bs_nf/80804

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