MONTREAL – Research In Motion is down on the Toronto Stock Exchange amid speculation that its PlayBook tablet could be discontinued – a story that RIM says is “pure fiction.”
RIM shares (TSX:RIM) dropped 99 cents or about 4.4 per cent to $21.68 in afternoon trading.
Research In Motion doesn’t usually comment on rumours, but said Thursday it remains committed to the tablet market.
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An analyst’s report suggested RIM had stopped production of the tablet and was considering exiting that market after a staff reduction at a factory where the PlayBook is made.
RIM sold only about 200,000 PlayBooks in its most recent financial quarter, less than half of what analysts had expected and fewer than the company itself had anticipated.
But the company’s senior executives told analysts that RIM was preparing to roll out a major new version of the PlayBook’s operating system, with details to be revealed at a developer conference in mid-October.
Apple’s iPad dominates the tablet market but Amazon’s new tablet with its Android operating system is expected to be a challenger.
Two of Canada’s biggest electronics retailers, Best Buy and Future Shop, as well as the Staples office supply chain have cut the price of RIM’s PlayBook tablet by $100 ahead of the software update planned for October.
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