BlackBerry Playbook price drops to $299 for all models

If you didn't grab a BlackBerry Playbook when they went on sale in November for $199, here's another chance to get one at a discount. Research in Motion has dropped the price of all tablets in the Playbook lineup to $299.

While the Black Friday sale saw all three Playbooks discounted by $300, this latest price drop marks the best time to buy the 64GB model, which drops from $699. The 16GB and the 32GB models will see less of a discount as they'll also be $299, but why bother getting one of those when you can have more storage for the same price?

According to The Globe and Mail, this comes in advance of a critical software update said to be coming in February. RIM has said the update will include email, but not BlackBerry Messenger as many might have hoped.

This might turn out to be a really strong move for RIM, especially in light of their recent troubles. When HP slashed the price of its TouchPad from $499 to $99, it became the second best-selling tablet on the market. One study suggests that RIM's sale on Black Friday boosted adoption of the Playbook by nearly 50%, which bodes well for the future of the BlackBerry Playbook as a cheaper alternative to the iPad.

The sale on the PlayBook will last until February 4, according to Pocket-lint, although if it turns into a sure-fire way for RIM to get the tablets into the hands of consumers, who knows how long the sale will last. If you act quickly, it's still possible for Canadians to pick up a 16GB BlackBerry Playbook for $199 or a 32GB model for $249 at select retailers, but there isn't any word yet on how long the lower-end models will stay at that price.

(Reuters photo)