Edible Apple

Despite atrociousreviews, sales of RIM’s PlayBook tablet don’t appear to be doing too badly. RBC analyst Mike Abramsky wrote in a note to investors that channel checks suggest RIM has already sold approximately 250,000 units since the tablet first launched on April 19th.

it’s hard to discern just how accurate Abramsky’s estimate is, but if it’s anywhere close to being accurate, it’s undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for RIM as it tries to prove that it can do more than just churn out capable email devices. Moreover, the sales figures, if accurate, would prop up RIM as the most worthy iPad competitor to date – which of course is a relative title.

Remember that sales of the Motorola Xoom have been relatively non-existent, with sales figures indicating that Motorola’s flagship tablet needed 2 months to reach the 200,000 sales mark.

Looking at the larger picture, Abramsky anticipates RIM could sell upwards of 500,000 units during the company’s first fiscal quarter. By way of comparison, Apple sold approximately 4.7 million iPads during the quarter gone by. A respectable figure that would have been even higher had Apple not experienced what COO Tim Cook called the “mother of all backlogs.”

via BGR