The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2011
BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet launched with no email — and died in six months
RIM launched the PlayBook in 2011 without native email or calendar. The $500 tablet was a $500 paperweight. RIM took a $485M writedown.
Research In Motion · BlackBerry · 2011-04
What happened
Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, launched the PlayBook tablet in April 2011 to compete with the iPad. But in a decision that baffled the market, the PlayBook shipped without native email, calendar or contacts — the core features that made BlackBerry the business professional's phone.
RIM's rationale was that the PlayBook would tether to a BlackBerry phone for email, using a feature called 'Bridge.' But most buyers did not own a BlackBerry phone, and the tethering solution was clunky. The tablet was effectively a $500 web browser with no productivity features.
Sales were disastrous. RIM slashed the price from $499 to $199 within months and took a $485 million writedown on unsold inventory. The PlayBook was discontinued in 2013. The case illustrated how a company can misunderstand its own brand: BlackBerry's customers chose it for email, and a BlackBerry device without email was a contradiction.
Why it happened
- The PlayBook launched without native email, calendar or contacts — the features that defined BlackBerry's brand.
- RIM's tethering solution required a BlackBerry phone, which most tablet buyers did not own.
- The $499 price was not justified for a device that functioned as a web browser without productivity tools.
- RIM misunderstood its own brand: customers chose BlackBerry for email, and a device without it was pointless.
The lesson
Your brand is a promise. BlackBerry meant email. A BlackBerry tablet without email was not incomplete — it was a contradiction.
Aftermath
RIM rebranded as BlackBerry and attempted a comeback with BlackBerry 10, which also failed. The company eventually exited hardware and pivoted to cybersecurity software. The PlayBook is remembered as one of the worst tablet launches in history.
Sources
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