Research In Motion, the makers of the Playbook and Blackberry, has poured cold water over reports that they might pull the plug on their recently released Playbook tablet.
So concerned by the rumours, the company released a statement following the suggestion from an industry analyst who suggested RIM had called time on production. The analyst, John Vinh of Colins Stewart said manufacturer Quanta had stopped manufacturing and that RIM had halted production plans.
When RIM were contacted about the story a spokeperson issued a statement denying the report.
“RIM doesn’t typically comment on rumours, but any suggestion that the BlackBerry PlayBook is being discontinued is pure fiction,” the spokesperson said.
“RIM remains highly committed to the tablet market.”
The report seems to have come from analysts who have looked into the struggling tablet and came to the conclusion that the Playbook was doomed and would be discontinued.
Since the launch of the Playbook sales have been well below what RIM had hoped and earlier this month retailers in the US begun to discount the tab to the tune of $200.
While the company has refuted today’s story they did concede the departure within its executive ranks. Tyler Lessard, RIM vice president for global alliances and developer relations is stepping down from his post.
“Alec Saunders has joined RIM as VP of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Development and is responsible for overseeing RIM’s developer programs and developer relations,” said the spokesperson.
“Tyler Lessard is moving on to pursue other interests and so Tyler’s team will now report to Alec as they focus on expanding and supporting RIM’s developer community.”
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