Blackberry PlayBook sales stutter

Troubled mobile comms manufacturer RIM has revealed that it has shipped on 200k units of its new PlayBook tablet.

The company had predicted sales of 490m in the last quarter. Actual sales numbers were not divulged.

In its comparable period, Apple sold 9.25m iPad 2s.

The tablet’s struggles played a part in what was a poor financial performance for the firm. Revenue for the quarter was down ten per cent year-on-year at $4.3bn

RIM stock fell eight per cent following the announcement.

The larger narrative, of course, is that even the biggest of tech firms are having a treacherous time trying to position their products against the Apple iPad.

Last week Lenovo claimed that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet sold just 20,000 of the 1m units shipped to retail in the last year.