Apparently there’s a group of criminals who weren’t skilled enough to nab a bunch of iPads.
The group in question – as many as five people – managed to force their way into a delivery truck that happened to be carrying 5,000 Blackberry Playbook tablets.
The truck was heading to Ontario, Canada, and the merchandise on board carries a retail value of $1.7 million.
Of course, the Playbook has been a commercial failure as consumers continue to pull themselves away from the once-dominant Blackberry brand and go to Android or iOS instead.
As it is now, customers are getting a “steal” on the device without needing to rob a truck – retailers have lowered the price as far as below $200 and RIM has offered to sell it to employees for $100.
RIM certainly does not appear to be giving up on the device. A major software update will be coming in the near future.
The problem with the Playbook was mainly that some of the features are locked unless users connect a Blackberry phone. Many critics say RIM should have opened up those features, like e-mail and instant messaging, to non-Blackberry customers because otherwise the tablet feels incomplete.
The software that powers the Playbook, QNX, will be used in upcoming Blackberry smartphones next year.
Nevertheless, this latest news is the definition of adding insult to injury. Of course, local law enforcement as well as the FBI have launched a full task force. The truck did not have tracking equipment and it’s unknown if the individual tablets are themselves trackable.
