$1.7 million of BlackBerry PlayBooks stolen while being transported

posted by Alan F. / Dec 18, 2011, 11:00 AM

$1.7 million of BlackBerry PlayBooks stolen while being transported

A trucker transporting 22 pallets of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet valued at $1.7 million, stopped at a truck stop west of I-69 to eat and shower. After showering, the driver went back to the location where he had parked the semi-tractor trailer only to find it missing along with the PlayBook tablets. The driver was transporting the tablets from the Bright Point Distribution center in Plainfield to Ontario, Canada. Besides the BlackBerry devices being shipped, the driver said he had a computer, credit cards and clothing in the truck.

22 pallets of the BlackBerry PlayBook have been stolen

Police investigating the theft, which took place at the Pilot Travel Center off State Road 67, were told that the truck did not have any tracking equipment. Local police have contacted the FBI. The officer who wrote up the report, Mike Milbourn, said that in his experience, stolen electronics like the BlackBerry PlayBook often end up in the Miami area.

The joke might be on the perps because the first BlackBerry tablet just has not been selling well and has been the recipient of a number of price cuts. Additionally, clues found in the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 suggest that a new model with a higher resolution display and 4G LTE support could be on the way. The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to get a firmware update sometime in February which will take care of some gaps that RIM left on the tablet when it was originally launched such as the lack of a calendar and an e-mail application.

If you are in the South Florida area, don't be surprised if some shady characters come up to you, trying to sell you a BlackBerry PlayBook at a great price. Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch so you might want to assume that the tablet they want to sell you is hot.

source: MiamiHerald

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20 Comments

1. Birds

Posts: 1172; Member since: Nov 21, 2011

Lol, sad...

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:01 AM 5

15. cheetah2k

Posts: 2288; Member since: Jan 16, 2011

Sounds like insurance fraud. RIM need all the help they can get right now, so it would not surprise me.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 3:24 PM 1

2. jubbing

Posts: 150; Member since: Aug 20, 2008

How many of it would have sold though? :P

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:08 AM 1

3. bvalde09

Posts: 191; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

Im gonna take a wild guess here. This type of shipment must have some insurance which RIM can collect. 1.7 million goes back to RIM which at this point they really need it. Smartmove by some distric Manager from RIM who wants to go up. If not then to badddd so sadddd RIM

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:15 AM 3

4. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

I was just going with the insurance route.. RIM could use the money, and its "guaranteed sales" this way as insurance would pay full retail value for it.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:47 AM 1

5. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

"In an unusual story development. Truck robbers returned a semi filled with Blackberry Playbooks citing that they were unable to sell them on the black market"

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:48 AM 7

18. Firedrops

Posts: 254; Member since: Sep 06, 2011

I see what you did there... Blackberry, black market.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 8:38 PM 0

6. Whateverman

Posts: 3295; Member since: May 17, 2009

"22 pallets of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet valued at $1.7 million". Street value... 100K TOPS!!! But I think you're on to something with that insurance thing, bvalde09. No tracking equipment on the truck...really? Just a teeny-tiny bit suspicious to me.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:49 AM 3

7. bvalde09

Posts: 191; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

I mean think about it no tracking on the truck. I found very hard to believe that a company like RIM doesnt have this on their trucks??? C'mon and as you says Whateverman sounds suspicious anyways. Inside job?

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 12:21 PM 4

8. iHateCrapple

Posts: 734; Member since: Feb 12, 2010

"I found very hard to believe that a company like RIM doesnt have this on their trucks???" THEIR trucks? Whos says RIM has their own shipping dept.? They probably just contracted the cheapest company to move the merchandise. I mean, they haven't been making to money they used to, who says they weren't just trying to save a buck? I'll give a nod to the insurance angle of it, because it makes sense. I would just hope that RIM, being the professional and security minded company they are, wouldn't pull stunts like this. Although, there was that story about those two executives...chewing through restraints? Maybe RIM isn't above that.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 12:39 PM 2

9. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

most trucking companies these days have tracking devices. they have had them for years. They also keep detailed logs and all sorts of stuff. fishy fishy

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 12:51 PM 5

10. iHateCrapple

Posts: 734; Member since: Feb 12, 2010

And most bus companies hire responsible, well-rested drivers don't they? Cheap companies cut corners though.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 1:14 PM 2

13. bvalde09

Posts: 191; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

Seriously? Can you imagine a company who is willing to put 1.7 million dollars without some sort of security. Lets follow your idea saying that the trucks doesnt belong to RIM Itself. As an executive from RIM would you hire a company who doesnt offer the minimum. GPS Tracking ???

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 2:11 PM 4

11. maier9900

Posts: 272; Member since: Dec 17, 2011

So, really, the big question here still remains unanswered "How did they know that truck was carrying playbooks?" ... This is either an inside job or someone must have followed the truck all this time. That's the way i see it. Should've had a GPS tracker on it. Dumb noobs!

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 1:55 PM 2

12. ZayZay

Posts: 571; Member since: Feb 26, 2011

That really sucks. Why do they haver a picture of an ipad and playbook together though?

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 2:03 PM 1

14. ivanko34

Posts: 617; Member since: Sep 04, 2011

Maybe a new strategy of apple to stop competition

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 2:26 PM 2

16. anarkie

Posts: 48; Member since: Jan 28, 2009

No tracking devices equipped on the truck. But 22 pallets of GPS equipped devices.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 4:50 PM 2

17. untouchable

Posts: 19; Member since: Sep 04, 2010

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for RIM !!

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 6:39 PM 1

19. GeekMovement unregistered

That truck driver should have waited the shower until after work or taken it before work in the morning... oh well, this is partly his fault.

posted on Dec 18, 2011, 11:24 PM 0

20. Boti95

Posts: 162; Member since: Sep 05, 2010

I feel sorry for RIM. They are loosing "crackberrys" and there income is declining. They better act fast. There are many articles in the internet about it too.