RIM clarifies the recall of 935 BlackBerry PlayBooks

Yesterday, we told you about the Staples memo, which warned of 935 faulty BlackBerry PlayBooks. But at the time, RIM hadn't explained what exactly was faulty. Today, RIM sent the following clarifying statement to CrackBerry:

"RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.

The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices.

In the small number of cases where a customer received a PlayBook that is unable to properly load software upon initial set-up, they can contact RIM for assistance."

So, to RIM's credit, it sounds like the problem wasn't a combustion-prone battery or a major design flaw. It also means that if you've already been using your PlayBook successfully, then you don't need to check your SKU against the list of affected units. Public relations crisis: averted.

source: CrackBerry

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posted on 15 May 2011, 23:19 2

1. Lucas777 (Posts: 2137; Member since: 06 Jan 2011)

way to gooo rim... make agreat product then screw it with bad publicity... but i guess its better than the xoom which got good publicity but was a bad product... and i guess thats why the playbook has already sold more... but still not near ipad which is good and gets good publicity

posted on 16 May 2011, 00:01 5

2. JeffdaBeat (unregistered)

...um...RIM made a mediocre, unfinished product. This just adds to it. The funny thing is, they are sitting in distribution channels because no one is buying it...

posted on 16 May 2011, 07:09 1

7. remixfa (Posts: 14604; Member since: 19 Dec 2008)

how is it mediocre? Ill give it the unfinished because of the email BS though. QNX beats out iOS at every turn and even bests android on a few things by all the side by side reviews. Sorry, not everything can be a simplistic icon and fake multitasking only interface.

posted on 16 May 2011, 09:59 2

10. JeffdaBeat (unregistered)

WTF? I swear, you guys complain about me being an Apple Fanboy yet it's you that bring up iOS when I never said a word about it. It doesn't matter how good it COULD be against iOS, right now it's an unfinished product. There are so many features coming down the pipeline later this year that they should have just released the damn thing later this year. No email, no calendar, no apps. And their excuse is that you can do those things if you have a Blackberry? Oh yeah...I'm sold.

You could compare this thing to a Windows Mobile Phone and it would be more together than this piece of crap.

posted on 16 May 2011, 07:39 1

8. protozeloz (Posts: 5396; Member since: 16 Sep 2010)

No One buys the xoom because of its price tag and mediocre commercial campaign, yet little buy the playbook because the word Blackberry its On it but the truth is RIM had a huge chance of making something nice ad yet they messed it, they showed not much interest in growing a development community for their device but rather piggyback on others, delayed the device telling people they wanted to release a finished product and yet most reviews failed it

posted on 16 May 2011, 02:58 5

3. Whateverman (Posts: 3284; Member since: 17 May 2009)

Gotta go with Jeff on this one. No email app, on a BLACKBERRY, really? Why make all the must-have Blackberry features available through the "BB Bridge" and only if you have a BB smartphone? This thing is basically a 7" monitor for your current BB. And if people already don't want your smartphones, what makes you think we want a tablet that only works with your unwanted smartphone? Ultimate fail!

posted on 16 May 2011, 03:05 3

4. cheetah2k (Posts: 1738; Member since: 16 Jan 2011)

Mediocre compared to what?

Everyone has to start somewhere. The iPhone 2G was rubbish - no bluetooth, no 3G, unfinished, etc.

I actually own one, and compared to my 1st Gen ipad, they've done a great job.

The fault was only software, and affected less than 1000 units. What about the iPad 2's LCD bleeding which has affected about 10% of all units sold!

posted on 16 May 2011, 05:32 1

5. ardent1 (Posts: 2000; Member since: 16 Apr 2011)

Can anyone explain the RIM's explanation in plain English?

"RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up."

Many people would like to think they know what is being said, but the comment is nothing more than corporate speak. For example, what makes these "OS build" unique and how did RIM catch them.

As for iPad2, it was a manufacturer (LG) that failed to meet Apple's standards.

posted on 16 May 2011, 05:49 1

6. cheetah2k (Posts: 1738; Member since: 16 Jan 2011)

In plain english, the OS build that was installed had bugs (eg - was probably a test build not meant for release). Users on Crackberry.com who have reported being those that were affected simply carried out firmware restore via a forced download on BBM and it was fixed.

There was no physical defect, etc..

As for LG not meeting Apple's standards, Apple has a stringent QA/QC testing process - so regardless of whether LG provided defective screens, Apple should have stopped them from going out the door = Apple Fail lolz

posted on 16 May 2011, 09:49 2

9. JeffdaBeat (unregistered)

Fanboyism aside, the PlayBook and the original iPhone have some big fucking differences. The iPhone was the absolute first consumer smartphone...and to be honest, when it first came out, it wasn't a smartphone, it was just a high-end cell phone. Even still, it was covering ground for consumers that was reserved for business folks for years. It was something no one else was doing at the time.

Then you have the PlayBook that isn't exactly the first tablet on the market. In fact, not only did it have the iPad, but a slew of other tablets for it to take note on. And it comes out lacking the one thing that sets Blackberry apart from every other smartphone out there...how is that okay? But it's not just that. Every review I read spent more time talking about stuff that will be released later this year instead of the features that are there right now. Well why not release the whole damn thing later this year instead of right now to consumers who trust the RIM name and get worked over? I just don't think it's right. RIM is supposed to be about quality overall and it seems like ever since the consumer smartphone era, they've slipped big time. Either making half assed attempts of getting into the consumer market or reverting back to the same old phone they've been making for the past four or five years...