$1.7 Million Worth of BlackBerry PlayBooks Fall Off a Truck
$1.7 Million Worth of BlackBerry PlayBooks Fall Off a Truck
Posted 12/19/2011 at 9:34am
| by Paul Lilly
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Research In Motion can't seem to get a grip on this whole tablet thing, figuratively or literally. Playing out like an episode of The Sopranos, thieves hijacked a truck carrying 22 pallets of BlackBerry PlayBooks from an Indiana truck stop while the driver was using the local facilities to shower and grab a bite to eat. It's estimated the truck was carrying 5,000 PlayBook devices worth around $1.7 million.
According to The Verge, which first reported news of the grand theft auto, the truck is without a tracking device so it's impossible to tell for sure where it was headed. Local police believe one possible destination is Miami, apparently a popular place for stolen items. Police say up to five people may have participated in the heist, one of which might have left his fingerprints behind.
We won't label a $1.7 million loss a drop in the bucket, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not likely to alter the fate of the PlayBook, though the timing stinks. RIM has already taken a $485 million loss on PlayBook sales, and just last week the Canadian device maker announced it was delaying the launch of BlackBerry 10 smartphones.
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pazinboise
December 20, 2011 at 10:14am
Hey maybe the thieves can sell them all to Big Lots and they'll blow them out for $80 a pop!
kixofmyg0t
December 19, 2011 at 4:11pm
These dudes are gonna have a hard time trying to fence all of them.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to sell a stolen Playbook? Nobody wants them......jus sayin.
stoneyguy
December 19, 2011 at 3:55pm
Ha! Am I the only one that likes the Playbook? Certainly has its limitations, but for surfing the web you can't find a better tablet.
ferds7
December 19, 2011 at 2:42pm
If 5,000 blackberries were to fall off a semi in the middle of a forest, would anyone care? (besides the pollution effects it would have)
Can they count those 5,000 as purchases?
Peanut Fox
December 19, 2011 at 7:51pm
The shipping company that lost them will have to pay for them, so in a sense yes.
gordonung
December 19, 2011 at 1:33pm
Hmm, I've found a computer recreation on how they were hijacked.
DasHellMutt
December 19, 2011 at 1:49pm
lol Gordon you rock. Hey how bout a rant!
Anyway, you know RIM probably did this themselves to get the insurance money. I mean surely the shipment was insurred and its not like they were gonna sell the damn things.
Kaldesh
December 19, 2011 at 12:49pm
Why would you steal something that nobody wanted to begin with? What's the point?
Worst, thieves, Ever!
JohnP
December 19, 2011 at 10:22am
Heh, perhaps it was just "misplaced" in the ocean instead. Insurance money pays full list price for the Playbooks while actual sales could be heavily discounted. Write off a money loser= win.
Paul_Lilly
December 19, 2011 at 10:10am
Only the 16GB PlayBook retails (on sale) for $200. The 32GB model goes for $250 and the 64GB for $400, both of which are also sale prices. The Verge, which reported losses totaling around $1.7 million, didn't specify how many of each model were stolen.
big_montana
December 19, 2011 at 11:44am
The thieves probably though they were iPads, and they will be returned once they find out they were duped
Holly Golightly
December 19, 2011 at 9:38am
Wow, that is uncool! I can't believe that. I guess the PlayBook is one hot item to get this Christmas. Although I hope they nab the theives who would do such a thing like that in the first place.
Wingzero_x
December 19, 2011 at 11:49pm
Next we'll hear about a bunch of counterfeit iPads hitting the streets.
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