Staples has issued an internal memo detailing a recall of some 935 16 GB BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. There isn’t any info on what’s wrong specifically, but it does say that faulty units may not operate at all. To help the recall process, there’s a list of serial numbers of affected PlayBooks.
The PlayBook is RIM’s first tablet and has been on the market for about a month. Sales in the first quarter were estimated at around a million, so 935 really isn’t much of a dent.
It’s hard to even take a guess at what’s wrong with the faulty BlackBerry PlayBooks, since the consensus has been that the hardware was solid. It’s doubtful that a sticky power button would merit a recall, so there must be something more serious wrong under the hood. One would hope that the recall isn’t extended to other retailers, but it’s not out of the question. Have any of you new PlayBook owners experienced any technical difficulties?
[via Engadget]
Update: RIM just sent me a note clarifying that the issue is entirely software related.
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.