PlayBook discounts to cost RIM US $485 Million

RIM said it has taken a US $485 million hit because of heavy discounts to its BlackBerry PlayBook and as a result expects to miss its financial targets for the year. The October week-long service outage that affected users in various countries also cost the company $50 milliion.

RIM began discounting the PlayBook recently, shaving off $300 from the tablet's price and as a result the devices have been selling steadily. Many hope that with more PlayBooks in the hands of customers that RIM's discounting will pay off for them in the long run.