Trials Continue for BlackBerry PlayBook With Unit Recall

Research In Motion has recalled approximately 1,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks because of a bug in the operating system, according to Endgadget.

RIM told BlackBerry-loving blog CrackBerry that the recall is due to a glitch in the OS “that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.” It affects 16GB models that were shipped to Staples and most have not reached consumers and are still in distribution. Does RIM have a brewing PlayBook problem on its hands?

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From the reports, this appears to be an isolated incident with a batch of PlayBooks going to one particular retailer. At the same time, the “where there is smoke there is fire” principle could be applied as well. If there is one batch with faulty loaders in the OS, there may be more. The development of the PlayBook has been a trial for RIM as it has been trying to squeeze a foreign OS into the BlackBerry system and conform it to tablet format.

There are reasons it took RIM almost seven months between announcement and launch of the PlayBook. Apps have been a problem, both native and the proposed Android app player. RIM may have been a touch ambitious as it tried to leapfrog a generation of software development and provide a wide array of developer tools that will work with the PlayBook. The PlayBook is a sophisticated piece of hardware running a new form of consumer gadget O. (QNX Neutrino ran in stuff like cars and jets before RIM acquired it.) There are necessary growing pains.

Fact of the matter – recalls happen. This one, as long as it is isolated as believed, is not a problem for anyone but RIM and Staples and only a minor inconvenience at that.

If you are a PlayBook owner, Endgadget published the serials numbers of all the devices in the recall.

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