Taking up residence as an also-ran in the tablet race rather than a frontrunner, news RIM has seen fit to cut the price of the PlayBook for the rest of November hardly comes as a surprise.

Available for $199 across the US until December 3, the move is being pitched as a reaction to the arrival of cheap offerings such as Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's latest Nook.

There's even the possibility the time period could be extended if the new price point proves popular.

SlayBook?

Indeed, it's no coincidence RIM has chosen to slash prices to $199. That's the exact RRP Kindle Fire rolled out with, and analysts expect Amazon's debut tablet to sell anywhere up to 5 million units during Q4 2011.

In contrast, PlayBook has not faired well at the tills. A lack of developer support for the device has been reflected in a similar lack of interest from consumers, with iPad outselling the device at a rate of 19 to 1 at one point.

RIM has even had to respond to suggestions the firm was planning to drop the device, claiming it was "highly committed to the tablet market and the future of QNX in its platform."

[source: VentureBeat]