BlackBerry Playbook $249 AR @ Staples

10/10/11 Update:

Staples and Office Depot still have the $200 instant off until 10/15/11. For Best Buy, you will have to get them to Price Match.

10/02/11 Update:

Staples, Office Depot and Best Buy are in parity... all have $200 instant off on all Playbooks. $299 16 GB, $399 32 GB, $499 64 GB. No more rebates to deal with!

09/29/11 Update:

Two days left...

Staples updated their instore pricing for the 16 GB Playbooks to $299 after rebates. If you can find it for $249, grab it!

Office Depot is running the same deal as Staples, $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate.

Best Buy is $299 without rebates.

Some people have claimed to be able to buy the 16 GB Playbook from Staples for $299 (Price Matched to Best Buy) and then do the mail-in rebate for another $100 off, making the 16 GB Playbook only $199. (I called two nearby Staples and they said they wouldn't Price Match because their price already matches Best Buy after the rebates. Buy at Best Buy if you're not into doing mail-in/online rebate redemptions.)

Some people with Staples accounts have claimed that they get Exclusive Savings on the Playbook, which is an additional $100 instant off. For them, the price online is $199 for the 16 GB Playbook.

The Amazon Fire, Amazon's Android tablet, has been announced, with the starting price of $199. It's been described in the press as "a Playbook" because of its similar design and 7" display. However, for $199, it has 512 MB less RAM, 8 GB less storage, no microphone, no cameras (front and back), no HDMI out, and no GPS. It does run Android apps and has the might of Amazon's services and cloud storage. The choice is yours...

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Price instore for 16 GB Playbooks are $249, which breaks down to $449 - $100 instant rebate - $100 mail-in rebate. You will have to pay taxes on the $349 price + any recycling fees ($6 in California). Online, 16 GB Playbooks are $299 after the rebates. (Some people have reported being able to get the online store to price match to $249, since 16 GB units are sold instore.)

32 GB and 64 GB versions are only available online, $399 and $499, respectively, after $100 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. (Some people have managed to get an additional $50 off by asking the online store to price match old displayed instore prices.)

The rebate can be mailed in or done online via Staples Easy Rebates [stapleseasyrebates.com], Rebate Offer Number 11-65258. This is live now. Valid purchase dates are from 09/25/11 - 10/01/11. You must submit your rebate within 60 days of purchase. Rebate is paid as $100 Visa card, sent within 4-6 weeks.

Staples has a 14-day return policy.

RIM's "Back to School" [blackberrybackatschool.com] $100 MasterCard offer is over as of 09/22/11.

The next BlackBerry DevCon is scheduled for Oct. 18-20th, where the next version of the Playbook's QNX OS is rumored to be announced. Two key features expected are: native email app (for email sync to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.) and Android Player (to allow the Playbook to run Android applications).

For those with Blackberrys, you can pair the Playbook with your Blackberry (OS5.0 or better) via Blackberry Bridge [blackberry.com] and browse the web without an additional tethering plan (except those on AT&T).

Differences with the Touchpad: This one has a 5MP rear-facing camera and a 3MP front-facing camera, GPS, HDMI support.
http://www.tipb.com/images/storie..._specs.jpg

And the deal is live, go, go, go.

Here are PlayBook commercials you have to see if you believe a 7-inch tablet is somehow inferior to a 10-inch laptop just because it's smaller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ...ure=relmfu

Another one on the multitasking capabilities of QNX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT...ure=relmfu

Comparison of the iPad2 and PB web browsers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7...ure=relmfu

Might be a good idea to wait,
http://news.google.com/news/more?...qQEAVhGVDM

No reason to wait, they're not killing it. The PlayBook is not the Touchpad.
http://www.bgr.com/2011/09/29/rim...re-fiction <---- You only link it to one source, the above links to many sources....