Digitimes is reporting that Research In Motion has slashed its internal Q2 sales target from 2.4 million units to between 800,000 and 900,000 units. The moves follows its recent announcement that it had shipped some 500,000 units during its fiscal year 2012 first quarter.
Digitimes sources indicate that PlayBook demand dropped lower than expected after a strong start. The trend suggests that RIM will not be able to meet its original goal, forcing the downward revision.
RIM’s PlayBook expectations could pick up again when it releases models with 3G, LTE and WiMAX connectivity likely in September.
The news is not all bad for RIM though. Despite not meeting its own expectations, the PlayBook has outsold a number of competitors including the Motorola XOOM and is “one of the front-end players within the non-Apple tablet PC group, especially for products mainly selling in the US and Europe.”