BlackBerry’s 7-inch PlayBook tablet launched to mostly lackluster reviews back in April. It was the same old story: buggy software, tumbleweed in the app store and, most importantly, an uncompetitive price tag.
The intersection of supply and demand may be moving a tad closer to equilibrium on the PlayBook’s retail graph, though, as Staples is selling the tablet for $299 after $100 worth of instant savings and a $100 mail-in rebate in the form of a prepaid Visa card. That’s for the 16-gigabyte version—the 32- and 64-gigabyte versions have been discounted as well.
Unlike BlackBerry’s own $100 MasterCard prepaid rebate deal that we previously-mentioned, this Staples deal doesn’t require you to own a BlackBerry phone to get the extra savings.
Do note, however, that Staples’ rebate form appears to be mismarked, stating the effective dates to be “8/25 to 9/3″—that should probably read “9/25 to 10/3” instead. We’ve contacted Staples to see if they’ll be updating the rebate form with the correct dates.
Office Depot is running a similar deal (with the correct dates on the rebate form), too: The $100 rebate card is good for purchases between 9/25 and 10/1 but you’ll get an Office Depot gift card to be used in-store instead of a $100 prepaid Visa card that can be used anywhere.
MORE: The BlackBerry PlayBook: Another Interesting Unfinished Tablet
[via Pocketables]