NBA superstar Dwight Howard showing up the party doesn’t a successful product make. The Orlando Magic center was in living color at Research In Motion’s PlayBook launch party Thursday night. He was even pictured chatting with RIM’s co-CEOs.
After Howard left the party, he sent out a tweet that said, “Takin off. Had a blast RIM and blackberry y’all did an excellent Job the playbook is great. I love it. Now I need a busload of them for my teammates lol so we can all be connected. Hook a brother up lol. hint hint NYC I love y’all but I gotta get home. Yuuuuuuuaaaaaa.”
But will a Howard endorsement help RIM overcome all the negative reviews? Howard’s tweet seemed to set off another round of criticism as some asked if the ball player actually uses the PlayBook, especially since he sent the tweet using an iPhone app, according to news reports.
RIM’s Poor Timing
Before the tablet computer even gets out of the gate, some reviewers are suggesting that consumers hold off on buying the device. That’s troublesome to Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. Not because of the opinions, but because of the timing.
“The problem I have with the reviews is that the official product launch was Thursday night. The timing of these early reviews makes no sense,” Greengart said. “I don’t understand how RIM would allow product reviews out before they had a chance to position the product themselves and highlight the features.”
Of course, RIM did showcase the PlayBook at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, but not nearly in the same way electronics manufacturers make their splash at a product launch.
RIM’s frequent software updates to reviewer-held PlayBooks may have also dampened the experience. News reports cite software updates even during the week since the device was out for…
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