BlackBerry PlayBook outsells the iPad at Canada’s biggest electronics stores

It’s party time in Waterloo as the BlackBerry PlayBook pulls off the unthinkable.

The BlackBerry PlayBook has gone from being overpriced and short on functionality to being one of the hottest-selling gadgets in Canada. With the 16GB version locked in at just $199, RIM rocketed up the tablet sales charts — trailing only the iPad 2. The holiday season was a big success, but last week something even more amazing happened: the BlackBerry PlayBook outsold the iPad in Canada.
Well, at least it did at both Best Buy and Futureshop, but that’s still an impressive feat. The PlayBook finally did what no other android tablet could do.
It won’t last, though. Part of the reason the PlayBook managed to snag the top spot is because iPad 2 sales have started to slow. Why? Because the iPad 3 (or iPad HD) is going to be announced on March 7th. Once the new iPad arrives, it’s all but guaranteed to dominate tablet sales once more.
The PlayBook compares quite favorably to the iPad 2. Both feature dual-core 1GHz processors. The PlayBook’s front and rear cameras are substantially better than those in the iPad 2, and its 186 pixel per inch display surpasses the iPad’s density by about 40%. It’s also about half a pound lighter than the iPad 2, and way less expensive.

But when the iPad 3 arrives, Apple could drastically shake up the tablet pc landscape once again. For starters, the new iPad will feature a 10-inch Retina display. The PlayBook’s display might not hold a candle to that high-def 2054×1536 resolution. The new iPad may also feature a quad-core or a much speedier dual-core A6, and it’s rumored to support blazing-fast LTE mobile networks — and RIM has yet to make good on the promise of a PlayBook with even 3G built in.
A number of industry sources also believe that Apple will either introduce a new, lower-priced iPad 3 or continue selling the iPad 2 at a reduced price. Apple has never had a problem moving iPads at $500, and there’s no doubt a cheaper iPad would absolutely fly off retail shelves.
Even if this victory is a short-lived one for RIM — and even if it took nearly a year for the PlayBook to rise to the top — it’s still an impressive feat.