RIM recalling up to 1,000 PlayBook tablets
The BlackBerry maker recalls the tablets due to a faulty build of the operating system but says few of the buggy units made it to the consumer stage.
Research In Motion has recalled close to 1,000 of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablets due to a glitch in the build of the operating system for those specific units, according to a May 13 memo sent to Staples and published by Engadget.
RIM confirmed the recall in a statement sent today to CNET and said few of the defective units had made it past the distribution stage and into the hands of customers.
"RIM determined that approximately 1,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up," the company said in its statement. "The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices."
The company's statement mentioned "approximately 1,000," though other information from RIM suggests the figure is closer to 900.
An unnamed source told Engadget that the batch of buggy PlayBooks were shipped to Staples, as per the memo. RIM didn't indicate whether customers with the faulty units would be contacted directly, so Engadget has published a list of 935 alleged serial numbers of the affected tablets for PlayBook owners to check themselves.
Updated at 6:25 a.m. PT with direct confirmation from RIM.