Chalk one up to RIM, whose Blackberry Playbook is apparently outselling all their rivals save for the  iPad 2 (who dominates the tablet market).

Since its April 19 launch in the U.S., Abramsky thinks RIM has moved about 250,000 PlayBooks. Further, he believes RIM is on track to sell 500,000 PlayBooks by the end of the quarter. [...]

“Checks at 180 Best Buys show 14% of the 16 GB sold out, 71% of the 32 GB sold out, and 84% of the 64 GB sold out; however, 32 GB/64 GB stockouts appear allocation-related,” he wrote. Are many PlayBooks being returned? Not really, he said, calling PlayBook returns “nominal.” (Information Week)

Despite being half the size of Motorola’s Xoom as well as requiring a Blackberry device in order to access basic features like a calendar (note: seriously RIM?), the Playbook seems to be a hit amongst the masses.

Motorola also reported 250,000 units sold, although they only mentioned how many tablets were sold to stores and not directly to consumers (which is a way of saying a product is a dud).

Although RIM’s quarter million sales to consumers are not blockbuster figures, it does give them something to boast about when addressing their critics (this author included).

If RIM is able to perform this well underneath Apple’s shadow with a mini-tablet, how much better could they do with a full sized tablet with all of the bells and whistles? Food for thought.

In March, analysts predicted that Android Market that Android had already passed the 250,000 app thresh hold, and Google was on their way towards swelling towards 300,000 apps.

Two months later Google revealed that Android Market boasted around 200,000 apps, which was a far cry from analysts estimates earlier.

While Google’s latest app stats may have surprised “phandroids,” the real question is why hasn’t Android shattered the 1 million app marker? (especially when developers lack an app tribunal courtesy of Steve Jobs). More →

At long last Google has finally unveiled their Chromebook, which has the potential of reviving the dying netbook industry (which Apple has mortally wounded thanks to the iPad).

While it’s great to see Chrome OS court the traditional laptop over the tablet, there are a few reasons why I probably will avoid purchasing one in the future (despite some of the positive reviews Chromebook is receiving in techland).  More →

Google has rolled out an update to their Google News web app that allows iOS and Android fans to receive local news while on the go.

To use this feature, visit Google News from the browser of your Android smartphone or iPhone. If this is the first time you are visiting Google News on your phone since this feature became available, a pop-up will ask you if you want to share your location. If you say yes, news relevant to your location will appear in a new section called “News near you” which will be added at the bottom of the homepage. (Google News Blog)

Embracing local via mobile should help Google compete with rival services like Topix (the latter who has been quietly dominating the local news niche).

Although it’s great to see a robust web app, hopefully Google will consider launching a native app in the not so distant future (as even Yahoo! has a native news app for Android and iOS fans).

Surprising Google seems to have overlooked supporting a few rival platforms (like Blackberry OS, webOS and Windows Phone 7) most who support HTML5.

Note: Can any readers upon other smartphones view the “News near you” feature? If so, let us know in the comment section below!

Android fans will be delighted to hear that the long awaited Netflix app has finally appeared upon Android Market!

Unfortunately it looks like only HTC fans and those running the latest Google phone will be able to partake of the movie stream madness.

One of these challenges is the lack of standard streaming playback features that the Netflix application can use to gain broad penetration across all available Android phones. In the absence of standardization, we have to test each individual handset and launch only on those that can support playback. We are aggressively qualifying phones and look forward to expanding the list of phones on which the Netflix app will be supported. (Official Netflix Blog)

In order to install Netflix users need to be running Android 2.2 (or 2.3 on some smartphones), and be fortunate enough to own an HTC Incredible, Evo 4G, Nexus One, G2 or Nexus S (the latter which is made by Samsung).

Netflix is working on expanding the number of devices supported, although the company might want to consider allowing users to “beta test” the phones (which could reduce the roll out time for the rest of the Android population).

With Netflix embracing Google’s mobile OS, we may see other companies (such as Hulu) finally take the leap and hop on Android Market.

Hat Tip: Engadget

After swooping in and snapping up Skype (to the tune of $8.5 billion), Microsoft for the first time has serious leverage over Google in an arena that doesn’t involve operating systems (for computers that is).

While Steve Ballmer and friends are probably throwing a party for outbidding Google, they may want to take a look at Qik (which Skype purchased in January). More →

The software giant has snapped up one of the hottest VoIP startups from the jaws of Google by paying twice as much as the search engine giant in cold hard cash.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: “MSFT”) and Skype Global S.à r.l today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype. (Microsoft)

Skype was on the verge of going public when Microsoft and Google entered a bidding war over the VoIP king.

Although the search engine giant has their own “VoIP” service via Google Voice, Larry Page (Google’s co-founder and new CEO) may regret the day that he did not purchase Skype. More →

After allegedly being hacked by Anonymous (the same group that attacked Amazon), Sony is promising that the PlayStation Network will reappear by the end of this month.

The company is in the process of adopting an improved security system and its plan to restart the services fully by May 31 is unchanged, he said. Sony shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services April 20 because of possible data theft by hackers. (Bloomberg)

In order to appease fans, Sony is offering users four free games when the service reappears, although the company is only allowing fans to choose games from a preselected list.

While offering free games is “okay,” Sony needs to provide a better way to secure users accounts in order to regain the trust lost from fans (especially after Sony waited a full week before notifying anyone about the seriousness of the breach).

Although rebuilding the PlayStation Network from scratch is a good start, Sony might want to take a cue from Facebook and employ a two step verification feature whenever someone logs on or charges their credit card.

Since two step verification can be seen as a nuisance by some users, Sony should make this feature opt-in for the masses.

While only time will tell if Sony will be able to regain the trust of their users, securing how people can access the games that they love (as well as their credit cards) is a good start.

That is the question on every mobile geeks mind right now after a report came out from an analyst projecting horrific sales of Windows Phone 7.

Despite selling 1.5 million phones to carriers, consumers apparently are not flocking towards the device (making Microsoft’s wonder phone a flop).

But what are the sales over the same period to end-users? Minus the donated phones and provided to its employees. Let’s assume that figure my personal assessment, that there were no official investigations and persecutions of the staff Microsoft. So, Fasten. By my estimate retail sales totaled 674,000 units. (Mobile Review, note: translated from Russian to English)

Seeing that this news is from an analyst one should always take information like this with a grain of salt (as truthfully no one really knows how many phones were sold outside of Microsoft).

However Microsoft could help clear up the confusion if they would simply release their activation numbers to the public (a method which Apple and Google both use to measure OS popularity).

Hopefully the company will consider releasing some hard numbers in the future, as the last thing Microsoft needs is shadowy rumors dragging the image of Windows Phone 7 down (which could hurt their image amongst developers).

It looks like Oracle will be unable to bring the full force of their lawsuit against Google as a judge has ordered Oracle to pick which claims they want to file against the search giant.

“Oracle will surrender all of its present infringement claims against Google based on the 129 asserted claims that will not be tried,” the judge added. “Oracle may not renew those infringement claims in a subsequent action except as to new products.” (ZD Net) More →