Amid increasing reports of the senior management of the company receiving a major shakeup, RIM has decided to slash the price of its purported iPad killer, the Playbook tablet in the U.S. This is a move seen by many as a last ditch attempt to increase sales of the beleaguered tablet which has been critically acclaimed – but has been marred by poor sales figures.

The BlackBerry online store now showcases all the three models of the device with capacities of 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB to be priced at $299. This is more than 50% lesser than what the top of the line 64GB version used to cost in the heydays when it retailed for a pricey $699. It was just a few days ago that the prices of the tablet had seen a major drop in India as well, where again, almost a 50% cut was seen.

While RIM might be disappointed with the outcome of the Playbook, the company still seems to be optimistic about its future. One major reason for this optimism is the fact that it is set to get a software update in the near future. This update which is dubbed the Playbook OS 2.0, will give the tablet quite a bunch of new features and possibly an UI overhaul as well. The current version of the tablet has a rather stupid restriction which requires the owner to possess a BlackBerry handset to receive e-mails on the device! This limitation is set to be removed with the update.

The news of the price slash in the US also comes at a time when there has been reports going on about the possible ouster of the co Chairman Mike Lazardis and Jim Balsillie from their posts from the head of the board table.

All these measures from RIM come at a crucial juncture for the company which saw a very bad 2011. While it still remains one of the top smartphone vendors on the planet, its market share is slipping globally. It faces a similar scenario on the U.S as well. Its new OS dubbed the BlackBerry 10 is still months away from deployment and is thought by many to be capable enough to bring the company back in to the reckoning.

When that would actually happen is something we would come to know as the year progresses.

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