PlayBook Announcement Did Not Stop RIM Shares From Falling By 3%

Research in Motion shares went down 3%, a day after its PlayBook tablet computer has been announced during a conference in San Francisco on Monday.

PlayBook’s specs did impress analysts with its 7-inch screen and front and rear high-definition camera features. RIM shares, which went up about 2% on Monday’s after-hours trade, seemed to have boosted investors’ confidence too.

However, as soon as the Tuesday trading opened, RIM stocks declined 5% and closed at $46.91 at the end of the day, losing $1.45.

Investors may have disappointed by RIM’s failure to disclose the pricing and the “early 2011″ release date of the PlayBook. Another issue was the PlayBook’s limited Internet connectivity. At the moment, the tablet can only connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi but the BlackBerry maker said it is planning come up with 3G and 4G models in the future.

RIM’s shares already declined for over 30% this year. Investors are worried that the company is losing out to Apple and that Google’s Android operating system has been mostly preferred by smartphone makers.

Still, the tablet’s features “pleasantly surprised” Stifel Nicolaus analysts. They believe that the new tablet might make RIM head to head with competitors again.