RIM TO OFFER REBATES ON THE BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK

During RIM’s second-quarter earnings call, co-CEO Jim Balsillie noted that the company plans to offer price cuts on the not-so-popular BlackBerry PlayBook in the form of rebates, and an incentive program for enterprise sales. Additionally, Balsillie mentioned that there will be a major software update for the PlayBook coming soon. RIM reported during its earnings call on Thursday that it only sold 200,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets into channels during its August quarter, after having shipped 500,000 units in the fiscal first quarter. Wall Street was expecting PlayBook shipments to total 700,000 units in the quarter.

VERIZON WIRELESS ENDING NEW EVERY 2 AND EARLY UPGRADE PROGRAMS

Some bad news is emerging for Verizon Wireless subscribers this evening, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Just ahead of the imminent wave of next-generation Android devices, 4G phones and the highly anticipated Verizon iPhone, the carrier is rumored to be ending two programs that countless customers have enjoyed in recent history. The first is the early upgrade policy, which allowed subscribers on two-year contracts to upgrade their devices after just one year of service. The second is Verizon’s New Every Two program, which gave customers up to $50 every two years to apply toward the purchase of a new phone. Both of these policies are set to come to an end on January 16th, according to what is alleged to be a leaked screen capture of Verizon Wireless’ training manual. New Every Two is simply kaput, says the slide, but the early upgrade policy will apparently stick around in a trimmed state — subscribers will be eligible for an early upgrade after 20 months of service on a two-year contract. [BGR]