After introducing its Blackberry PlayBook tablet in late 2010 Research In Motion never shared its sales estimates officially. In a bid to fulfill the need for that information, some analysts are making their predictions. For example, one market observer believes that RIM has chances to sell around six million PlayBook tablets in the first twelve months after the release.

A proprietary survey conducted by RBC Capital revealed that RIM could sell four million Playbook units this calendar year and six million units in the 12 months following its release, reports Tech Trader Daily blog. Earlier it was reported that RIM placed orders onto one million of Playbooks to be shipped this quarter (the product is to be launched commercially sometimes in March), hence, the results of the survey are likely to be conservative enough, yet, may not show an actual picture.

Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital, said that the company surveyed 1100 people in early January and 6% responded that they were “likely” to buy a Playbook slate. By contrast, according to the analyst, about 12% of people who were surveyed in February expressed interest in Apple iPad.

The financial analyst believes that BlackBerry PlayBook is appealing to early adopters and power users thanks to features like “speed/power”, “security and IT integration” as well as other peculiarities.

Several years ago Palm wanted to release Foleo mobile companion device for its smartphones, but cancelled its plans due to financial problems and uncertainties. Palm Foleo mobile companion was promised to feature with 10” screen, email client, Web browser and some basic software that allows checking emails’ attachments and performing other essential tasks. Blackberry Playbook is also rather a companion for Blackberry smartphones and the success beyond that platform is not cast in stone. As a result, it is doubtful that a survey of average computer users shows the actual market potential of Playbook tablet ahead of its release.

Tags: Blackberry, RIM, PlayBook, Palm