If its niche crowd, the managers and professionals, ate a BlackBerry Bold or Torch for lunch and have a BlackBerry PlayBook for dinner, Research In Motion Ltd.'s diner would be giving away free beers to everyone. But fewer business users are ordering BlackBerries nowadays, and the existing users are picking an iPad or an Android tablet.

After its delicious slates (they run Adobe Flash) were nearing their expiration dates, Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest seller of personal computers, announced it's ending its mobile devices business, and slashed prices of the TouchPad to $99 in order to get rid of all the stock crowding the pantry. RIM is not cooking any better than HP. According to some disgruntled shareholders, two chefs (the two co-CEOs) are spoiling the broth, noting that its fine-dinning restaurants are quickly losing patrons as fast as Nokia.

A report last week, although sourced from a reporter, citing an analyst, who cited an anonymous source, is adding fuel to the fire. Boy Genius Report wrote that Collins Stewart analyst John Vinh, citing anonymous sources at RIM's manufacturing partner Quanta, said in a note to investors that RIM is no longer grilling tablets. "While Quanta last week acknowledged that it had laid off a significant number of production workers from a factory focused on producing the PlayBook, our research indicates that the ODM has essentially halted production of the tablet, Vinh wrote. "Additionally, our due diligence indicates that RIMM has canceled development of additional tablet projects."

If RIM decides to stop baking PlayBooks because everyone is craving for an iPad (it has 70% market share), then we'll likely find the PlayBook in a $99 fire-sale.

But execs at RIM quickly refuted the BGR report. "RIM doesn't typically comment on rumors, but any suggestion that the BlackBerry PlayBook is being discontinued is pure fiction," a RIM spokesperson told BGR in an email. "RIM remains highly committed to the tablet market."

RIM shipped to retailers 500,000 PlayBook tablets in the slate's launch quarter and then 200,000 more during its first full quarter. But Quanta had delivered 1.5 million PlayBooks to RIM, according to The Guardian, citing an analyst at Fubon Securities. Apple on the other hand has not just shipped but already SOLD 30 million iPads since launching in April 2010.

No Salt

Although the PlayBook's steak was amazing (its platform was superb for multi-tasking), it forgot to add salt to the soup (the product was launched without its own access to e-mail, contacts and calendar). What's more, it couldn't get enough toppings for the salad bar because suppliers haven't been convinced that they would be paid. With many customers ordering iPads, Apple has been able to woo developers to plant more veggies for the salad bar (100,000 apps are now available at the apps store).

Although the PlayBook was at least rich in flavor (1 GHz dual-core processor, 1080p HD front and back cameras, etc.), RIM couldn't get any "compliments to the chef" because nobody was eating the PlayBook, prompting price cuts from retailers. Priced at launching at $499, Best Buy Web site's indicates that the entry level 16 GB PlayBook is now only $299.

But with cheaper slabs looming on the horizon, RIM could be forced to further cut prices to sell all the steaks before they rot.

Amazon is start to opening the buffet tablet for the Kindle Fire at only $199 -- less than half $499 entry-level iPad 2. While the Kindle Fire wouldn't get a five-star ratings (it's just an Android tablet with a slower processor and lower memory), it is supported by Amazon's cloud infrastructure and Amazon's wide array of digital content.

Six months ago, the Blackberry PlayBook would have been an exceptional entrée given that it only had the pricey iPad to contend with. But RIM priced the PlayBook also at $499 notwithstanding that Apple has a doctorate in presentation (the aesthetics, marketing) and already had a wide menu (apps) for everyone.

Just the Appetizer

So, a PlayBook for just $99? Not for now. Remember that HP's spontaneous decision to shut its pizza parlor after just one bad pizza cost CEO Leo Apotheker his job. HP is focusing on the high margin enterprise and software business and will spin-off its PC business. So it doesn't make sense anymore if it continues selling pizzas when it makes more money just distributing dough to everyone.

But for RIM, it needs to continue roasting tablets. Tablets are no longer a fad -- they're legitimate second computing devices. Even PC software giant Microsoft is cooking a platform designed to also work for smartphones and tablets. If RIM sends its PlayBook to $99 fire sales, it would be one step backwards for the Canadian device-maker.

Remember that the PlayBook is the first RIM device based on QNX Neutrino. And it is hopeful that "superphones" based on QNX would make RIM back as top chef. RIM believes that the PlayBook is just the appetizer and hopes the dishes being prepared in the kitchen -- the next generation PlayBook and the superphones -- would be everyone's dinner.

Many Restaurants

According to IDC, there is an appetite for 50 million tablets for 2012. But when so many restaurants offering fine dining, there is no room for error. The Android, backed by search giant Google, and tech heavyweights Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Dell, and Lenovo, are fine tuning their desserts (Ice Cream Sandwich for now) in order to come up with a menu that would compete with Apple. Apple is expected to have a longer waiting-list of customers with the 200 new features provided by iOS5 and iCloud, the service that would sync different Apple devices. Many are also salivating on Microsoft's staple for breakfast, lunch and dinner -- Windows 8 and Metro, which work for all forms of computing devices.

And would there be room in your stomach for the PlayBook?

It's not a question of "if", but of "when" the PlayBook will be a hit again when everyone starts searching for the PlayBook at Zagat or Google... with the keywords "PlayBook+$99".

Or I could be wrong. Once you've hit bottom - there's nowhere to go but up.