Research in Motion hopes that Rovio's Angry Birds game will woo customers for thePlayBook tablet but if the popular game isn't enough then RIM hopes a fire sale will draw bargain hunters to the tablet.

PlayBook owners who wanted to throw Angry Birds at those pesky pigs will be happy to note that the popular game is now available for download on BlackBerry App World for US$4.99 apiece. Dish out revenge on those pigs by destroying their fortifications. PlayBook owners won't feel so left behind playing the game that everyone's been playing for months now.

If the original Angry Birds game isn't enough for you then you can also download Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio for more game levels. Rovio will continue to update the apps in the future so you won't have to worry about being left behind in the Angry Birds craze again.

But what if you're a consumer thinking of buying RIM's PlayBook? Research in Motion has adopted previous tablet manufacturers' strategy of discounting their product to attract consumers looking for a bargain. Starting from January through February 4, PlayBooks ordered from RIM's online store will only cost $300 for all versions.

Interested buyers can now get 64Gb PlayBooks for just $300. Considering that 64Gb PlayBooks usually go for $700 and 32Gb versions go for $600 this is a huge deal for consumers. Dropping the price for PlayBooks worked for RIM before. When it slashed the price of the PlayBook for $300 for its Black Friday sale, demand surged and the tablets were on back-order at the end of the day.

This is actually a good strategy for RIM to make. It needs to get its hardware to the hands of consumers in order to create a demand for its App World ecosystem. BlackBerry PlayBook apps only number around 5,000 to 10,000, which is miniscule compared to the apps on Google's Android Market and Apple's App Store.

The fire sale is also a sign that RIM is desperate to get some good sales this year. The PlayBook hasn't sold well since its release and RIM still hasn't provided the software upgrades for the tablet. If RIM could succeed in selling off all its PlayBook tablets with a fire sale like Hewlett Packard did with its TouchPad tablet, it could be the jumpstart RIM needs to start this year. 2012 is a make or break year for RIM. It's going to release new BlackBerry smartphones running on its BBX software this year. If it doesn't succeed there, it could mean a slow and steady decline for RIM.