Sony followed the tactics employed in early 2011 by Hewlett-Packard and Research in Motion, cut the price of a slow-moving product.

The Japanese firm has announced hefty discount of $100 for its Sony Tablet S, hoping that the price slash would merit the same result garnered by HP when it offered its Touchpad for only $99 to North American buyers.

The result was almost predictable as the HP tablets were quickly sold out, with experts noting that the device flew out of store shelves not for its own merits but because buyers rushed to avail of the bargain sticker price.

It should be taken into account too that HP resorted to the price cut if only to recover its investment in manufacturing the tablet computer, which served as the company's final venture into hardware computer business.

Picking up from HP, RIM decided to dangle as much as 50 percent price off on its PlayBook, which has elicited lukewarm reception in markets where it was released, falling short of the standards established by Apple's iPad.

Critics mainly bashed the gadget for lack of apps to come with it, as developers shunned the product and mostly taking their time designing applications for Android-powered tablets and iPad.

RIM saw only one tried and tested solution, attractive price cuts that the Canadian firm first offered in late December to the Indian market.

So far, tech blog site Relaxnews has reported on Monday that all PlayBook versions in India have been snatched by eager buyers, with company officials in the country stating that as many as 12,000 units were sold in just four days.

On its part, Sony hopes to pick up where HP and RIM left off, with the company expressing optimism that North American buyers will finally take a second look on the tablet the Japanese firm had originally touted to give iPad a good run.

Now beyond that noble goal, Sony ordered its retail outlets in the United States and Canada to implement the price discounts for the Tablet S, with its 16GB version now only selling for $399.99 and the 32GB edition at $499.99.

Next to anticipate is if Sony's ploy would actually accelerate the movements of yet another Android tablet in the market, tech watchers said, the same way that HP's and RIM's tablet computers did.