Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

The Guy In Charge Of BlackBerry's Failed Tablet Is Leaving The Company

Steve KovachJul 25, 2013, 18:22 IST

Business Insider / Matthew LynleyThe BlackBerry PlayBook.David Smith, the BlackBerry executive in charge of the company's PlayBook tablet, will leave the company, the Wall Street Journal has confirmed.

BlackBerry told the WSJ that Smith is leaving for personal reasons.

However, Smith's departure comes a few weeks after BlackBerry essentially declared its PlayBook tablet dead. The device launched more than two years ago to horrible reviews. Since then, BlackBerry tried to improve the device with software updates and boost sales with dramatic price cuts, but shipments were still dismally low.

BlackBerry said it will not upgrade the PlayBook to its new mobile operating system, BlackBerry 10, despite saying it would a few months ago.

It also looks like BlackBerry has no immediate plans to get back into tablets. Recently, BlackBerry's CEO Thorsten Heins said he thinks smartphones are the future of computing and tablets won't be around in five years.