Only a day after Amazon introduced Kindle Fire, RIM appears to be slashing prices of its PlayBook tablet, which the Fire is actually based on.

The cunning plan is to slash prices by $100, which would make the entry level PlayBook cost just $399, or twice as much as the Fire which is basically the same piece of kit. Needless to say, we doubt RIM’s cunning plan will work.

The price cut applies to the entire range, but it does not end there, as retailers such as Staples and Office Depot are offering a $100 gift card along with the PlayBooks.

Market watchers believe up to 500,000 PlayBooks are currently collecting dust around the world and demand shows no signs of increasing. The price cut might seem like an act of desperation, but it is nowhere near HP’s debacle, at least not yet.