BlackBerry PlayBook launched in India

Bollywood actor Salman Khan gestures during a news conference at the launch of Blackberry PlayBook in Mumbai June 22, 2011.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The BlackBerry PlayBook, Research In Motion (RIM)'s disappointing challenger to the hugely successful iPad 2, hit store shelves in India on Wednesday, nearly two months after the revamped Apple tablet made its India debut.

Customers have the option to buy the PlayBook, which features Wi-Fi support, with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory and the models are priced between 27,990 rupees and 37,990 rupees.

The PlayBook is being distributed nationally through Redington India and Ingram Micro, initially in 1,000 retail stores across eight cities, the company said in a statement.

RIM has struggled to win consumer fans since Apple's iPhone and a slew of devices running Google's Android entered the smartphone fray.

Reviewers have panned the PlayBook for the absence of inbuilt email and organiser functions -- the gadget needs a BlackBerry to access those. Critics said the company rushed the tablet computer to the market before it was ready.

The PlayBook’s North American launch in April was in stark contrast to the global frenzy when Apple launched its iPad 2 and consumers lined up overnight to buy the gadget.

(Writing by Tony Tharakan)