RIM will introduce its PlayBook in China in the scond half of this year.

Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) will introduce its tablet PC, called PlayBook, in China in the second half of 2011 with a "competitive" price, Gregory Shea, president of RIM China, told the Global Times Tuesday.

The first batch in China will be the WiFi version and the retail price will be lower than for Apple's iPad 2. Currently, the company is busy localizing the language of the operating system and around 3,000 software applications, according to Shea.

The company is likely to expand its cooperation with its current local distributor Digital China for the new product.

RIM debuted three PlayBook models in the US and Canada on April 19 this year, at the same price as Apple's iPad2. However, RIM recalled about 900 PlayBook models from May 13 owing to quality problems.

"PlayBook will have a tough battle for customers with the iPad 2 in China," Xiang Ligang, an industry expert, told the Global Times. "Apple's iPad provides an excellent user experience and adopts a different pricing strategy from the expensive iPhone products to make the price more affordable in China."

Xiang said it was unlikely that RIM would gain quick success with the product in China, and that the company should focus more on product quality and service.