RIM’s unsold PlayBook inventory: Probably 1+ million units

Among other bad news, BlackBerry maker RIM announced today that it would take a $485 million write-down for its November quarter because it has too many unsold PlayBook tablets in inventory.

How many? Probably about 1.4 million, Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum estimates in a report today.

So stay tuned for the PlayBook fire sale. RIM says its early promotions are causing a “significant increase in demand for the PlayBook,” with more than 150,000 sales to end users last quarter. Still, that’s a lot of PlayBooks left to get rid of. (And, really, why would you buy one at any price?)

RIM reports Q3 earnings on Dec. 15.

Also: Smart! RIM will help enterprise customers manage their iPhones and Androids, too