Research In Motion (RIM) has launched the highly anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. The new operating system will be downloadable on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets starting today.
PlayBook OS 2.0 will update the tablets to hopefully be what many expected to get when they originally purchased the BlackBerry PlayBook. The tablet went on the market in April of 2011. It was poorly received. Many of the features that BlackBerry is famous for were not included on the tablet. Items such as BlackBerry Messaging, E-mail Calendar and Contact applications, all had to be ‘bridged’ from a BlackBerry smart phone to the PlayBook to work.
At the time the PlayBook tablet launched, BlackBerry said they would have an update adding many of these features within 60 days. The missed their deadline by about 8 months.
But now it’s here.
In a statement released by RIM this morning, they highlighted five particular features that the new operating system will include. They are 1) an integrated e-mail client with unified inbox, which can include messages from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and personal and work e-mail accounts; 2) calendar and contact apps that are meshed with social networking sites to keep them updated; 3) an updated BlackBerry Bridge app, used for sharing content between the tablet and a BlackBerry smartphone, it also allows the smart phone to be used as a keyboard for the tablet; 4) better mobile productivity, with improved editing, a better keyboard, a new Print To Go app and BlackBerry Balance, used for controlling and managing corporate data; and 5) the ability for the PlayBook tablet to run thousands of Android apps, plus a new BlackBerry Video Store and an updated browser.
One of the features that some Playbook tablet owners may be looking for but not find is BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). It’s still missing from BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0. BBM will still be assessable through a bridge with a BlackBerry smart phone, like before.