Research in Motion has been teasing the 2.1 OS update for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for some time, but now it looks as though today is finally the day for the software to start rolling out.
The update was said to be coming out way back in May, but for some reason RIM went quiet after its PlayBook Product Manager Michael Clewley tweeted about the update launching on May 31st. Now we’ve spotted an internal memo that shows October 3rd, today, as the start date for the update rollout.
The internal memo, which comes courtesy of MobileSyrup, shows us exactly what PlayBook owners will be getting with the new update, but doesn’t say how big the update file is. The major changes and features are listed in the memo, although there could well be many more tweaks and additions to find. The important bits are:
– Allows PIM (Messages, Calendar, Contacts) to be viewed in portrait orientation
– PIM – Deep Folder Hierarchy. Previously, if a customer had multiple nested folders within email
– Allows for WiFi to be used for Bridge between 2 devices if they’re on the same WiFi network
– BlackBerry Bridge will now support viewing SMS messages on the PlayBook
– Print to Go will now work across different networks
– Android apps will now be run in separate windows instead of one window for every Android app
– Android apps will now have the ability to use the PlayBook camera
– A customer will now be able to make in-app payments within Android apps
The BlackBerry PlayBook has been rocking OS 2.0, the last major software upgrade, since February this year. That brought along the ability to run Android apps on the BlackBerry tablet, and the new 2.1 update looks to push things forward with that feature, with several improvements made to the way Android apps will run.
Other changes look set to improve the Bridge functionality that allows the user to pair the PlayBook up with a BlackBerry smartphone.
We’ll be hitting the update button continually today to check for our 2.1 update. Be sure to let us know if you get the update and how it is on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
Via: N4BB