PlayBook OS 2.0 is finally available, providing many long-awaited features for Research In Motion's seven-inch tablet.
The PlayBook was initially released in April last year and was met with fierce criticism for its lack of basic built-in features such as e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger, and its heavy reliance on tethering to a BlackBerry handset.
The tablet has since battled in the competitive market, and in December RIM announced it would take a $485 million charge against its PlayBook inventory, or $360 million after taxes.
PlayBook OS 2.0, however, introduces an integrated e-mail client with a unified inbox for messages from personal and work e-mail accounts, as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Other features include deeper social integration with new Calendar and Contacts apps and an updated BlackBerry Bridge app, which allows users to use their phone's keyboard to type text and to act as a remote control for the tablet. This feature can be used to control the tablet when it is plugged into a TV, for example.
Another notable addition is the expansion of BlackBerry App World to include a range of Android apps that will run on the tablet. Unfortunately, to the disappointment of some users, the update does not yet include a native BlackBerry Messenger service.
New handsets
Yesterday, RIM and Vodacom also announced the local launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones.
The Bold 9790 features touch display as the standard full qwerty keyboard, and a 1GHz processor and 8GB of on-board memory (and a memory card slot for up to 32GB additional storage).
The Curve 9380 is the first in the Curve line of phones to be all-touch with its 3.2-inch display. It also has a 5MP camera with flash.
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