Research in Motion has just taken the wraps off of the new Blackberry Playbook OS2 Beta! This new OS upgrade, which has been eagerly awaited for a long time, is now available for download.
Many new features are being packed into this update including BBM, Calender, and a native email client. The email client is one of the most important updates as it finally gives you a connection to the BIS servers to give you pushed email! This is exciting because it will give you the full experience and allow you the same functionality as the email clients on the RIM smartphone line.
There is a new Android App player that will allow you to run Android apps finally! Android developers have the ability to re-package their programs from APK to BAR. There is more information on this on the Blackberry Developer Page, and it all seems very straight forward. You basically just need a developer account and your own signature file.
PlayBook OS 2 brings loads more changes to the platform, and they’re squarely aimed at making the BlackBerry slate an easier target for developers. Adobe Air 3 and Flash 11 are supported, Open GL ES 2.0 and Open AL are baked in, and RIM’s Native SDK—which brings support for C/C++ apps—has been certified for release as well. RIM is also snuggling up to standards-based apps built using web code like HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and even WebGL, with the introduction of WebWorks and a much-improved browser.
The Playbook has been one of those devices that have had all of the internal hardware power to make it a solid investment. The lacklustre app selection and lack of native email clients has really hurt it in the market place. With the OS2 Beta update, it finally brings itself into the sphere of relevancy! I just wish they would release a 3G version of it to make it mobile on the go. At least you can pair it with your 4G Torch 2 and get solid speeds.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
