RIM’s Mike Lazaridis has today offered some teasing information on the upcoming BlackBerry OS 6.0. He has promised that the OS will work better with touchscreen devices while maintaining support for trackpad devices. The WebKit-based browser will obviously be an important feature on the next-generation OS as web browsing is becoming increasingly important. Current BlackBerry devices have a chance of being upgraded to OS 6.0, though obviously not all of them will get the update. The updated OS should be released this summer, but t hasn’t been confirmed if there will be a new phone released in conjunction with BlackBerry OS 6.0.
The long awaited new operating system, described by Mr Lazaridis as one of the biggest overhauls in years, is a clear attempt by RIM to address the concerns of some BlackBerry users and position RIM to compete more effectively against rival smartphone manufacturers including Apple, HTC and Motorola. >>READ MORE
As to new functionality, he said RIM set out to “fix the things that people wanted to see fixed,” he said, quashing rumors of an entirely new look and feel. The new OS will be “very familiar to anyone who’s used the BlackBerry,” he added.
But there will be some significant, and overdue, updates. They include a real Internet browser that can show Web pages as they would look on a computer, a customizable home screen with a digital clock a la HTC Android, tile shortcuts to music, the Web and e-mail like the iPhone and a broader focus on BlackBerry App World widgets that can be downloaded over the air and are either billed to the carrier or paid via credit card. An overhauled music player will take a page from the iPhone too, and will display album art.
In short, BlackBerry is adding table-stakes smartphone functionality that consumers have come to expect out of their iPhones and Android devices. new phones
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