In advance of today’s earnings call, RIM announced that co-founder Jim Balsillie is out at the company he built.
You might not recall, but when the BlackBerry PlayBook came out last year it was close — oh, so close — to being a respectable iPad competitor. But the omission of native email, calendars and contacts was a fatal flaw, both for reviewers and the buying public.
This isn’t the review of the BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 software. That comes tomorrow. Rather, these are just some early impressions and comparisons to the 1.0 software running through my head as I get acclimated with the thing. These opinions that may or may not change with time and familiarity.
To go along with the release of the PlayBook 2.0 update, RIM also included new remote functionality in the BlackBerry Bridge app, so that BB phones can control the PlayBook But as people are finding out, it can control much, much more than just a single tablet.
As predicted, RIM’s attempt to salvage the PlayBook — an updated operating system — is available today. Now, basic tablet functionality can be had by PlayBook users: e-mail, calendar and contacts programs, as well as a scattering of ported Android apps. The update is available now, via the PlayBook’s Software Updates menu. [RIM]
RIM’s Playbook tablet hasn’t exactly been a blockbuster success (or even much of a “success”) since its initial launch last year — due in part to a clunky UI and lack of basic features. However, according to a report by 4NBB, the vastly improved Playbook OS 2 could start rolling out next week.
Crackberry came into some supposed BlackBerry 10 OS screenshots from a tipster, which, among other things, shows off a new widget-centric UI.
RIM just put out a series of videos showcasing the durability tests a Blackberry has to withstand prior to its release. Pretty cool!
The long, long wait for Blackberry Playbook OS 2.0 — complete with the promise of Android app integration — is nearly over, with RIM putting a firm deadline on developers who want their Android Apps integrated into Blackberry App World.
