Happy Friday #TeamBlackBerry! What a busy week it’s been – in case you hadn’t noticed, we just happened to release BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and hopefully you’ve upgraded to the new version. Now that you’ve had a few days to play around with the new features of the new OS, I wanted to share five tips to help you personalize your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. (By the way, if you have a tip about using BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, make sure you leave a comment and let everyone know!

With that being said, let’s dive in:

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »

Attention BlackBerry App World™ storefront shoppers! We’re excited to announce the global launch of BlackBerry App World™ v3.1. You’ll be receiving an upgrade notification over the next few days – or if you can’t wait, click here to download now. The latest version of BlackBerry App World introduces exciting new features to help you personalize your BlackBerry® smartphone.

Requesting a Gift

They say “it’s better to give than receive,” but in the case of BlackBerry App World v3.1, you can do both! The new ‘Request Gift’ feature lets you send a gift request to one of your BBM™ contacts so they can buy it for you if they choose!

With multiple payment methods, you can buy the gift in the way that’s most convenient for you. You can use PayPal®, your credit card, or charge the purchase directly to your wireless bill (where supported by your wireless carrier). You can also decline the request if you decide it’s not in your budget (or if they’re on the naughty list).

Content Rating and Filtering

With the launch of BlackBerry App World v3.1, we’re introducing an industry standard content rating system which is designed to give users the ability to restrict content of specific ratings. It’s a great feature for parents who want to keep certain types of content from their children, and it’s also great for any BlackBerry smartphone user who wants to block adult or mature content. The content rating system is based on CTIA Wireless Association’s “Guidelines for App Content Classification and Ratings”. For more info on how RIM and our developers rate the apps, check out this post on our Developer Blog.

Setting your personal preferences (or content controls for the phones on your family account) according to the content rating levels is simple All you need to do is upgrade to the latest BlackBerry App World storefront client which will become available on December 19th, 2011 and set the rating by accessing “My Account > Content Controls” as shown below:

There are four content classifications available for personalization – Adult, Mature, Teen or General. As you navigate throughout the BlackBerry App World storefront to view and discover content, the rating level will be indicated on the application detail page. For example, content that has been rated suitable for teens will be marked by a “T”; content that has been rated suitable for all ages will be marked by a “G” to indicate it’s for general audiences; and so on. The BlackBerry App World storefront is designed to provide you with the details about each setting to help determine which filters are right for you.

Download when on Wi-Fi only!

We’ve worked with our partners and are happy to announce that the BlackBerry App World storefront is now available for browsing, purchasing, and downloading apps via Wi-Fi – even if you’re out of cellular range or have your cellular radio turned off! Why does this matter? There are areas where you won’t get a cellular signal or you may be in places where you’re not allowed to turn on your cellular antenna , but you may be able to hop on a Wi-Fi network. And where there’s Wi-Fi, you can now stay connected to BlackBerry App World and grab new apps and updates any time.

Your feedback is important to us. Download BlackBerry App World v3.1 and let us know what you think!

Personalizing your BlackBerry® smartphone is really easy thanks to the Avatar Builder application – Guys Edition and Girls Edition – that’s available in BlackBerry App World™. By using the Avatar Builder app, you’ll be able to create and customize an avatar to look just like you, or anyone you want it to be!

Today I’ll be providing an overview of how to install the Avatar Builder app on your BlackBerry smartphone and showing you several ways you can share your avatar with friends and family.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »