Great news for all you BlackBerry ® PlayBook ™ tablet fans out there. We have updated the operating system software to version 2.1 and packed some new features and functionality in to the already powerful OS. If you enjoy the multitasking, social integration and strong communications functionality in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, you’ll love what’s new. Here are my three favorite changes:

1. Updated BlackBerry Bridge: Now you can view, respond and compose new SMS messages on their BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet when connected to a BlackBerry smartphone over Bluetooth®. You’ll also enjoy increased performance and speed of other BlackBerry Bridge functions as well. So you can do more, more efficiently. Txt away, my friends.
2. Email and PIM Enhancements: You’ve asked for it and we’ve delivered portrait support for email, calendar and contacts, giving you the option to use your tablet in either orientation to message. This will definitely come in handy for those of you who enjoy thumb typing in portrait mode like I do.
3. Improved Android Application Support: Includes Multi-Window Applications, Camera Support and In-App Payments. We all love a richer app experience, and with the improvements to the Android runtime, that’s just what you’ll get. Running the applications in separate windows allows you to multi-task between Android apps easier, and in-app payments will make it easier for you to enhance your app content. Game on!

There are also a ton new features on the enterprise side so you can separate your work from personal data, check out Luke’s post on the Inside BlackBerry for Business blog for more details. We’ve added more apps and content as well including an update to the Print to Go app and the Canadian video store now comes preloaded into the OS so there’s no need for you to download it from the BlackBerry® App World™ storefront.

The update is available starting today for the WiFi® versions of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and availability for the 4G LTE™ BlackBerry PlayBook is expected within the next month, upon carrier approval of software.

How to update your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet:

You will automatically receive a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet status ribbon, or you can check for the software update at any time by going to the settings menu under “Software Updates” and tapping “Check for Updates”. Then follow the steps to update.

Learning more and obtaining support:

For those that have some additional questions or need additional support, visit the BlackBerry PlayBook support website. To find the support website for your specific location, visit the following link and select Get Support next to your preferred language & location.

Have a BlackBerry PlayBook? Check out the update and let us know what you think in the comments.

@BlackBerry Just watched a video about the BlackBerry phone/PlayBook remote! So excited! Awesome CES show this year.—
brandon (@brandonMDCXVIII) January 11, 2012

Just watched the CES demo of the @Blackberry #Playbook OS 2 and it's looking wicked. Good work guys, Looks like it might be worth the wait!—
Mike Johnston (@cmscritic) January 10, 2012

Cannot wait for @BlackBerry #playbook OS2.0! Use my bb as a keyboard and trackpad AND as a remote control for media!! 2012 is gonna #bebold!—
Tony W (@tony22s) January 10, 2012

New @BlackBerry OS on PlayBook looks great. Fills most of the obvious gaps and makes the tablet very compelling.—
Andy Bovingdon (@MrBov) January 10, 2012

SO excited for @BlackBerry #Playbook OS 2! Remote control with my @BlackBerry Torch, email and calendar w great features, and loads of apps!—
Derek Gruchy (@ProfGruchy) January 10, 2012

just read a promising review from #ces on @BlackBerry #Playbook OS2.0 on my playbook. Interested tl see how the notifications works out—
Jamie Fletcher (@jamiefletchertv) January 11, 2012

Really impressed with what I've seen so far from @Blackberry's new PlayBook OS. Can't wait to use it. Really innovative stuff there!—
M van Hylckama Vlieg (@TheMarco) January 12, 2012

@BlackBerry awesome playbook demo @CES going home to buy myself one!!—
Stephanie Labus (@stephanielabus) January 12, 2012

@Blackberry Very excited about preview from #CES; I've been using build 6149 on my #Blackberry #Playbook can't wait for the release of 2.0!—
Jack Morrison (@Jackmoe) January 12, 2012

Thank you to everyone who test drove BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 at CES and shared their tablet reviews with us. We could only choose some reviews to share here, but we continue to read them all! Stay tuned for the official release. In the meantime, tell us which BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 feature you can’t wait to explore.

Explore more BlackBerry PlayBook review from tech authorities across the web.

(Originally posted on the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog)

Lots of developers work day (and night) to try out a new technology until they understand it completely – but BlackBerry® DEVCON Americas 2011 has a shortcut. Research In Motion® (RIM®) and training partner New Toronto Group (NTG) are pleased to announce the launch of two new application development courses at this year’s conference. Choose between two one-day training opportunities that are intended to improve your skills for developing for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet OS!

Develop for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Using Adobe® Flex® or Adobe® AIR® is a great course if you’re an experienced developer working with Adobe Flex or Adobe AIR and need hands-on experience with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet OS. You’ll create your own code and work through various features of a sample application, focusing on fundamentals such as designing the user interface, geolocation, consuming XML data and JSON data and deploying the app.

Develop for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Using BlackBerry® WebWorks™ is a course designed for experienced HTML5, JavaScript® and CSS developers. This course will teach you how to create, compile, package and deploy a BlackBerry WebWorks -based application for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. As well, you’ll focus on details like debugging an application using the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Simulator and using an offline database within an application.

Both courses are offered at BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 on Monday, October 17, from 9 am to 5 pm at the rate of $499 USD per person (lunch and refreshment breaks included). The course fee is in addition to the registration fees for access to BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011.

In one day, you can come away with skills that can make your apps better or your development process faster. And you can do it all while taking advantage of the resources offered at the biggest BlackBerry developer conference in the world. Register now and receive a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet when you arrive at the conference!

I am very pleased to announce today that we are moving to the next stage in our launch plans for the Native SDK for BlackBerry® Tablet OS (‘Native SDK’) tools targeted at game developers. As of today, developers from around the world can apply to participate in our closed beta program to get access to these new and exciting tools.

The Native SDK provides you with the ability to create rich and compelling games for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet using C/C++, the Standard Template Library (STL) and Open GL ES 1.1/2.0. The Native SDK includes a number of POSIX compliant libraries, as well as support for accelerometer, device orientation, and a variety of other functions to make porting your existing games as easy as possible. When you check out games like Need for Speed: Undercover or the new Dead Space from EA, what you are seeing is the Native SDK in action, providing the framework for EA to build incredible gaming experiences on our platform. We are incredibly excited to see what the broader developer community can do when provided with access to these tools.

The Native SDK includes the industry leading QNX® Momentics® Tool Suite, which is an Eclipse-based integrated development environment. QNX Momentics provides unparalleled memory profiling, application debugging, and memory usage statistics, giving you the tools you need to debug sophisticated programs, including hardware accelerated OpenGL applications. QNX Momentics is designed to provide you with a safe, secure, and powerful environment to quickly and efficiently build applications for the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

During the beta we will be providing periodic updates to QNX Momentics to include additional APIs to further enhance your games on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet platform.

To apply to participate in the closed beta, please fill out the form, and we will contact you with more information. Space is limited in this preview and space will be granted on a first come first served basis. We will work to expand the program in the coming weeks for anyone interested in C/C++ development for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet platform.

Now that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet is being used in a wide variety of industries by a range of various professionals, I thought it would be prudent to throw a spotlight on one of the more interesting communities involved with the product, as well as how you can get involved and provide feedback. I had the pleasure of speaking with John H., a member of the Beta Programs team at Research In Motion® (RIM®). Check out the conversation below!

Hi John, can you give us a quick introduction to what you do at RIM?

Sure, Luke. RIM’s Beta team operates programs for new software through the BlackBerry® Beta Zone. My colleagues and I are members of the beta team and are specifically interested in the BlackBerry® Tablet OS; what people think of it, how they use it, what they’d change, and what they love about it. It is essential to our job to make sure the voice of our customers is represented internally.

So what is the “Global BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Community”?

The community is open to anyone in BlackBerry Beta Zone and is an open forum for discussions about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog »

UPDATE 7/20/11: BlackBerry Tablet OS 1.0.7 is back up and available for download to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Apologies once again for the inconvenience.

UPDATE 07/19/11: Some users who downloaded BlackBerry Tablet OS 1.0.7 today were experiencing an issue with their BlackBerry Bridge app. RIM expects to release an update to BlackBerry Tablet OS 1.0.7 later this week that will resolve this issue. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Michael here to tell you about the latest updates available for your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. BlackBerry® Tablet OS v1.0.7 is available today and introduces a variety of new features and enhancements – keep reading to find out what’s new in this latest update!

Improved connectivity & productivity with the BlackBerry Bridge application

• Enhanced Support for Saving Attachments – The BlackBerry® Bridge™ app offers you more flexibility around where and how you save attachments for viewing and editing. You can now save an attachment to a removable SD card, or to your BlackBerry smartphone’s internal flash memory.
• ZIP Attachment Support – The BlackBerry Bridge app now gives you access to ZIP files received as an email attachment. While bridged, you can now download a zip file from an email to your smartphone SD card and then extract compressed contents for viewing or editing on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Additional Multimedia Features

• Portrait Support in Pictures App – With BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.7, pictures that you’ve taken with your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or transferred from your PC can now be viewed in either portrait or landscape formats for the layout that best fits your needs.
• Pinch to Zoom in Video App – Use the pinch gesture to zoom in on the finer details of your favorite video content, just like you would with a website or picture today – all while the video continues to play.

Additional Language Support

With BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.7, we have also added support for the following 15 languages:

1. Basque
2. Catalan
3. Czech
4. Danish
5. Galician
6. Hungarian
7. Bahasa Indonesia
8. Norwegian
9. Polish
10. Portuguese Brazilian
11. Portuguese European
12. Swedish
13. Turkish
14. Romanian
15. Russian

How to update to BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.7

Best of all, these updates are free and can be downloaded over-the-air from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Users who purchase and activate a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on or after Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 will be automatically updated to v1.0.7 as part of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet setup process. Existing BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users will be presented with a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet status ribbon, or they can check for the software update at any time in the Settings Menu under Software Updates.

Remember to also update the BlackBerry Bridge application on your BlackBerry smartphone.

Post a comment and let us know what you think of the new features added to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!

With the release of v2.1 of the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK for Tablet OS, new APIs and application functionality are now available for download! For those following the project on github, this release has also been known as the “Delta” release outlined on the BlackBerry WebWorks roadmap.

The goals for this release are focused on narrowing the gap between the BlackBerry WebWorks API functionality available on the BlackBerry® Smartphone OS and the APIs available on the Tablet OS, as well as exposing more BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet development functionality to web developers.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

This latest version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS includes support for Adobe® Flash® 10.3 and support for Adobe® AIR® 2.7 software. This means that with this update you should experience even better performance for Flash videos than before, and be able to access new applications that are being built with Adobe AIR 2.7 software. For all the developers out there, be sure to check out our post on the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog.

Today’s update also incorporates the Adobe Flash Player updates as noted in Adobe Security Bulletins APSB11-12 and APSB11-18, which addresses issues that can potentially affect any PC, tablet or other device with an operating system that supports Flash. While there are no known reports of any BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users being affected by these Adobe Flash issues, we (as always) encourage all BlackBerry PlayBook users to update to the newest version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS. For more information about what these security updates mean to the BlackBerry PlayBook please see our security advisory.

How to update your BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

This free update can be downloaded over-the-air from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Existing users will automatically receive a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet status ribbon, or they can check for the software update at any time in the settings menu under Software Updates.

Users who purchase and activate a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on or after Monday, June 20 will automatically be updated to v1.0.6 or later as part of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet setup process.

On March 24th, we announced some upcoming opportunities for developers to bring their applications to the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. With information on application players for BlackBerry® Java®-based and Android® apps, as well as additional details for the upcoming BlackBerry® Tablet OS Native SDK, there was a lot for developers to digest.

We have received quite a few questions and wanted to take the opportunity to share these frequently asked questions, along with their answers, with our community. We will do our best to answer your questions and provide additional details as they become available.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

The BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK 2.0 for Tablet OS and Smartphones is here! We are extremely excited to introduce our most significant release yet for the BlackBerry WebWorks platform.

What’s new in this release?

Our development teams have spent a great deal of time re-architecting the BlackBerry WebWorks framework to prepare for bringing the two platforms together. Some of these changes are as follows:

• JavaScript APIs are now separated from the OS. This new architecture is designed to allow developers to easily modify and enhance the existing APIs and package them with their BlackBerry WebWorks application. This will also allow new APIs to be easily added to your application.
• The BlackBerry WebWorks framework and all of the APIs are open sourced and available on GitHub! Developers can now contribute to and participate in the evolution of the BlackBerry WebWorks project.

This release is the first step towards convergence of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK forTablet OS and the BlackBerry Webworks SDK for Smartphones. As we continue to improve and enhance the SDKs, we will better align the features and APIs so developers can easily develop and deploy applications onto both platforms.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »