2017 has been another fun year for me, with tons of great developments. Most notably, in November I passed a whopping 16 years working at BlackBerry! There was also the signing of our licensing agreements with some fantastic global partners, the launch of 3 BlackBerry-branded smartphones running our secure take on Android, and the release of 5 updates for our BlackBerry Hub+ apps.
None of this could have been possible without all the great people that I work with, not to mention our great fans! I’d like to offer a big thanks to all of you. To show my gratitude, here’s one last set of app updates for the year.
As always, let’s get into the details…
Hub
Additional Hub Integrations: We continue to make Hub the one-stop-shop for all your important communications. This update adds integrated support for GroupMe, LINE Lite, and XING accounts. Adding to this, we always try to listen to your feedback – that’s why when you leave your social accounts or sign out of them, their messages will be removed from Hub, protecting your privacy. It is important to note that this is dependent on the social service supporting the sign out.
Mail server connection management: Choose to accept, reject, or be prompted if your mail server connection is untrusted.
Signature Warning: Using S/MIME is a great way to ensure that email communication is coming from a trusted source. You’ll now receive a warning when S/MIME signatures don’t match sender’s email address.
Android for Work Setup Reminder: If you missed the notification tray item about completing setup of your Android for Work account, you’ll now also have a notification reminder in the BlackBerry Hub.
BlackBerry Keyboard
Quick access two complementary panels: Slowly drag the keyboard left or right to reveal two new panels. The SlideBoard feature is now available on all BlackBerry Andrdoid phones including phones with Physical keyboards if the virtual keyboard is turned on.
Quick Phrases: Consists of four user customizable phrases with an edit button to get to settings for these new features as well as customize the phrases.
Number Pad: Standard 0-9 number pad and additional common used symbols.
Slideboard Settings: Allows the users to turn this feature off and on, customize the quick phrases or change what side contains what panel.
Password Keeper
Automatic backup and restoration of records: You can now back up your passwords, notes, and lists to Google Drive, automatically sync your records after making any changes to them, and access your records across multiple devices using your Google Account. You’ll never have to worry about losing your records ever again!
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As with previous updates, you should receive a notification when the application updates are available in Google Play, at which point they should download automatically over Wi-Fi.
If you need to manually update:
Connect to a Wi-Fi network, then open the Google Play Store.
Tap the icon on the left side of the search bar, then select “My apps & games” from the menu that pops up.
Either tap “Update All” or select which apps to update on an individual basis.
Tap “Download” and the update will begin, even if you don’t see a progress bar or another indicator.
About Michael Clewley
Michael joined Research In Motion® (RIM®) in 2001, and has worn a variety of hats from customer and developer support to product management. Always ready to get stuff done, Michael is truly a BlackBerry® power user, but always has time to listen to customers and co-workers on how to improve BlackBerry’s products. He currently works as BlackBerry's Director of Software Product Management.
2017 has been another fun year for me, with tons of great developments. Most notably, in November I passed a whopping 16 years working at BlackBerry! There was also the signing of our licensing agreements with some fantastic global partners, the launch of 3 BlackBerry-branded smartphones running our secure take on Android, and the release of 5 updates for our BlackBerry Hub+ apps.
