My Cellphone My Terms

BlackBerry OS 6.0 Review

We haven’t seen a new device from Research in Motion (RIM) in some time and more importantly a device that will compete head-to-head with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android products.  The 9500 and 9700 series BlackBerrys have served RIM well and still command top 10 positions for phone requests on the myCELLmyTERMS cell phone deal network. That being said, the necessity for RIM to launch a new BlackBerry device NOW can’t be understated. Luckily for them, not only will we see a new device, but a new operating system – OS 6.0

Even though details are still sketchy at this time, here are the five reasons we look forward to the launch of BlackBerry 6.0 and whatever device they install it on.

1. First off, the new Home Screen is the first major change you will notice.   It appears RIM has made the homescreen completely customizable with pages. You can have your applications on the main page, then slide left or right to another page with different applications and browse that way.
2. Webkit OS – This is just a fancy way of saying – a better web browsing experience on BlackBerry devices, finally.  No more saying, “ahhh, I’ll check it on my laptop.”  More specifically, multitouch for photos, music and of course pinch to zoom along with tabbing and other cool features will be standard.  And by the way, it will also support Flash.
3. A rejigged media player makes the navigation and experience akin to – dear I say – using iTunes.
4. The new BlackBerry OS 6.0 will feature modal popups with gestures.  This will make interacting with the device that much more intuitive.  By tapping and holding, a context menu group of 9 icons will appear on the screen. So let’s say, you are composing an email, and instead of pressing Menu + Send, you could tap and hold on the email, see the context menu, and hit the send icon there. Given the typical functions a cell phone user does, gestures will be a welcome addition to the BlackBerry experience.
5. Rounding out our top 5, we must comment on the User Interface.  While some have already argued that it is moving closer to Apple’s look and feel I still think they have managed to maintain the BlackBerry look and feel and with universal search across the system, OS 6.0 is eagerly anticipated.

Based on what we have heard, BlackBerry OS 6.0 should launch in time for back to school or September at the latest. The other key question is what new device will RIM bring to market to make the most of this new OS. Will it be the BlackBerry 9800 trying to be the best of both worlds by offering a full QWERTY keyboard as well as a sizeable touch screen.  Whatever device it is we can’t wait to learn more, but given the time since RIM’s last launch and the strides made by Apple and Google the expectations will be even higher.

See a sneak peek of BlackBerry 6.0 in action for yourself.