BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

Research In Motion finally delivered a huge update to the PlayBook operating system earlier this week. I happened to be up at 3:01 a.m. (MT) when it dropped and I was one of the first to get it loaded up. It's terrific.

Among the highlights are native e-mail (very slick; terrific view of HTML e-mails and attachments); an integrated all-in-one messaging center for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and e-mails; a seamlessly-integrated Android app player (along with a very limited selection of Android apps). I also went into developer mode and very easily installed the Kindle Android app and Google Maps. Excellent stuff.

On the aesthetics side, users can now customize the layout of apps and create folders to group apps. Now I've put all of my app categories on one home screen with my own grouping criteria. Taking a look at the stats, I now have 158 apps/games/doohickies/toys loaded and I can't think of anything I really, really need right now. Angry Birds? Got it. (And bored with it.) Kindle app? Got it. (And still prefer my dedicated Kindle device.) Rigid level? Got it. (And have never found a need to use it.)

Now the naysayers (and the nimrods at Engadget who voted PlayBook the worst gadget of the year) can go find something else to yip about.

I, for one, am excited about RIM's future prospects and where the product line is headed. I'm also extremely relieved Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepped down. That'll save me a trip to Waterloo to bitch them out at the next shareholders meeting, something I've been sorely tempted to do but can't afford because of RIM's tanked stock value. The irony.

I'm still on the fence about Thorsten Heins, but I'm optimistic. I think he'll certainly be a better presenter and speaker than Lazaridis and Balsillie, who too often stammered around like they had marbles in their mouths. Most of the media didn't give the guy a chance from Day One. That's not right.

Unrelated, but concurrent with the PlayBook upgrade, my Torch 9800 got the dreaded JVM 102 error. I went to the AT&T store in search of guidance and got nothing of particular use. Instead, I got a little yipping from a supposed expert who said the new BB phones were delayed until July or September all because of the inability to get Google apps integrated. He kinda rolled his eyes at the mention of Google apps. I didn't like the guy (and my opinion of AT&T is at an all-time low as it is, so I didn't rip into him about his ignorance of the new PlayBook OS that launched that very same day, with Google apps running absolutely fine.

That same guy also told I was basically SOL in regard to my apps because I didn't have a full backup. Wrong again, Mr. Mobile Device Expert Man (that should the topic of a Bud Light jingle). After a total reinstall of the BB OS, all of my apps were reloaded from my account. All I had to do was go back to an old data backup and restore my contacts. Very nice how that worked out.

The world is getting stupid. And, quite honestly, I think the "geniuses" at Apple have cornered the market on getting people to stop thinking for themselves.

Go, BlackBerry, go. The world needs an alternative to Apple and Google... and Windows. It still disturbs me that I was "congratulated" by an Apple Jr. Genius after I bought a power adapter replacement when my original adapter fell apart extremely prematurely, after only 18 months of gentle wear.

I think BB can once again be the mobile device of choice, but it'll be an uphill battle in the marketplace for the foreseeable future.

As for the wallpaper photo of Bono in the above screenshot, I took that one in Istanbul using a Canon G9.