RIM releases long-awaited PlayBook OS 2.0 software, brings native email

PlayBook owners, rejoice! Research in Motion has released an upgrade for its operating system, which brings with it the long-awaited native email client.

RIM has finally given PlayBook users what iPad and Android tablet users have had all along: built-in email. It has come almost a year after the launch of the PlayBook, long after the 60 days RIM promised consumers it would take to roll out the feature.

The new email client integrates messages from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter alongside business and personal email accounts. Other improvements that PlayBook OS 2.0 brings include an update to BlackBerry Bridge, which connects the PlayBook with other Bluetooth devices; social integration with the calendar and contacts; and thousands of newly available apps, including some Android apps that can now run on the PlayBook.

There are still some glaring omissions from PlayBook OS 2.0, however. Users who were hoping to use the popular BlackBerry Messenger app on their PlayBooks are still out of luck. Considering that BBM is one of the things that keeps the struggling RIM relevant in the smartphone market, it seems like a major missed opportunity in leaving it out of PlayBook OS 2.0.

The reception of the updated OS online isn't overwhelmingly positive. Roger Cheng of CNET says that PlayBook OS 2.0 isn't enough reason for consumers to invest in the tablet because the improvements, while neat, are small steps when compared to the leaps and bounds that RIM's competitors are taking in the tablet market. With the iPad 3 expected to be announced next month, RIM doesn't have much time to prove themselves as the better option.

PlayBook users can download the updated OS for free. If PlayBook OS 2.0 has enough updates to make you want to buy a PlayBook, RIM is still selling them at discount across Canada.

You can see a sample of Playbook OS 2.0 in action in this CBC video:

(CP Photo)