BlackBerry gives PlayBook OS power-up

Research In Motion has released a protracted-overdue new operating system for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer inside the hope of gaining ground in a market led by Apple and Android gadgets.

PlayBook OS 2.0 software, available as a free download, comes just shy of a year later than it was originally slated for release by the Canada-based company.

The brand new PlayBook engine adds email, calendar and other productivity-related capabilities to the tablets.

"The recent BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 introduces a number of new communications and productivity enhancements in addition to expanded app and content support," said RIM senior vp David Smith.

Freshly-installed RIM chief executive Thorsten Heins said last month that he planned to focus more at the consumer market but that a "drastic change" isn't necessary on the struggling BlackBerry maker.

RIM in October got down to rev up its BlackBerry and PlayBook lines with a tactic from Apple's winning playbook - sexy, entertaining software applications.

Known for serious, work handsets in comparison to sleek Apple or Android smartphones tailored for Internet-on-the-go lifestyles, RIM used a developers conference in San Francisco to showcase game applications for its devices.

RIM can also be engaged on a brand new BBX software platform that it said will provide a resounding new platform for developers for programs that concentrate on anything from work to games.

Heins took over RIM, which was losing market share to Apple's iPhone and handsets powered by Google's Android platform, in January from co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

- AFP