1. rroyy's Avatar

    Exciting news! An update to the BlackBerry� Tablet OS is coming to the BlackBerry� PlayBook� tablet this week. BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 brings a bunch of new features to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, including a Video Chat application and BBM� support via BlackBerry� Bridge�, so we�ve compiled a list of important need-to-know facts and tips so you can take advantage of these features right after you install the update. Let�s get started!

    BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat

    The Video Chat application enables video and voice over Wi-Fi calling between BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in peer-to-peer or enterprise environments using your BlackBerry� ID profile. Here are some of the features I�m really excited about:

    One-Click Calls � With just one click you can make a call from your Video Chat contact list, log of recent calls or simply by entering the BlackBerry ID email address of the person you want to call.
    Incoming Call Notifications � You will receive a notification pop-up when a new video call comes in, allowing you to accept the call as either a video or voice call, or decline the call. For those quiet moments � such as when you�re watching a movie, playing a game or listening to music � you will also have the ability to simply set the �Do Not Disturb� option and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will automatically ignore all incoming calls.
    Powerful In-Call Functions � By using the picture-in-picture function you can easily preview what your camera is seeing prior to placing the call to see the video feed you will be sending. You can also easily switch cameras from front to rear so your friends can see what you see, and for private moments you can mute/unmute audio or make or take calls using voice only.
    Friends List � BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat comes complete with a Friends List for maintaining your contacts. A friendly name and a picture can easily be added to a contact to personalize the entry and a Call Log makes it simple to keep track of who called, as well as when and what calls were missed. Friends are added using their BlackBerry ID profile.
    Video Chat Multitasking � Thanks to the power of the BlackBerry Tablet OS and its true multitasking capabilities, video and voice over Wi-Fi chats can continue running in the background while you interact with other applications.
    HDMI Video Chat � In addition to chatting using the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet�s high-resolution screen, Video Chat supports HDMI output when in �Mirror Mode�, allowing you to output what is on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet�s screen to a larger HD television or monitor.


    BlackBerry� Messenger (BBM�) Support via BlackBerry Bridge

    BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 expands the BlackBerry Bridge experience to include BBM (woot! Ed.). BlackBerry smartphone users with BlackBerry Bridge enabled can now mirror their smartphone BBM on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet�s large high-resolution display over a secure Bluetooth� connection. BBM via BlackBerry Bridge features:

    Full BBM Chat Functionality � Either one-to-one or multi-person chats.
    BBM Status Updates � Let your friends know how you feel about your new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!
    Photo Sharing � Via the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or your BlackBerry smartphone SD card.
    BBM Alerts � New BlackBerry Messenger alerts will appear on the BlackBerry PlayBook notification ribbon.


    Document Editing via BlackBerry Bridge

    In addition to BBM, BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3 now adds document-editing support via BlackBerry Bridge to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. This means that documents sitting on your BlackBerry smartphone can now be accessed via secure Bluetooth connection, edited on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet�s large high-resolution display and then saved back to your BlackBerry smartphone. Here are some important aspects of document editing via BlackBerry Bridge to note:

    File Access � Access to your pictures, documents, spreadsheets and slideshows via either email over BlackBerry Bridge or the BlackBerry Bridge files application. With BlackBerry Bridge, you can view photos and office documents and edit spreadsheets and text-based documents.
    BlackBerry� Internet Service Support � When bridged to a BlackBerry smartphone with a BIS service plan, users can select to either save their document locally on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or back onto their BlackBerry smartphone SD card.
    BlackBerry� Enterprise Server Support � When bridged to a BlackBerry smartphone operating on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, documents automatically get saved back to the BlackBerry smartphone SD card to help ensure corporate data is kept secure.


    Home Screen Browser Bookmarks

    Users can now quickly save a BlackBerry PlayBook Browser bookmark to the PlayBook tablet home screen for easy access. Select the browser bookmark from the home screen, and the BlackBerry PlayBook browser will automatically launch the webpage you want to see!

    How to upgrade to BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.3

    Users who purchase and activate a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet on or after Tuesday, May 3rd will automatically upgrade to v1.0.3 as part of the BlackBerry PlayBook setup process. Existing BlackBerry PlayBook users will be presented with a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook status ribbon, or they can go check for the software update at any time in the settings menu under Software Updates. The BlackBerry Tablet OS update must be performed over a Wi-Fi� connection and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

    Post a comment and let us know what you think of these new features added to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!

    Source: Insight BlackBerry
    Last edited by rroyy; 05-02-11 at 02:53 PM.
    05-02-11 10:31 AM
  2. Technerd.McLeod's Avatar
    That is awesome! I'm glad my school has an open wifi connection. Will be checking a lot today now!
    05-02-11 10:33 AM
  3. PDSchofield's Avatar
    I can handle every 2 weeks or so... now what would be nice is if they released the OS builds to Betazone users ahead of time for some real world testing.....
    05-02-11 10:39 AM
  4. anty3139's Avatar
    Loving the updates and also seems the money invested into the PlayBook has been well worth it.

    Also looks promising for future Blackberry phones in the future.
    05-02-11 10:41 AM
  5. Bighead278's Avatar
    I can handle every 2 weeks or so... now what would be nice is if they released the OS builds to Betazone users ahead of time for some real world testing.....
    Not only would the be awesome, it would really help with the stability of the platform.
    05-02-11 10:42 AM
  6. UnifiedTechs's Avatar
    Every 2 weeks is weak, should be every 2 days.
    Honestly what do you expect them to complete in 2 days? And how do you expect them to do any bug testing? Or do you want tons of bugs so you can complain about them too!

    Seriously people, if you don't like the damn thing return it! I promise you you won't be missed!
    05-02-11 10:44 AM
  7. dasilvetz's Avatar
    Wish they would release a change log for at least the major updates
    05-02-11 10:46 AM
  8. Foreverup's Avatar
    Every 2 weeks is weak, should be every 2 days.
    thanks for getting on my ignore list
    sedalia066, cy, froussy and 9 others like this.
    05-02-11 10:47 AM
  9. rbenjami's Avatar
    Lots of updates is never good - the process itself is certain to leave some users with problems.

    Any time a firmware update is released it is a risk. RIM can never be 100% certain that there won't be some fatal conflict with that fart app you just downloaded and deleted, but which left some remnant behind.

    I assume there are tens of thousands - or even hundreds of thousands - of PBs in the wild now. Even if only 1% have problems with the firmware update, that is still a lot of upset owners. The more frequent the updates, the more upset customers.
    05-02-11 10:50 AM
  10. biggietoms's Avatar
    looking forward to these next couple of updates. Awesome news.
    05-02-11 10:51 AM
  11. chasvs's Avatar
    OK, I'm ready! :>)
    05-02-11 10:56 AM
  12. chasvs's Avatar
    Lots of updates is never good - the process itself is certain to leave some users with problems.

    Any time a firmware update is released it is a risk. RIM can never be 100% certain that there won't be some fatal conflict with that fart app you just downloaded and deleted, but which left some remnant behind.

    I assume there are tens of thousands - or even hundreds of thousands - of PBs in the wild now. Even if only 1% have problems with the firmware update, that is still a lot of upset owners. The more frequent the updates, the more upset customers.
    Please. the PB is so new RIM would **** us all off if they didn't release updates sooner than later. Rather 1% upset that 100% any day!
    05-02-11 10:58 AM
  13. Foreverup's Avatar
    Anyone know if it is possible to wear out the "check for update" button
    Nikeem24 likes this.
    05-02-11 11:00 AM
  14. R che's Avatar
    Do you think the new PB version will interupt the Crackberry/Blackberry Bridge workaround?
    I love how V1.0.1.1710 works with the 9800....V6.0 Bundle 695
    I do not want the update to bust the connectablitiy...as AT&T is dragging their feet on the official app.
    05-02-11 11:06 AM
  15. eds817's Avatar
    What would be nice & helpful is if they did updates the same day each time . Microsoft now does that with its updates other than emergency or critical ones.
    05-02-11 11:18 AM
  16. egranlund's Avatar
    Wish they would release a change log for at least the major updates
    x2 - it would be about 100x better than a billion page long forum post that is 99% "OMG I GOT IT TOO" or "DOWNLOADING NOW <picture of playbook downloading update" and 1% what changed
    05-02-11 11:27 AM
  17. veldacy1's Avatar
    I've had 2 issues with the current OS so far.

    1. The letters in the blue bubble above the keys when i type have been shifting to the left. Seems to be happening when I switch orientation. just a guess.. but they eventually fall off completely.

    2. It froze up yesterday in my otterbox. Really frustrating. had to open it up to do a hard reboot. nothing would work from the screen, but i could adjust volume (and take screen shots?!?) when i hit the power button, the screen asked me if i wanted to shut down, but since touch wasnt working, I just had to take it apart to hold down all the buttons. It wasn't working through all the otterbox controls.

    Lets hope this doesnt happen again, cause I think the otterbox will fail eventually if i have to keep doing this.
    05-02-11 11:43 AM
  18. Matt J's Avatar
    Has anyone seem the update yet?
    05-02-11 11:43 AM
  19. R che's Avatar
    Not yet...my Update Button is thinking about it...however...?
    1.0.1.1710 is my latest
    05-02-11 11:49 AM
  20. piper975's Avatar
    Every 2 weeks is weak, should be every 2 days.
    Microsoft is the first Tuesday of every month unless there is a security issue and it is handled asap ... so every 2 weeks is very quick.
    05-02-11 11:52 AM
  21. haimez's Avatar
    I don't think anyone is getting the update right now. All of the articles referencing the OS upgrade point to a single source. Highly dubious.
    05-02-11 11:53 AM
  22. SlcCorrado's Avatar
    That is awesome! I'm glad my school has an open wifi connection. Will be checking a lot today now!
    Funny, I was thinking the same thing sitting here taking my win admin 2 final haha
    05-02-11 12:03 PM
  23. ericlc2's Avatar
    so far we've heard today as well as tomorrow for the os update, i wonder which , excited nonetheless, keeping fingers crossed for something later today so i can be somewhat productive tomorrow..
    05-02-11 12:27 PM
  24. narci's Avatar
    Need better faction with the Playbook:

    The Blackberry Playbook scowls at you dubiously.
    05-02-11 12:50 PM
  25. anon(1544756)'s Avatar
    My playbook said to quit fing touching it as i hit check update so much. Maybe this update will fix battery issues that many have including me.
    The battery issue may be caused by hitting the update link so much.
    tstrike34 and Nels like this.
    05-02-11 12:53 PM
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