14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry has released a new platform upgrade for the owners of BlackBerry 10 devices, one that arrives as a BlackBerry 10.1 maintenance release and that is already rolling out to users out there.
According to the vendor, handsets in Asia Pacific, Canada, and EMEA should be already receiving the new update; those in Latin America will get a taste of it in mid-August, while devices in the United States will begin seeing it at the end of the summer.
Users will be notified on their smartphones on its availability, but they can also check for it manually, through going to Settings > Software Updates and taping “Check for Updates.”
Following the installation of the new software release, users will see OS version 10.1.0.4181 / 10.1.0.4537 or higher running on their devices.
“Updating your BlackBerry 10 smartphone to this latest OS version is free and easy to do over a Wi-Fi network. There are hundreds of new enhancements built into the update,” BlackBerry notes in a recent blog post.
The new maintenance firmware brings along a nice range of enhancements to all users, including interactive tutorials, new gestures and keyboard shortcuts, updates to the BlackBerry World, and more.
After upgrading to the new BlackBerry 10.1 maintenance update, people will be able to use gestures to easily move from one message in the BlackBerry Hub to another (swipe right and then down to move to the next message, or right and then up to return to the previous one).
Furthermore, they will enjoy email synchronization preferences for ActiveSync and IMAP email accounts, as well as two-factor authentication for Twitter and LinkedIn. There is also support for simple passwords included in the new firmware update.
The BlackBerry World comes with various improvements as well, including the possibility to view video previews in landscape mode via HDMI out, UI enhancements, a recently viewed section, showing 12 pieces of content, a private browsing mode, and more.
“Search improvements help you find the apps, games and multimedia content you’re looking for. When you find that app – our new wish list feature helps you keep track of apps you want to download,” BlackBerry explains.
“Plus, this software update will automatically update your favorite apps like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to the most recent versions.”
There are a multitude of other changes packed inside the new maintenance release, some of them meant to provide a better Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn experience, while others designed to better split the work and personal life of a user on the same handset.
More on what the update brings along can be found on this page on BlackBerry’s support website.