BlackBerry rolled out an OS update Wednesday, and no, it's not BlackBerry 10.
Though that operating system's taken up the spotlight as of late, RIM's staying true to its word and supporting devices already on the market.
Its PlayBook tablet was the lucky system recipient, taking on version 2.1. The company outlined the improvements in an Inside BlackBerry blog post, where it wrote the upgrade brings new features as well as improved functionality.
PlayBook owners with Wi-Fi can pick-up the update right now while those with 4G LTE versions can expect a roll out "within the next month, upon carrier approval of software."
Better BlackBerry
The improvements, according to the blog, include an updated BlackBerry Bridge, email and PIM enhancements, and improved Android app support.
With Bridge, users can now view, respond, and compose new SMS messages on their tablets when connected to a BlackBerry smartphone over Bluetooth.
The entire function runs better and faster, the blog post noted.
Taking customer suggestions to heart, BlackBerry also added portrait support for email, calendar, and contacts to the tablet, giving users a choice of which orientation they're in when composing messages.
Lastly, Playbook now boasts multi-window applications, camera support, and in-app payments for more efficient all-around usage, while new enterprise features allow for better separation of work and private data.
The update came as news surfaced that Apple ships more iPad's daily than the PlayBook each quarter.
Apple's most recent earnings report has it selling approximately 188,000 of its devices each day, while RIM moved 130,000 of its tabs last quarter.
The company announced new features to the BB10 OS, expected early next year, during a developer event last week.
Among additions to the device-less OS are the BlackBerry Hub, a one-stop shop for important functions like messaging, social media, and email, as well as a BlackBerry Peek feature that allows users to glimpse the hub screen from any application without exiting the program.
When stacked up to Apple, RIM certainly needs all the upgrades it can get.
