If one were the cynical kind, one might think believe that all these recent leaks about upcoming operating systems, architectures and new smartphones was all an elaborate ploy by phone makers to make consumers hold off just a couple more months to buy their new product. And the BlackBerry OS 6.0 leak this morning is no exception.
Notorious rumor site,
Boy Genius Report, purportedly managed to get its hands on screenshots of RIM’s latest Blackberry operating system, handily leaked by an AT&T employee.
Amongst other significant looking improvements to the OS, version 6.0 boasts multi-touch with touch awareness and finger gestures like the now commonplace pinch-to-zoom, momentum-based scrolling and a tap-to-hold context menu.
Going for a more Apple-esque look and feel, BlackBerry OS 6.0 also lets users have several home screens full of app icons, including one of their favorite apps.
The Blackberry music player is also apparently getting a slice of the Apple treatment, sporting a new cover flow-style navigator, finally bringing RIM into the 21st century.
Photo viewing will also supposedly be much facilitated by speedier loading times for thumbnails, as well as a tap-to-hide control layer.
The biggest improvement, however, is reported to be in the OS’ browser, which will now use the previously demoed WebKit engine for faster, more accurate browsing. Taking a page out of Opera Mini’s book, RIM has also added tabbed browsing to the OS 6.0 experience, letting users flick between web pages using visual thumbnails that don’t cover the already open page.
All in all, a more visually pleasing, web savvy experience all around, proving that RIM has finally grasped the fact that enterprise doesn’t have to mean ugly, boring and old school. Better late than never.
The AT&T source pegged the OS release date to be no later than July of this year, and it could even be a lot sooner, with some expecting OS 6.0 to launch at RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium on April 27th.
As yet, it’s not clear whether the updated OS will launch in combination with a new device from RIM, or whether it will be catapulted out into the wild on its lonesome, although many believe it will debut on the BlackBerry 9900 which is due out very soon indeed.
With competitors like Apple and Google upping the ante all the time, RIM’s OS update couldn’t come at a better time. Call us cynical, but these screenshots may just prompt some would-be Android/iPhone teeter-totterers to hold their horses and wait it out for a new Blackberry instead.
