BlackBerry OS 6.0 Definitely Coming Next Quarter

A co-CEO of BlackBerry-maker RIM has promised that a new version of the operating system powering his company's smartphones will be released next quarter.

Many details about BlackBerry OS 6.0 have leaked recently, but the brief preview from Mike Lazaridis during an analyst conference call was the first time it has been officially described.

Change Is Coming
According to Lazaridis, the next version of this operating system is going to be significantly re-designed. Much of the attention appears to be on improvements for touchscreen-based smartphones, though non-touchscreen models will see major changes, too.

BlackBerry OS 6.0 will be the debut of a significantly upgraded web browser. This will be WebKit-compliant, and much more capable than the current one, including support for tabs.

According to information that leaked out last week, the homescreen is being redesigned and multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom are being added.

In addition, it appears that much of the bundled software has been updated, from the music player and image viewer to the email app.

More details on RIM's next operating system is expected in the near future.

Just Around the Corner
Lazaridis said that BlackBerry OS 6.0 will be released in the third quarter of this year.

He went on to say that RIM is going to bring system software upgrades to as many current models as it can.

Source: Research in Motion