After being previewed
and leaked
for some time, the first instance of a carrier-approved BlackBerry
6 operating system for the Bold 9700 is now available for download.
OS 6 has a wide variety of new features, but is still very
recognizable. Universal search lets you get to local and web
content simply by typing from the home screen, plus the browser is
updated to the new WebKit one made by Torch
Mobile. There’s also a bunch of user interface
improvements, like a new categorized icon view (which I find of
questionable utility), an reorganized, user-friendly settings
menus. As for the device, the Bold 9700 has a 2.4-inch HVGA
display, a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, Wi-Fi,
GPS, 3G, 624 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, and just about the
comfiest physical keyboard you could ask for. Three UK is promising
that OS 6 would be coming for the BlackBerry 9700, so if
you’d rather hold out for something from your carrier specifically,
they should have something soon enough. Other devices are also on
the hook for an OS 6 upgrade; the Curve 3G 9300 for example, should
be due for one early this month according
to Telus. We still haven’t heard anything specifically
for the Pearl 3G 9100, but it’s no doubt coming at around the same
time. Anyone who was really hankering for the top-of-the-line
traditionally-shaped BlackBerry would have picked up the Bold 9780
by now, which comes preloaded with OS 6, has more app memory, and a
better camera than the 9700. If you’d like to try out the polished
and official OS 6 experience on your Bold, head on over to Vodafone
Essar’s BlackBerry software download page, install the
app, delete the Vendor.xml file from your computer, plug in your
Bold via USB, and boot up the Desktop Software – everything should
run hunky-dory from there. [via BlackBerry
India]