BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0: No BBM

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RIM has recently released an update on its efforts to develop the BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 upgrade. Some of the much-awaited updates like native BBM will not be included, though.

Research-in-Motion has just announced some updates on the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. In a blog post, senior VP for BlackBerry PlayBook David J. Smith says the update is not yet ready to be released, as RIM wants to be “confident [they] have fully met the expectations of [their] developers, enterprise customers and end-users.” As such, the company details a few decisions they have made, some of which might disappoint PlayBook users, especially those expecting native BlackBerry Messaging from the tablet.

• BlackBerry Messaging or BBM has been deferred to a later update. RIM says they want to make sure that a native BBM solution for the PlayBook OS is seamless, and that they are still working on building the application. For now, PlayBook users can use BlackBerry Bridge to connect with a compatible BlackBerry Smartphone for sending and receiving messages through BBM.
• SDKs and beta OS 2.0 released. RIM has announced the “gold” release of the PlayBook SDK, as well as the beta release of the PlayBook OS 2.0. These development kits let developers port their native apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook platform. RIM expects this will encourage developers to build apps for PlayBook 2.0.
• PlayBook OS 2.0 Early Adopter Program. RIM is pushing the 2.0 beta update to select customers. These will be chosen from among RIM’s enterprise customers, and is a means to test PlayBook 2.0 in a production environment.

RIM says they’re focusing on making sure enterprise users get a seamless and easy-to-manage tablet experience, which they believe is the key to promoting BlackBerry PlayBook adoption among business users. BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 will be out to both enterprise clients and consumers by February 2012.