PlayBook OS 2.0 brings native e-mail to RIM's faithful

From CNET News.com: hen RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet first made the scene in 2011, it arrived without any standalone apps for e-mail, contacts, or calendar.

At the time, RIM stated the omission was a deliberate security measure that allowed its predominantly corporate clientele to adopt the device immediately without any additional risk. If a BlackBerry customer wanted their e-mail, contacts, and calendar information on their tablet, they had the option of securely pairing the tablet with their BlackBerry smartphone for temporary access.

Needless to say, the PlayBook's non-corporate customers found the lack of a basic e-mail app to be puzzling. To address this, RIM's PlayBook OS 2.0 update (due out February) blesses the 7-inch tablet with dedicated apps for e-mail, contacts, and calendar. It's not terribly exciting stuff, but it's nonetheless a useful update, and to RIM's credit the company clearly invested a lot of time to create a worthwhile proposition.

The PlayBook's e-mail app gives you a unified inbox for all of your accounts, including social networks such as LinkedIn and Twitter. In spite of the PlayBook's relatively small 7-inch screen, RIM has made it possible to juggle between inbox views and e-mails using a collapsible multipanel interface.

When it comes to e-mail composition, RIM includes a rich text editor that allows you to change fonts, create lists, bold, underline, and color--just as you'd expect from a desktop e-mail application. The included keyboard has been improved too, though to notice these improvements is also to remember they weren't there to begin with. Features such as autocorrect, predictive text, and keyboard shortcuts have all been included.

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