Published in Mobiles

BlackBerry OS 5 on the horizon

by on26 October 2009

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Many existing devices to get OS upgrade


As we have been plugging you into the news for weeks now, RIM is preparing for the release of several new BlackBerry devices. One thing that all of these new BlackBerry devices will have in common is that they will be running the latest version of the BlackBerry OS, which is known as version 5.0.

While we have known for some time that the latest releases from RIM would be running version 5.0, support for existing previous generation devices has been a bit of a mystery. Our sources are telling us that RIM has not forgotten their existing devices.

It would appear now that RIM will be making available to carriers BlackBerry OS 5.0 upgrades for a variety of their previous generation models. Models that are expected to have OS 5.0 upgrades available include: Bold 9000, Curve 8330/8350i/8900, Pearl Flip 8220/8230, Storm 9500/9530, and Tour 9630. Right now, these are the only previous generation BlackBerry models expected to be able to run the version 5.0 OS. Of course, our sources tell us that this could change, but a lot of the decision whether the device can handle the OS 5.0 upgrade has more to do with the actual hardware capabilities of the device than it does anything else. So, if your device isn’t on the list above, it is very likely that you will not be getting OS 5.0 for your BlackBerry model.

The one part of the situation that RIM will not likely be talking about is the fact that it will be up to the actual carriers to pass the OS 5.0 with their devices in technical acceptance testing and then decide if they will actually make it available to their customers. What this actually means is that you actually may own a device that is able to run version 5.0 of the OS, but the carrier may elect to not make it available for whatever reason.

The reason could range from bugs within their specific carrier build of the OS for their device to a decision not to make it available for a variety of other internal reasons. According to the specifics, our sources tell us that RIM made a decision that only BlackBerry devices that have more than 64MB of flash memory onboard would be able to get the upgrade. The Curve 8300/8310/8320 all only offer 64MB of flash memory, and despite being some of the most popular BlackBerry devices, none of them are slated for the upgrade.

What we do know right now is that RIM is close to the official launch of version 5.0 of the OS, but no actual launch date has yet been announced. We are hearing whispers, however, that Verizon is looking to start deploying OS 5.0 to the Storm 9530. It is likely that the majority of the OS 5.0 updates will require you to load them using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, rather than the carrier pushing them out over the air, according to the latest we are hearing from our sources.

It is likely that with the decision not to support some of the older units that a good number of owners will opt to upgrade; and with the Storm 2 and Bold 9700 so close to release this decision could really lead to a lot of sales for RIM.

Last modified on 26 October 2009
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