BlackBerry OS 7.1 Released

Research in Motion has released an update for its BlackBerry 7 operating system smartphones. The new BlackBerry 7.1 OS will begin rolling out from mobile operators around the world beginning today and over the coming weeks.

List of the BlackBerry smartphones that will receive the OS 7.1 update:

• BlackBerry Bold- 9900/9930
• BlackBerry Torch- 9850/9860/9810
• BlackBerry Curve- 9350/9360/9370

The new update comes with the following improvements:

• WiFi hotspot functionality- allows up to five WiFi-tethered devices
• Improved Universal Search- an auto-suggest feature that intelligently filters Bing search results to offer users a variety of relevant Web sites based on their search terms
• WiFi Calls- supports carrier implemented Wi-Fi calling services (UMA/GAN where available), allowing users to make Wi-Fi calls from their BlackBerry smartphone that don’t eat into their airtime minutes.
• BlackBerry Tag- an NFC tool used to pair up accessories, swap data(such as doc & pictures) and add new contacts, BBM invitations
• FM Radio for BlackBerry Curve 9360 and 9380 smartphone

Applications such as BlackBerry Messenger 6.1, BlackBerry Traffic, BlackBerry Maps and BlackBerry Travel are also updated.

If you receive the message that no updates are available after clicking on the Check for updates button, you may still be able to find software for your smartphone by visiting the software download site for your Telco:

• Maxis BlackBerry OS update
• Celcom BlackBerry OS update
• DiGi BlackBerry OS update

P.s: The OS7.1 is yet to be available at the download site at the point of writing.