BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook updated to version 1.1; brings portrait mode and read articles

BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook is actually one of my favorite applications for the BlackBerry tablet. Rather than presenting all of your news items in lists of lists of lists, News shows your RSS feeds laid out like a magazine. Complete with images, headlines, and inspired layouts, BlackBerry News is a beautiful (and efficient) way of viewing your articles.

Version 1.1 brings quite a number of improvements to the application.

Not only that, but the once-laborious update process - for gathering new news - appears to be much more streamlined. The app completes its updates much more quickly than before and continues to gather data even after that "updating" screen disappears. Switching between articles or feeds once required a tap of the back button. No longer; switch between articles by tapping the arrows at the bottom or between feeds by swiping down from the top.  

Version 1.1 of the BlackBerry News App for the PlayBook is a welcome and well-executed update to a wonderful free application. BlackBerry News is available to users in the United States and Canada.

Download / Update BlackBerry News App for PlayBook from BlackBerry App World

BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook updated to 1.0.0.91, returns to the future

 

Yesterday - and I'm talking less than 24 hours ago - I noticed a curious thing about BlackBerry News for the BlackBerry PlayBook: it was living in the past. Restarting the app and then the PlayBook did no good. The application simply refused to show any articles posted later than July 31, 2011. As to why, I couldn't tell you. Perhaps the app just couldn't come to grips with the fact that Sunday would have been Harry Potter's 31^st birthday.

Today, Research In Motion quickly fixed that bug by releasing version 1.0.0.91 of BlackBerry News for the PlayBook, specifically to fix the "known issue with timestamp." A quick download and BlackBerry News is working just fine.

If you're not familiar with the application, BlackBerry News is an RSS news reader that presents your feeds in a layout similar to a newspaper or magazine. It offers a much more visually appealing look to your news than the standard lists of lists. The tablet app also syncs to its smartphone counterpart. Something I missed on my first review, RSS feeds added using the BlackBerry News Feeds smartphone app will be added to the BlackBerry News app on the PlayBook and vice versa.

It's nice to see Research In Motion move so quickly to fix the date problem on BlackBerry News. It's good to know that RIM supports and stands behind even this humble (and Awesome!) application. BlackBerry News for the PlayBook and BlackBerry News Feeds for the BlackBerry Smartphone are available to users in Canada and the United States.  

More information / download BlackBerry News App for PlayBook

More information / download BlackBerry News Feeds for the BlackBerry Smartphone

RIM Updates BlackBerry News App to v1.1 – OS 7.0 Only?

I am not sure what to make of this one so let us know if you figure out more info. Tim let me know that RIM has announced BlackBerry News App v1.1 in their official forums. The thing is nobody has spotted the app in App World yet though that has not stopped RIM from changing the description to reflect v1.1 and putting up knowledge base articles about it. My current theory is that this new version is only available for OS 7.0 devices in App World though this version simply brings it to closer parity with what Viigo use to have before RIM acquired it.

The new version 1.1 of BlackBerry News adds:

• Language support for English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
• Unified Search for BlackBerry News articles on the device
• All New items folder view
• Google Reader Import
• BlackBerry ID for OS 7.0 support

Let us know if you spot the update at this link in App World for your device

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