BlackBerry 10.2 will be made available to the BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry Q10 and BlackBerry Q5 later this week, bringing a range of new productivity features and other enhancements.
The software update, which comes preloaded on the company’s latest BlackBerry Z30 flagship, adds Priority Hub to the platform, which automatically detects which conversations are the most important and pushes them to the top of the user’s inbox, as well as a new attachment view.
It also allows for instant previews of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages, texts or emails from within any application, while users can now choose to respond to an incoming call by sending a BBM or text instead of picking it up, while lock screen notifications have also been added.
BBM video and voice conversations are boosted by improved sound quality, while calendar enhancements let users automatically send ‘I’m running late’ messages to meeting participants and suggest an alternative time.
The update is available in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Canada from this week, but US users will have to wait until later this Winter before they receive BlackBerry 10.2
The first smartphones running BlackBerry 10 launched earlier this year, but have failed to revive the company’s flagging handset fortunes, despite some positive reviews, and it put itself up for sale in August.
BlackBerry has already signed a preliminary sale agreement with its largest shareholder Fairfax Holdings, which is currently undertaking due diligence. However doubts have been raised about the firm’s ability to raise the required funds to complete its £2.9 billion takeover.
Other parties have until 4 November to register their interest, with Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo among the companies linked, along with Google, Intel and SAP. Former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis is also believed to be considering a bid, as is private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, while it was reported earlier today that former Apple CEO John Sculley was preparing to make a late charge for the company.
BlackBerry has had a bumpy year! Try our 2013 BlackBerry quiz!
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