First BlackBerry 10 Update Improves Battery, BlackBerry Hub

The first update to the new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system will be made available in the next few weeks, BlackBerry has confirmed.

BlackBerry 10.0.10.85 is apparently based on customer feedback the Canadian company has received since it launched the platform with the BlackBerry Z10 last month.

The update improves support for third party applications, such as the recently announced BlackBerry 10 version of WhatsApp, while tweaks to the camera ensure that users can take better photos in low-light situations.

BlackBerry 10 Update

There are changes to how the platform handles Gmail calendars, while BlackBerry has altered the way that BlackBerry Hub logs calls and conversations, while it should now be easier to import contacts from online sources.

The browser should handle video playback much better than before, while battery life has been extended thanks to 60 different tweaks to the software, something that heavy users will appreciate.

BlackBerry says that the over-the-air (OTA) update will be made available on all of its carrier partners over the next few weeks and that users should receive a notification alerting them to the update. It is also possible to manually check for the upgrade through the settings menu.

BlackBerry 10 is currently only available on the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, but will also run on the upcoming BlackBerry Q10 (equipped with a qwerty keyboard), which is scheduled for release later this year.

The operating system is seen as vital to the future of the recently renamed-BlackBerry, which has seen its share of the smartphone market slide in recent years as a result of increased competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

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