RIM unveils BlackBerry 7 OS: new browser, BlackBerry Balance, no legacy support

BlackBerry World has kicked off in full steam and just days after RIM's co-CEO promised “a whole next generation” of 'Berries, the BlackBerry OS 7 was unveiled. An update to the BlackBerry OS 6.1, the BlackBerry OS 7 is heralded by an all-new BlackBerry Bold Touch, expected to hit shelves as soon as “this summer.”

It's still too early to judge whether it will push RIM's “aging products” (as per RIM's co-CEO Balsillie words) to the next generation, but it brings a handful of new features:

- BlackBerry Balance allowing fast switching between the business and personal side of your BlackBerry. That should translate into both corporate and personal information being perfectly secure.

- optimized user experience: to be faster and more intuitive

- voice searches coming for the phone and the web

- noticeably improved browser with JIT JavaScript compiler and support for HTML5 Video

RIM has also confirmed that the new BlackBerry 7 OS will have "no legacy support," meaning that your "aged" 'Berry would feel even older when those new BlackBerry Bolds come out. The main reason behind such unfortunate decision is the fact that previous handsets won't have the graphical power to handle the new version of BlackBerry OS.

source: RIM