Blackberry 10 System Update Available for 10.2

Blackberry released v10.2 for their Blackberry 10 phones recently and I decided to update my Blackberry Q10 a few days ago with their v10.2.0.424.

The size of the update was ~465MB. I didn't time the update but I did check it at the 1 hour mark and again at the 1 hour & 30 minute mark and my Blackberry Q10 was finished applying the update after 1 hour & 30 minutes and I received a message to reboot my phone.

During the installing/updating my Blackberry Q10 to v10.2, I kept my Blackberry Q10 connected to a power source (which I believe is a requirement for the upgrade to work). I didn't try it but if the installation/updating works without it being plugged into a power source, I wouldn't recommend it since if the Blackberry were to run out of power mid-install/upgrade, your Blackberry might no longer boot up.

The version of the OS that I had previously was Software Release 10.1.0.4181 (OS Version 10.1.0.4633).

The update process was a 2-step non-user prompted process (if you exclude the reboot step). The first step as shown by the snapshot below was the downloading process. The download connection speed that I was using during the upgrade process was ~2 Mbits/second.

After the update finished downloading, it automatically installed it without any user intervention.

As mentioned, I didn't exactly time the  process but checked my phone twice during the upgrade process and after 1 hour & 30 minutes, I received a message prompting me to reboot my phone. I rebooted my phone and it seemed to take longer to boot up than normally (although I didn't time it, I would say that it took maybe about 5 minutes). After the reboot process, there was a message on the phone that said "Preparing Blackberry Hub"

After ~1 minute of "Preparing Blackberry Hub", I was able to access the phone again and I obtained the screenshot below.

I then verified the version of Blackberry OS I had after the upgrade and I obtained the screenshot below:

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BBM (Blackberry Messenger) finally officially available on Android and iOS

Well, after a mishap, Blackberry finally released BBM on both the iOS platform (iPhone, iPad, & iPad mini) as well as Android.

You can download the iOS version from iTunes *HERE*. You can download the Android version from the Google Playstore *HERE*.

I downloaded it and I'm looking forward to trying it on both platforms. I had managed to sign up for it on BBM.com so I don't have to wait to use it.

The information from Blackberry's official blog regarding the release is *HERE*. I have copied the blog entry into my blog just in case it gets deleted or is modified from their blog.

This is the news you’ve been waiting for! I am thrilled to tell you that we are about to officially resume our rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone customers around the globe!* In the next few hours, people will start seeing BBM in Google Play, the App Store and in select Samsung App Stores – where it will be free to download.
The demand for BBM on Android and BBM on iPhone continues to be amazing. About six million people signed up for information about BBM at BBM.com. As you know, in just seven hours, about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android. What you don’t know is that more than one million people have found creative ways to “side load” BBM on their iPhone. This is incredible.
To help manage this unprecedented pent up demand for BBM, we are implementing a simple line-up system to ensure a smooth roll out. Here’s how it is going to work…
BBM Roll Out Details:
Download BBM – the easiest way is to visit BBM.com from your Android or iPhone browser*
Once you install the app, open it, and enter your email address to hold your spot in line
We will email you as soon as you reach the front of the line and can start using BBM
If you are among the millions that took the time to sign up at BBM.com, you can start using BBM immediately without waiting in line.* If you didn’t sign up in advance, don’t worry – we are focused on moving millions of customers through the line as fast as possible.
Our team of developers and engineers has been working around the clock to bring you BBM – and make some upgrades while we’re at it – and some incredible work has been done. I look forward to sharing more of this with you here, on Inside BlackBerry, soon.
For updates on how quickly the line is moving you can follow @BBM on Twitter. I will be back tomorrow with another post to provide you with an update on the line-up and to share more detail about the work the team has done over the last several weeks.
Lastly, thank you for your patience. We know you’re excited (we are too!) and we look forward to having you join us on BBM.
*Samsung customers in Sub-Sahara Africa can download BBM today from the Samsung Apps store. iPhone and other Android users in Africa will be able to download the app in three days’ time.

The website for both products can be found *HERE*.

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Blackberry Playbook Update (2.1.1753)

I don't use my Blackberry Playbook on a daily or even on a weekly basis since with all the electronic gadgets that I have which are capable of browsing the internet and reading e-mail messages, I will only generally use my Playbook only when the battery is low on my other tablets. When I turned on my Blackberry Playbook a few days ago, I received a notification that there was an update to perform.

The update was 2.1.1753 and was listed as being 397 MB in size. Previously, my Blackberry Playbook was running 2.1.0.1526.

I didn't monitor the download entirely since it was a 2 or 3 step process depending on your viewpoint (downloading and then installing and of course a reboot). During the updating process, the message on the Playbook mentions that it should be plugged in. Even though the battery power on my Playbook was full, I didn't try to see whether it will work unplugged.

Since the first part of the process requires downloading the 397 MB update. For me the entire update process was close to 1 hour. As mentioned, I did not monitor the entire process but at the 1 hour mark, I checked the Playbook screen and it displayed a message indicating that a reboot/restart was necessary.

I clicked on the reboot/restart and after the standard boot-up time, I went back into my Playbook and tried out a few of the applications to see if I could notice any differences.

I didn't notice any differences. I checked Facebook and just like previously, the profile pictures for the news feeds don't appear.

At the same time, I looked at my Acer tablet and there was also an update listed for it as well. I will apply this update at a later date but will definitely apply it since I believe in keeping all software and tablet/phone OSes updated whenever possible.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.