While the first round of beta testing for BlackBerry Blend brought some much-needed fixes, the newest release known as Beta 2 has now arrived in the BlackBerry Beta Zone and is available for download. This release has taken a lot of the feedback offered up by Beta Zone members and implemented it to include not only further fixes but some feature additions as well. Thankfully, we don't have to guess what they are as BlackBerry has laid them all out for us.
Here's what's new in Beta 2:
- Secure document viewing for Work activated devices
- Instant-reply in Blend notifications: reply to BBM and SMS in the notification window
- Spell Check: bcause hour emals wer getin prety baad
- Intelligent Assistant: perform a universal search of your entire BlackBerry in the Blend client
- Stability Improvements: fixed some crashes and connectivity issues
- Performance Improvements: fixed some laggy spinners and improved loading times
- Dashboard update: you can now fetch more data in the dashboard app
- Navigation changes: an improved design to the left side menu, based on Beta Zone feedback
Key known issues:
- Devices activated with BES for Work accounts may notice the work account not visible in the Hub app occasionally (relaunch Blend to correct this)
- Notifications may sometimes 'steal' the window focus
How to upgrade:
- Windows/Mac: can be downloaded by logging into Beta Zone on your computer at http://blackberry.com/beta. They are in the Downloads section of the BlackBerry Blend beta program.
- BlackBerry 10.3+: can be downloaded in the Beta Zone app (get it in BlackBerry World if you don't have it!)
- Android 4.4+ tablets: available in Google Play, once you opt-in. See the news or forum posts about opting-in to Blend beta updates in Google Play (update will be available globally within 24 hours)
- iPad on iOS 7+: see the open survey to opt-in to Blend on iPad testing (limited space: first come = first served)
The update is live in the BlackBerry Beta Zone right now but keep in mind, it appears invites have been rather limited, so not everyone is going to be able to access it. If you've received your invite, you should be good to go.
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