Exclusive: Praise the BlackBerry Lord - OS 6.1 allows me to manage homescreen panes!!
Thank you RIM! This BlackBerry 6.1 screen capture above shows off a new feature in the upcoming OS update that so many of us BlackBerry 6 users, including myself, have been longing for... the ability to manage homescreen panes.
In the default BlackBerry homescreen experience the All, Favorites, Media, Downloads, and Frequent panes are always present, which on a device like the BlackBerry Bold 9780 (that is fast and lacks a touchscreen) can make for a lot of accidental scrolling between panes. With BlackBerry 6.1, the new Manage Panes option will make that annoyance a thing of the past as you will be able to choose which panes to show on the homescreen. Great news. Now we just need to see this baby get released!
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phantommadman Jan 25, 2011 at 10:38 am
Oh thank you rim.
gregorylkelly Jan 25, 2011 at 3:43 pm
It would be nice if you could press the menu key and they had an option for "Add New Pane". I'd love to be able to add a "Games" pane or "News" or something else along those lines.
Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes Jan 25, 2011 at 10:39 am
I need this on dakota
jinxednuance Jan 25, 2011 at 11:04 am
+++++++++++++1
Lucky45 Jan 25, 2011 at 1:36 pm
No, you need a Dakota FIRST...
leilani_J Feb 24, 2011 at 9:58 pm
++++++++++++1 haha
theninjew Jan 25, 2011 at 10:40 am
this is awesome! ive been waitin for this feature
amazinglygraceless Jan 25, 2011 at 10:43 am
Is worth the price of admission. I want!!
NOKJAA Jan 25, 2011 at 10:43 am
Please #Leak.. :-) Tomorrow after 15:00 pm. Thanks.
jlb21 Jan 25, 2011 at 10:44 am
This is one of the items that might get me to try OS6 again!
coffee-turtle Jan 25, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Me too! Yey!
I also want more homescreen R/E!
Inka Jan 25, 2011 at 10:47 am
This is great. I only use the favorite and all panes and never bother with the rest.
Deathcommand Jan 25, 2011 at 10:49 am
6.1 better be on the 9650.
tparker60 Feb 5, 2011 at 12:47 am
I hear ya Deathcommand! That is what made me hate OS6!!!
Deathcommand Jan 25, 2011 at 10:51 am
I wonder what happens if you Uncheck all of them...
PiotrJot Jan 25, 2011 at 10:55 am
@Deathcommand
LOL :)
Deathcommand Jan 25, 2011 at 11:36 am
DIVISION BY ZERO.
Deathcommand Jan 25, 2011 at 11:36 am
DIVISION BY ZERO.
con4n007 Jan 25, 2011 at 11:02 am
it's grey on the "all" checklist so guess you cant remove everything.
SurrealCivic Jan 25, 2011 at 11:52 am
You can't uncheck them all. 'All' stays.
netposer#cb Jan 27, 2011 at 8:28 am
Looks like "All" is greyed out so no chance of "blanking" your device. ;-)
jwmax Jan 25, 2011 at 10:51 am
On Torch the scrolling issue is not bad, but I'd like to be able to creat my own pane. E.g., News folder pane. Yes I can just create a folder but it would be better to just swipe to the right and have the links rather than scroll down and open the folder to get them.
Still nice feature, I'll probably just go for all and media.
Any hint on if we get 6.1 before all the new harware comes out? I'll probably upgrade to Torch 2 anyway but would be good if we get this now.
Sirhill Jan 25, 2011 at 11:36 am
In a way you can do this. I save all of my browser links to a bookmarks folder and also mark them as favorite. So when I scroll to my favorite pan all that is there are browser links. just a suggestion.
jwmax Jan 25, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Thanks probably have too much stuff marked as favs.
Biggles1980 May 27, 2011 at 8:41 am
Absolutely! Isn't this a no-brainer? I write software for a living and something like this wouldn't have made it to release without a visibility toggle, change order and 'create new' function.
We NEED to be able to make our own panes!!!
Also, whay does the red button (end call) take you back to the 'All' pane?
How about the next release having the option to choose which pane is the default - then that's the one that gets selected when the red button is pressed?
bulls2213 Jan 25, 2011 at 10:55 am
thank god.
WizKid3 Jan 25, 2011 at 10:55 am
Oh THANK YOU!!!
I just installed OS6 on my 9700 and I love it, but I absolutely hate accidentally scrolling to another pane.
SJorge3442 Jan 25, 2011 at 12:51 pm
just press the end call button. I too hated it when i first upgraded my 9700 but like 2 weeks in i realized what the end call button did. Sends you back to the all screen.
on my torch however, I dont really have the scrolling problem, but I cant wait to be able to only select the all. I hate having all those other windows...Im sure that will cut back usage on the cpu as well.
chrisryan44 Jan 25, 2011 at 3:35 pm
wow I didnt know about this! very useful thanks for the tip
i.minimalistic Jan 25, 2011 at 10:56 am
OMGoooooshhhhh!!! Cant wait for the new OS to be released for my Torch!!! Its being sooooo long since the last time I saw an update :(...!!! Thank you CB dudes for the info!!! Saludos!
TonyLibations Jan 25, 2011 at 11:00 am
Now, if i could get Sprint to come off one of their Styles for me i could enjoy OS6 too!
Taxi2base Jan 25, 2011 at 11:08 am
Very good news. I hope Column view is next. I miss Column view.
jamesharmeling Jan 25, 2011 at 11:08 am
What bothers me the most about this? Why the heck wasn't this included in 6.0? Seems like a no brainer with the current being absolutely redundant: Who's designing this stuff?!? Is it possible that they hold off on things like this simply to have a "new and improved" version here and there? If they would do it and do it right the first time, my respect for BB's would grow in miles.
noTh1ng Jan 25, 2011 at 11:11 am
this is godlike!
SuperGenius Jan 25, 2011 at 11:16 am
One word... AWESOME!
lessdoumas Jan 25, 2011 at 11:18 am
That's some very good news !
dwain77 Jan 25, 2011 at 11:20 am
That is great news. Can't wait to see this on my Torch.
rroyy Jan 25, 2011 at 11:22 am
I will be the happiest BB user if I can remove frequent and downloads tabs!!!
mcaples Jan 25, 2011 at 11:25 am
SAAA-WEEETTT!!! In 7 days I'll be upgrading from my 8530 to a 9650. I see no reason for the 9650 to NOT get 6.1 (IMHO). This is GREAT.
chrizt4adam Jan 25, 2011 at 11:26 am
Could ya add Games into the list RIM...
Guatiao Jan 25, 2011 at 11:27 am
Prayer answered!!!!
visualpurple Jan 25, 2011 at 11:31 am
Don't own a 6.0 device, so not sure how this works - if you uncheck everything except 'All', do the other options still exist as folders that you can access? So the only difference is that they are no longer swipeable panes on the homescreen?
chrisryan44 Jan 25, 2011 at 3:42 pm
"All" already contains everything that you see on other panes, think of the other panes as being shortcuts to apps of certain kinds (like "media"- has music and video, which are in a media folder in the "all" pane too). its kind of redundant which is why people want to be able to remove some panes.
greenfan Jan 25, 2011 at 11:32 am
This is great! All I need now is a theme builder to make a today screen on my 9780...
Deathcommand Jan 25, 2011 at 11:37 am
It appears that the Battery symbol is on the wrong side.
joeldf Jan 25, 2011 at 12:44 pm
No. That's the correct side it shows up on when charging and in any of the "options" pages. There are only a few of the pages where it doesn't show up at all, but is on the right side in most of them.
torrejonboy Jan 25, 2011 at 11:38 am
Great news. I just use my all and have my own sub folders..just the way I roll. It was a bit annoying on the 9780....and I agree with the column view comment, I miss it dearly.
Sirhill Jan 25, 2011 at 11:39 am
This is great news for sure. But I need something a little more like column view for my 9650 so I can see what the hell I am doing. I have all but stopped using the device for the browser because i can't see shit.
svanneck Jan 25, 2011 at 11:50 am
This is very nice, but it doesn't show whether we'll be allowed to create new home screen panes. So far this screen shot only indicates that we can disable the ones we don't want (like Favorites, which always resets itself after a reboot, even with the latest OS update), and Downloads. What really needs to be included is the ability to rename and/or create new panes at will.
The other question is how long it will take for 6.1 upgrades to be rolled out to existing users, or whether it will be available as an upgrade at all. I hope my Torch won't be obsolete by the time 6.1 is available for it.
jlb21 Jan 25, 2011 at 11:51 am
Ditto. Column view is da bomb!
newcollector Jan 25, 2011 at 11:56 am
Nice feature. Looking forward to updates for the Torch. Kind of reminds me when WinMo 6 came out and then shortly thereafter came 6.1. I figure the same holds true here. The Torch is the present flagship and so I am sure we will be able to upgrade to 6.1 (IMHPO - in my humble prophetic opinion) .
Fr3lncr Jan 25, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I'll add my "YES!!!!" to the list. Just hope we don't have to wait too long for 6.1.
Snypa Jan 25, 2011 at 12:12 pm
This looks good already.!
danisnotstan Jan 25, 2011 at 12:27 pm
I only use the "all" pane and have ended up on other panes by accident so this will be a welcome change. What I'm really hoping for is if I erase every pane but "all", I hope that it doesn't show a pane at all and it acts like OS5 in that if I scroll to that area then it shows all apps as opposed to selecting the "bar" that says "all" then me still having to scroll again to actually get to the app icons. I also wish I didn't have to hit the BB key twice to pull up the app list, but I'm already used to it. If it wasn't for selecting an unused pane by accident, I honestly don't think I would even care about this as universal search has all but eliminated me looking for apps anyway! Others have mentioned wanting column view and I agree the text wrapping and zooming definitely needs improvement, but Opera Mini has saved me from having to deal with that... Except I wish I could set Opera as default so when using universal search it opens Opera instead of the stock browser.
coffee-turtle Jan 25, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Good point about just having the ALL pane.
I also would like more homescreen R/E for my wallpaper. I like being able to see most of it as I did in OS 5.
joshua.worth Jan 25, 2011 at 5:07 pm
uhh... stop clicking all or double clicking the BlackBerry button just do a fast swipe down and it opens the all tray.. Like Kevin already talked about this buddy hope you read this and start saving yourself the extra keystrokes.
anthony062991 Jan 25, 2011 at 12:36 pm
All they did was remake os 6 theme. This is dumb. When is RIM going to step up with something bigger than this?
_StephenBB81 Jan 25, 2011 at 12:46 pm
The OS is 6.1 with a .1 update you expect a full rewrite?
My biggest complaint with OS6 has just been addressed, I do hope OS6 devices get OS6.1 upgrade
joeldf Jan 25, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Well... Duh.
It's only 6.1. Up from 6.0. We aren't talking about stepping up to 7 yet.
Besides, this is only one feature. We don't yet know what other changes are in store.
And I see deRusett beat me to the response.:)
ElDuderino2112 Jan 25, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Suddenly I believe there is a God somewhere.
berryloyal Jan 25, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I wish there was a way to clear the missed calls all at once in the notifcations section of the home screen. The only way to do it is to click on every single missed call individually to clear it one by one. Kind of annoying.
lewisc1979 Jan 25, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Hold down the "Shift" button and swipe the trackpad until the missed calls are all selected. You just have to select "Mark Opened" from the menu after that.
Lucky45 Jan 25, 2011 at 1:39 pm
It's amazing they / someone / anyone didn't think of this when developing OS6...
meljac600 Jan 25, 2011 at 1:53 pm
hey people....IS IT JUST ME OR DID ANYBODY ELSE REALIZE......................THAT THERE IS NO OFFICIAL 6.0 FOR VERIZON AND OTHER CARRIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...SO WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS....CMONNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im tired of these games
ruscolinni Jan 25, 2011 at 2:04 pm
FINALLY..... SOMEONE GETS IT!!!!
Xader Jan 25, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Wow.
That may just be the most annoying post I have ever seen.
And go bitch to Verizon if you want an official release. They decide what becomes official for their devices.
soogriff Jan 25, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Hooray. Although I've been able to master not accidentally scrolling to the other panes. But this will be great.
the brother Jan 25, 2011 at 2:02 pm
I am looking forward to this, Please leak it today for the 9800 Torch. Official by Jan 31?
ruscolinni Jan 25, 2011 at 2:08 pm
I don't understand.... they can't get OS6 right and officially released.... why is this showing up?
danageplan Jan 25, 2011 at 2:37 pm
meh, I hate stock themes being able to create and use custom themes has always been one of my clinchers for buying blackberry, RIM's theme's are just boring and plain, I like plain but not boring lol, plus i prefer to have all my app folders on the homescreen. The stock theme on the torch caused me to constantly disconnect from the network as the connections manager was too easy to open, the theme i have now has the connections on the homescreen but it is smaller out of the way and you have to do a stormish double tap to open the connections.
photecs Jan 25, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Ha ha! #2 annoyance on the list is dealt with - thank you RIM! Now, let theme building beging so I can get a TODAY THEME for the 9780!!!!
DJBS4LIFE Jan 25, 2011 at 3:12 pm
What's funny is you have all this BlackBerry hating but yet many of you keep buying and still use your BlackBerry you hate so much LOL!!! If I don't like something I have options. Easy, I would just go to another phone. Like WOMEN... You all love just love the drama LOL. Nobody is making you stay ;)
Remember.. BlackBerry crossed over on it's own to a lot of people (like me) who thought it was cool to have a BB. At least RIM is making changes now for the regular phone consumer. I learned that my BOLD 9650 with the GREAT OS6 does everything I need it to do PLUS SOME.
2 years with BB and counting!! \m/
Mojave Jan 25, 2011 at 3:26 pm
WAHOO!!!!!!!!!
CocoaBlossom Jan 25, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Really a good news. Hope that won't have to wait to long for the release of 6.1.
ExpressJTS Jan 25, 2011 at 4:04 pm
...and the ability to add, delete and edit the panes? 1/2 way there! Don't go down the same road as the other platforms and clutter everything up and spread everything out. Simple and Organized please.
scuebydue Jan 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Exclusive? N4BB have had this up all day. With even more in depth details.
stuffing Jan 25, 2011 at 5:49 pm
ohh my god i love this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dhaninugraha Jan 25, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Finally, the ability to get rid of the Downloads and Frequent panes. 5 panes are just overkill for me.
adamhusband Jan 25, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Yea RIM!!!! Thanks for listening or testing which ever made you decide. Great choice. Since most of us already make folders to organize these I really hate this in the OS6. Now I can't wait for this to leak. Bravo RIM!!!
CaptKK Jan 25, 2011 at 10:12 pm
I have hated these panes ever since I got my torch. THANK YOU!!!!!
anar_baku Jan 26, 2011 at 5:28 am
Long overdue - bring it on! Any ETA on this? This is one thing I really hated after upgrading to OS6 on my 9700.
I'll mention another annoying thing while the momentum is here: the inability to click on the profile picture of a BBM contact to see an enlarged full-screen version. Many people tend to put profile pictures to share it with friends - not much use if you can't see the detail...
rbmill13 Jan 28, 2011 at 4:04 pm
HOW DO YOU DO THIS??? i really would like to know how to get to this option.
gonzomex Jan 29, 2011 at 2:39 pm
This sounds awesome! On the down side I just got BB6.0 on my bold 9650 so Idon't know how long i'll get this. Hopefully sooner then later.
ninety_two Jan 29, 2011 at 11:28 pm
I'm not sure if the BB6.0 on the Curve 9330 is giving this option yet or not, but I'd really like to find out how to get to it soon! These scrolling menus are a pain!
ismellrealbad Jan 30, 2011 at 3:36 pm
OMFG YESS!!! A DREAM COME TRUE. I seriously cant wait for this to come out
cayman2010 Jan 31, 2011 at 9:10 pm
When can we expect this?