BlackBerry users, rejoice — it appears as though BIS will soon be upgraded to version 2.8 and a couple of long-awaited changes are coming along with it. BerryReview got its hands on an alleged change log for BIS 2.8, an update it says will begin rolling out on or around September 10th, and a few gems are found within:
- Two-way wireless synchronization with Google Mail Contacts* and the Address Book on the BlackBerry smart phone:
- Synchronize Google Mail contacts quickly and easily to the BlackBerry smart phone
- Add or edit Contacts and the Contacts are automatically updated, whether they are updated on the computer or BlackBerry smart phone
- Note: Two-way wireless Contact synchronization with Google Mail Contacts requires BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0 and configuration through email settings on the BlackBerry smart phone. Additional requirements and constraints may be found within the BlackBerry Internet Service 2.8 Documentation Kit. This feature is not supported on BlackBerry smart phones with BlackBerry® Connect™ software.
- Enhancements to email setup and settings:
- Automatic Login now supports most billing identifiers, which allows new subscribers with wireless service providers that use PIN, IMEI, or ESN as a billing identifier to create BlackBerry Internet Service accounts from the BlackBerry smart phone, without having to create a login user name and password
- Note: This feature will be available approximately one week after the BlackBerry Internet Service upgrade.
- Windows Live Hotmail revalidation:
- With BlackBerry Internet Service 2.8, new Windows Live Hotmail mail integrations will be defaulted to a protocol that is designed so as not to require 90 day reauthorization.
- Note: Existing BlackBerry smart phone users accessing Windows Live Hotmail using Microsoft MSP will still be required to revalidate their Windows Live Hotmail account every 90 days.
Two-way Gmail contact sync will apparently not be push, but a scheduled sync every four hours. Fair enough — the integrated solution is still preferable over third party solutions. Either way, we’re much more interested in seeing two-way read status sync added across all IMAP accounts but that’s an entirely different post. Last item of note: OS 5.0 will be required for some of the functionality listed above, which could be a pretty solid indication of an imminent roll out.
