Post date: Dec 19, 2011 7:43:16 AM
I'm writing this on a PlayBook running the beta 2.0 software, and I've noticed some mostly cosmetic changes.
The first difference that greets you is the bootup splash screen. The jagged hexagons that looked as if they escaped out of a Nintendo 64 game are now replaced by actual blurred circles melding into each other on screen.
Upon first bootup, I was presented with a new desktop wallpaper, a gradient resembling a blue aurora. I can't help noticing that they have run out of primary colours for wallpapers - the 0.9 releases had green wallpapers, the 1.0 versions a red one.
I also noticed the slightly shorter keyboard (at least, it looked shorter for me). The enter key is now represented with an icon instead of the words 'Enter'.
In the launcher, the categories are now gone, and the windows shown when swiping up from the bottom gained thicker titlebars .
The settings menu has also been improved, with integrated BlackBerry id support. Also, there is a 'notification with LEDs' option. Glad to see that the leds are getting a use outside of displaying charge status.
The browser, meanwhile, did not recieve any visible changes. Under the hood, parts of the Readability browser plugin is integrated, but the plugin cannot be activated yet. Perhaps the most surprising addition was the return of file:/// urls: the ability to browse the local filesystem, removed in one of the first updates, was added back - with a new shinier interface! I hope that they did not put this amount of work into a feature and remove it again - it is very useful for testing apps.