One of the most frustrating things in OS 6 was not being able to control what panels you wanted on the home screen.  Sure some may feel they were all a necessity, but it’s always good to keep the option open for those who prefer to eliminate some.  Thankfully in OS 7 you can manage what panels you want.  Some may prefer the classic look with just a drop down list of all apps, while others may want to take Favorites tab out or any other.

To manage your panels, simply hit the BlackBerry menu button on the home screen and you’ll see the option called Manage Panels.  That’s what you want to click.  After that you’ll see a simple list of all the panels where you can uncheck/check what you want or don’t want there.  Easy as that.  For those already customizing their panels, which have you eliminated?

I notice that BlackBerry themes tend to knock off other OS platforms.  Totally cool for those who appreciate the real BlackBerry functionality but want a different UI a bit.  This one’s called FunOrama and is designed to look like Windows Phone 7.  It’s pretty straight forward as you’ll see in the screenshot above.  Calendar app enthusiasts will like it with the today style display on the home screen.  Click the link below to check out more info on FunOrama or to grab a copy.

FunOrama for BlackBerry >>

Originally, the Twitter site on the BlackBerry PlayBook was lousy.  RIM had a shortcut icon by default built into the OS you couldn’t remove for a while too making it pretty useless.  I noticed a few days ago that Twitter on the PlayBook became HTML 5 ready.  Ronen from BerryReview noticed the same too, so I guess it’s something relatively new.

So if you don’t have a Twitter client on your PlayBook, the site loads up nice enough to use, minus getting notified when you get a new tweet.  Personally I prefer using Blaq for PlayBook, but I don’t mind using the main site from time to time.

Facebook for BlackBerry just got updated to version 2.0.0.45, perhaps a few hours ago but it just came up on my BlackBerry Bold 9930.  According to the change log, it fixes the app freezing occurring from the previous build and also fixes the News Feed which apparently wasn’t refreshing on time before.  I didn’t notice issues before but then again I’m not an avid Facebook for BlackBerry user.  The update should be rolled out to all your BlackBerrys but if not be patient or refresh your App World cache.

Download Facebook for BlackBerry >>

Dead Space is a popular iOS game that has surprisingly come out of nowhere to the BlackBerry PlayBook.  Yes, finally another 3D game other than Need For Speed launches.  Dead Space is a pretty spooky game where you go around killing demons.  You get weapons including a plasma saw and core extractor along with a few others.  Dead Space is $9.99 in BlackBerry App World, not such a cheap price I know but worth it due to the rich graphics and awesome game play.

It’s quite tempting to play this bad boy via HDMI on the PlayBook too, who’s buying it?

Dead Space for BlackBerry PlayBook >>

Surprised? We saw a small screenshot of “BBM Music” listed in Applications Management a little white back.  Then we saw more details on the app which specified more on what to expect from the new service.  So far it looks like RIM will be charging flat monthly fees for access to music and you can share tracks with friends all on BBM.  According to CNET, RIM is currently in talks with four record companies in best hopes to sign with them for this new service it looks like.  So far they have signed with one company with the possibility of another two more.  Based on previous rumors, BBM Music should be coming shortly after BlackBerry App World 3.0 releases.  We have it in beta now, but perhaps the rumor is based on the official launch.  Anyone excited for BBM Music?

BlackBerry Handheld Software v7.0.0.1465 (All Languages)

Package Version: 7.0.0.1465
Consisting of:

• Applications: 7.0.0.296
• Software Platform: 5.0.0.496
• File name: 9860AllLang_PBr7.0.0_rel1465_PL5.0.0.496_A7.0.0.296_Vodafone_UK.exe
• File size: 233.64MB

Note: The Software Platform and Applications version numbers can be found under Options-About screen on the handheld.

Download >>

Not only did BlackBerry News for PlayBook update today, but also for BlackBerry smartphones as well.  The update is to version 1.1.0.23 which is also coming along with a change log.  There’s a few new features including UI enhancements which is always good to see.  Back in version 1.1.0.21 which was only for OS 7 devices,we saw the same change log come out but here it is in case you missed out on it last time around.  PocketBerry reader swicknam let us know that the update is for OS 6 users as well.  So here’s that same change log once again:

• UI enhancements
• Provides an indicator for new content since last update
• Article search across your news subscriptions
• Performance improvements
• Import Google Reader subscriptions
• Backup and restore through BlackBerry Desktop Manager
•  Language support for: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, German

In OS 7, a huge improvement I see is built into Universal Search.  Traditionally on OS 6, we used to have all the search results along with options to search within apps all in one big icons group.  Now we see a new tab called Extend Search which includes searches for all your native and third party apps (supporting Universal Search ofcourse) including Twitter, Google Search, Facebook, App World, and more.  Above that is what Universal Search has found on your phone matching they keyword(s) you typed in.  It’s definitely a cleaner layout than before, and works real smooth and fast as everything else does in OS 7.

A cool feature built into BlackBerry 7 OS is the fact that you can change your default search provider for the web browser.  Once upon a time Google was default for the majority, and of course you remember Verizon pushing Bing out to all BlackBerry users a while back.  So if you want to put a specific search provider in you can.  Here’s how to do it:

1. In your web browser, hit the BlackBerry Menu button then select Options
2. Click on Manage Search Engines, then scroll up and hit New Search Engine.
3. Simply type in the name for the search provider such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.
4. For Google, type in http://www.google.com/m/search?q=%s
5. Now from there, you can default any of these search providers!