After a lukewarm reception from tech enthusiasts and discerning consumers last year due to its less-than-expected features, BlackBerry Playbook is getting an overhaul with version 2.0. The new version is said to address the shortcomings that the current version has; videos, forums and news about the new OS have now flocked the internet. If you’re one BlackBerry fanatic looking into getting in the tablet craze, 2012 is definitely the year for you.

The BlackBerry Playbook first came out in April 2011 (August 2011 in the PH) much to the tech world’s anticipation. The 7-inch tablet did away with RIM’s native BlackBerry OS and powered the flagship tablet with the sleek QNX operating platform. Although the whole idea of the device was competitive with the other tablets in the market, RIM’s half-baked software however failed to deliver all the goods. The nicer features of the product like its dual-core processor at 1GHz clock speed; the 5MP rear-facing and 3MP front-facing cameras capable of recording 1080p HD videos; its micro-HDMI port for HDMI video output, and the full Adobe Flash and 3D graphics acceleration support paled in comparison to what were lacking in the device.

The coming month is crucial for RIM to redeem its PlayBook as its competitors are set to release powerful new tablets in the market. But the features listed for the upcoming version are something to look forward to.

1. Support for native email, calendar and contacts application. This is the biggest update for the new version because last year, the lack of native integration in these areas have received much negative reviews from users, especially by corporate clients who have constantly relied on the company’s devices for business needs. The new version now offers comprehensive support with these applications, including full integration with social networking sites like Twitter to the Playbook’s messaging app. This means that users no longer have to bridge their BlackBerry smartphones with the PlayBook to get access to their emails, or contacts. Minus the BlackBerry Bridge from a smartphone, however, PlayBook users must have WiFi signal for these to work.

**Contacts app is now like a social hub as it includes additional contact details from popular business networking sites like LinkdeIn

2. Support for rich text editing . This makes it more dynamic to work on those long emails with italic or bold letters, or perhaps even with images. More sophisticated features include auto-respond and signatures.

3. Support for remote keyboard control. The BlackBerry PlayBook has always been heavily integrated with BlackBerry handsets, and with the upgrade PlayBook users will have more use of this connection because users can now use the BB smartphone keyboard to remotely manipulate the PlayBook. This means that there’s no need to get another hardware keyboard to type away those important documents or urgent emails; the smartphone’s QWERTY keys, which is what BlackBerry has always been known for, will work remotely with the tablet.

4. Support for text-prediction and auto-correction. Now, this definitely comes handy when writing those formal emails and presentations that users need to send out to prospective clients. But hey, this is also indispensable to students who are doing their homework, or perhaps some teenager trying to impress the apple of his eye with fine vocabulary and proper diction.

The new OS, set to be released on the 17th of February, holds immense promise this year, and if getting a new tablet pc is one of your plans, for whatever purpose, the BlackBerry PlayBook is certainly worth all your hard-earned money (especially with its price recently marked down). Surely, a device–with an OS upgrade just around the corner, a fast, dual-core processor, HD cameras, and full Flash support–isn’t too shabby for such an iconic brand.