Releasing PlayBook OS 2.0 must have put RIM in a good mood when it comes to software updates in general, and the company certainly seems to have been keeping itself busy. Near the end of last month, we heard about plans for the platform’s Twitter and Facebook apps to finally get updates making them BBM connected apps, enabling tight integration with BlackBerry Messenger and your contacts. They had already been delayed before, though, and we didn’t have much more assurance than they’d be out sometime soon. Well, it seems “soon” was just a few weeks, as new versions of both apps have just landed in the BlackBerry Beta Zone.

Just as promised, these updates make Facebook and Twitter into BBM connected apps. While that may be the most interesting feature of both releases, there are plenty of other changes RIM had made. Facebook gets some tweaks to make its user interface a bit more intuitive. There are also some new error messages being introduced (which you’ll hopefully never see) that try to explain what’s gone wrong more clearly than before. The app should also now be smarter about retrieving Facebook messages, making increased efforts to avoid missing notifications for any.

Twitter similarly has a host of changes beyond the BBM integration. There are also notification improvements here, as well as UI changes in the form of a new layout for the display of Tweets. This release will help modernize the app with built-in link shortening and support for Twitter photos.

Register for Beta Zone membership to get access to both apps now.

Source: RIM

Via: CrackBerry, BerryReview