Just two weeks after the initial release of the Bolt browser for BlackBerry, BitStream has introduced its first update. If you look back to my original post on the browser, I had a number of complaints. They all seemed fixable, though, so let’s see if any of them made the first list.
From the Bolt PR team, here are the new and updated features:
1. APN configuration automated for BlackBerry devices. BOLT now auto-detects network details. This will eliminate the “internet not available” error messages, and manual APN configuration requirements, some BlackBerry users were experiencing.
2. BlackBerry dedicated back key support. Also supported on some SE devices.
3. BlackBerry scrolling enhancements. Scrolling on track ball BlackBerry devices is now faster and smoother.
4. BlackBerry-specific enhancements to match BlackBerry system short cuts such as “.” when space is pressed in URL mode.
5. System fonts will be utilized instead of Bitstream fonts for lists and options, resulting in increased usability.
6. Improved server support, resulting in a more stable browsing experience.
7. Automatic reconnect after client/server disconnect
8. Usability enhancements for URL, Favorites and History entry and management.
9. Instant switching between landscape and portrait modes (this formerly required a server round trip). This should also enhance user experience on accelerometer powered devices such as the BlackBerry Storm.
10. Auto-Update. When a new release is available, BOLT will prompt users to download and install the new release directly from BOLT.
11. Blackberry Specific Scrolling/navigation enhancements including space to page down one screen and space+shift to page up one screen, ‘t’ to jump to top of page, ‘b’ to jump to bottom.
12. Double tap/double click as a shortcut to toggle between zoom out split screen mode, and full screen mode.
Okay, so they’ve made the cursor move faster (No. 3), my biggest complaint about the original build. They could have improved nothing but that and I would have been much happier with the browser. Plus, they added the ability to move down a page with the space bar, plus shift+space to move up a page, “t” to go to the top and “b” to go to the bottom. They also added the spacebar period (when you hit spacebar to indicate a dot in the URL), which makes manually entering URLs much easier.
So it looks like all of my initial issues were addressed in this update. Awesome. Now it’s time to check it out and see how it runs this time around. This could take some more time, as I’ll want to get further into the nuances.
If you already have the Bolt browser, just open it up and navigate it to a Web page. The application will then prompt you to upgrade. If you don’t have it yet, go to BoltBrowser.com and sign up. Use ‘bbgeeks’ as your code.
