Let me just start off by saying this is not an official version of the OS by any means, so by installing and following this guide is completely at your own risk. My recommendation to you would be to wait for an official release by either RIM or your carrier.

For the rest of you who know what the circumstances are but still want to go ahead with the install, read on.

1. Upgrade Desktop Manager and Backup – This will be the most important step in this entire guide, unless you are not worried about backing up your contacts, calender data, message, music, photos, tasks, memos and anything else you want saving.

If you already have Desktop Manager installed on your computer, check what version you are running by loading up the application (Windows Start menu > All Programs > BlackBerry > Desktop Manager), clicking help, then selecting About BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The version will be listed on the General tab. If you are not running version 6 of the software, click the Check for Updates link in the bottom right hand corner of the application, where it will then prompt you to download and install Desktop Manager version 6.

Once Desktop Manager 6 has been downloaded and installed, reload the application, plug in your 9700 and let the program register that the phone is connected. From here, you should see two options in the black toolbar at the top. Click Device > Back up… This will then take you through the step by step process of backing up your important data. Once this has been done, and you have made a note of where you saved your backup file, go back to DM (Desktop Manager) and backup your pictures, videos, and music if you wish by selecting the appropriate option under Media Sync, which is listed on the left hand side of the application.

All backed up now? Good, lets get moving.

2. Install OS 6.0.0.344 On Your Computer – Once you have downloaded OS 6 from wherever you downloaded it from (I will not be giving any links to the program), double click the .exe file and go through the steps. It’s fairly straight forward.

3. Installing OS 6 On Your BlackBerry Bold 9700 & Restoring Backup – Once step 2 has been completed, connect your phone via USB if you disconnected it after the backup process. If DM loads, check that it is connected. You should see an image of the device when it loads with an option telling you that an update is available for your 9700. Ignore this for now and close DM.

Now we need to locate the setup files that we installed in step 2. To do this, we go to: –

C:\program files(86)\common files\research in motion\apploader\

When inside this directory, either delete or rename the vendor.xml file to something else. I recommend that you delete it. If it is not there, don’t panic, then run loader.exe.

Follow the on screen instructions, but when going through, take a look at the different check marks to see what you want installed and what you don’t want installed. My recommendation would be to uncheck all applications that you downloaded such as Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, Copter etc. We will manually redownload these after OS 6 has been installed.

When you get to the screen that asks you if you want to make a backup of your device and restore 3rd party applications, change the option to Do Not Restore. It should already be selected to do so, so make sure you change it.

Experience OS 6.0.0.344 – Let the updater go through the process and update your phone to OS 6. It should take up to 30mins for this to be completed. Once it has been completed, or near to doing so, you should notice that your BlackBerry has a slightly different loading screen, with the loading bar being at the bottom of the screen and an updated BlackBerry logo. The phone will then boot for the first time and take you through a video guide of the new features that come with OS 6. I almost skipped this, but if I did I would not have found out about 1 or two new features like the improved zoom, or the extra options that have been added. It will then prompt you to setup your 9700. If you wish to do this later, you can always come back to it. Play around with the menu’s for a while until you are satisfied that the installation went well and are having no issues. I recommend doing a battery pull afterwards, and letting it reboot to double check that there are now problems after the initial boot.

Restoring Data To Your Bold 9700 – By now, you should have a big smile on your face knowing you installed OS 6, and everything is working perfectly. You love the new menu’s and features but want to get your contacts, saved data and applications back on there.

Simply pop your USB cable back into the phone, load up DM, select Device > Restore, to which then you will be prompted with an option to choose your backup file. Select the most recent, and then select the option that allows you to choose what items you would like to restore. Only choose items like contacts/calendar/tasks/memos/messages etc. Nothing else should be restored from the backup file.

Once everything is restored and you have checked to make sure it is all there, you can then use BlackBerry App World to download the applications you had installed before and hey presto! You have a fully functional OS 6 installed on your BlackBerry Bold 9700.

If this guide was helpful to you, or you would like to make some additions, leave us a comment below and share your thoughts.

Update: A lot of you have had trouble downloading the update, here are some alternative download links for you: FileServe, MediaFire, DepositFiles.

More About: BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry OS 6, RIM

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Back in August, we told you that OS 6 was going to come to the Bold 9700 and the Pearl 3G within’ the “months ahead,” and although not official, you can now get the unofficial version of OS 6.0.0.344 via IntoMobile who have the download links.

As of right now, the only BlackBerry to be running OS 6 is RIM‘s latest handset — the BlackBerry Torch and any firmware update to existing BlackBerry OS’ is going to be a welcome addition to any BlackBerry user.

Remember, if you are feeling confident about downloading these unofficial leaks, we ask you that you be careful and are mindful that you are installing these at your own risk.

Have you downloaded OS 6.0.0.344 yet? Let us know in the comments below how it is performing for you.

Source: IntoMobile

More About: BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry OS 6, RIM

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We have no idea how someone has managed to obtain this new version, but if you are interested in trying this out, you will find the download links over at BBLeaks.com.

The version number which you’ll be downloading is OS 6.0.0.344, which is thought to be the most up to date version of RIM’s new OS. Don’t forget that this is an unofficial version, so download at your own risk if you decide to try this out.

If you have already installed this new version, let us know if it works, and what new features you have discovered.

More About: BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry OS 6, RIM

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Thankfully the likes of QNX feels the same way and have decided to fit out a Toyota Prius with a Blackberry OS 6 touchscreen interface. You have to ask why Apple does not do the same? I do not want to sound like an Apple fan here, but they have one of the best touchscreen interfaces on the market.

It would be great to see how Apple could incorporate iOS 4.2 into one of the latest vehicles, not sure what model they would choose though? Anyway, that’s enough of that, back to the BlackBerry OS 6.

According to CrackBerry, the system makes use of both touch and non-touch. This means that you cannot only use the touchscreen display in the center of the dash, but also buttons on the steering wheel as well. You can see in the video below that the best display has not been used, as things look a little blurry. However, inputs seem to be quicker than Microsoft’s on the Ford Edge Sport.

More About: BlackBerry OS 6, iOS 4.2, RIM

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As reported from BGR, the handset has just appeared in a Cellbrite inventory listing. If you didn’t know, this is the internal system which Verizon employees use to transfer information amongst each other. Cellbrite was also the tool which unveiled the mystery surrounding the Droid Incredible all those months ago.

As for the new screenshot though, you can clearly see that BlackBerry Storm 3 is listed underneath the 1st and 2nd generation Storm handsets, and a release is now likely to follow before the end of the year.

Will the form factor be the same as the previous Storms, or will RIM decide to give the Storm 3 a facelift? It would be awesome if it came with their new BlackBerry Tablet OS – that would really get me interested.

Let us know your thoughts on this. How many of you are holding on for a Storm 3 announcement?

Source – Read

More About: BlackBerry OS 6, BlackBerry Storm 3, Verizon

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You’ll also be pleased to know, that we have the first video for you to watch, showing the device up-close for the very first time. According to this Engadget report, the handset has been listed in the Sprint database, leading Engadget to speculate that the 9670 will be available to buy before the holiday season lands.

As for the video, it comes to us courtesy of PoderPda and confirms that the handset will be running on BlackBerry OS 6. If this thing came with the new BlackBerry Playbook OS, then it might be worth getting excited about. Otherwise, it just looks like another average handset from RIM.

Check out the database leak over at Engadget, you’ll find the video below.

More About: BlackBerry 9670, BlackBerry OS 6, RIM

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Research in Motion’s VP has recently revealed that the QNX operating system will eventually replace BlackBerry OS, no time-frame was given, however seeing as how BlackBerry OS 6 has only just emerged I can’t see this happening any time soon.

RIM’s VP also suggested that BlackBerry OS 7 could perhaps be QNX-based, which probably means that RIM are thinking of new ways to compete with iOS and Android-based smartphones.

In my opinion in terms of security and stability BlackBerry OS does deliver, however to really put pressure on the more successful smartphone manufacturers they have to create a platform with apps, games and social networking in mind, what do you think?

Source: SlashGear

More About: blackberry, BlackBerry OS 6, RIM

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As reported from BGR, these screenshots focus on showing you some of the media features within BlackBerry OS 6. You might of already seen a few of these features in various OS 6 video reveals, but these HQ screenshots should give you a better look.

The screenshots from RIM show off the following media capabilities of BlackBerry OS 6. They are: the music player, camera, picture viewer, podcast application and social features such as Facebook and Twitter.

You can view all of the pictures over at RIM’s blog here. Are you impressed by OS 6 so far?

More About: BlackBerry OS 6

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