All you crackberries out there know exactly what I mean! But for anyone that hasn't yet drank the BlackBerry Kool-Aid, you should know that OS 4.5 is on its way and it will offer just about everything your heavy laptop can offer! Thanks to PC Magazine we now know what's in store for us! Without reviewing model by model and server by server, lets take a look at some of the great new features offered by the new operating system:

• Spell check -- I have a Blackberry 8830 and I hope it is an improved version of the spell check software already available.
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest -- With the free Google Maps for PDA, the points will have to be of the utmost interest!
• Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation -- This is a good plus since, for the moment, the best playlist I can create is an Album or Random.
• Voice note recording-- This is a big plus! I installed VR+ to use my Blackberry as a dictaphone or to reply verbally to the emails I receive. Having this feature built into the new models is a treat for Voice recognition software users.
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player -- Wow! We'll be able to watch our favorite movies and tv shows while commuting to work or waiting at the airport!
• Bluetooth stereo music -- Another nice plus since, for the moment, we must use wired headsets to benefit from stereo.
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo -- This is the grand revolution in my book, but I'm anxious to see if we will need an annual/monthly plan or if RIM got into an agreement with DTG to provide their solution for free. For the moment, I am using eOffice which would be satisfactory if it had delivered all the functionalities it represented. Unfortunately, it does not and the customer support it offers is poor, to say the least.
• Native format attachment downloading -- I look forward to seeing the number and types of supported formats. Zip would be nice to open large attachments. Furthermore, it is one thing to download an attachment; it is another to be able to edit them and I will rely a lot on DTG for that task!
• HTML e-mails -- Nice to have it bundled, but unless it offers the possibility to turn e-mails into calendar events or notes I don't plan to move away from $20 Bbsmart.
• Over-the-air device upgrades -- That is a plus which will definitely help our BlackBerries to stay up to date even while on the road without a computer and a USB connection.
• Free/busy calendar lookup -- This will likely be a useful addition, particularly if it is as well done as many of the Windows Mobile software programs.
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages -- Due to my high "information hygiene" and the fact that my inbox is purged daily, I can't see any use for myself but I can definitely see the benefit for many (most) people who use their inbox as a document management system. Thanks to RIM for encouraging users to help e-discovery vendors to make a few extra bucks!
• Video recording on Curve models -- My BlackBerry 8830 is not equipped with a camera but I could definitely see myself at the last Rush concert filming Neal Pearl during his drum solo. I am sure this is exactly what RIM had in mind. :-)

To learn more about the present, past and future of your new best friend (sorry for your dog!), join Brett Burney and I on the Mobile Track at ABA TECHSHOW. We will discuss and review an array of third party software to make your life easier and provide you with tips and how-to's for your preferred mobile platform (Windows mobile, Palm, iPhone, etc.). Bring your PDA with you!