BlackBerry 6 – The Action Menu

BlackBerry smartphones like the BlackBerry Torch ( more here ) will be arriving soon with the new BlackBerry OS 6 and even some older BlackBerry smartphones namely the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, BlackBerry Bold 9650 and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 can be updated to the new BlackBerry OS 6 ( more here ).

As everyone eagerly awaits to see BlackBerry 6 on a smartphone in their hand its useful to look at The Action Menu for the new operating System. The Action Menu is one of the core enhancements introduced in BlackBerry 6.

An action menu provides users with a quick way to access the most common actions for a highlighted item. From an application development perspective, it allows developers to group a list of most commonly-available actions that users can perform into a 3×3, 2×3, or 1×3 visually appealing pop-up grid. Every action can include descriptive text, an application icon, and a command. The menu is also context sensitive, so developers can assign specific actions depending on the current user context.

For the user, bringing up the action menu is simple and intuitive. On touch screen devices, it can be displayed by tapping the touch screen. On devices supporting a trackpad or trackball, it can be displayed by clicking the trackpad or trackball. If a primary action is assigned to a tap or click (for example, opening an email message in the message list), then the user can bring it up by touching and holding a finger on the screen, or clicking and holding the trackpad or trackball.