Good news, BlackBerry users – RIM has announced a brand new update to kick start the new year: BlackBerry 7.1 OS. The update brings a whole bunch of new features to improve your BlackBerry smartphone experience.

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First up users will get the mobile hotspot feature: an option that has been available on platforms like Android and iOS for awhile now, BlackBerry 7.1 OS will let you turn your smartphone into a wireless hotspot which lets you hook-up up to five different devices with the internet. Universal Search also gets an update to include auto-suggest which intelligently filters Bing search results.

BlackBerry Tag unlocks NFC capabilities of your phone to make sharing contacts, media, BBM chat invites and more a quick and simple process. WiFi calling is now available (depending on your carrier) with BlackBerry 7.1 OS. The update also brings FM Radio capabilities to your Curve 9360 and 9380 smartphones – all you have to do is plug in your headset to boost the reception. No data usage or data plan required. BlackBerry Maps has also been updated to show special offers, coupons and discounts on the map itself.

And to take full advantage of BlackBerry 7.1 OS, BBM 6.1 has been pushed out of beta, BlackBerry Travel and Traffic have also been updated. BlackBerry 7.1 OS will start rolling out today all over the world, so expect it to hit your phone sometime in the coming weeks.

Filed in . Read more about BlackBerry, Blackberry 7 Os, RIM and Update.