Verizon says you need 256 MB of free storage just to install BB OS 6.

Verizon still has plans in the works to upgrade its BlackBerry smart phones to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS 6. The update has been a long time coming but rest assured that it is on the way. A member of CrackBerry’s forums managed to take some pictures of Verizon’s official guide to updating a BlackBerry to the new operating system.

Unsurprisingly, only the BlackBerry Curve 3G (9330) and the BlackBerry Bold 9650 are supported according to the documentation. This means that no, the BlackBerry Storm2 will never, ever receive BlackBerry OS 6 as was rumored. The reason? “over 256 MB of available device memory [is required],” according to the guide.

This just really shows how foolish RIM has been by sticking with such tiny amounts of internal memory/storage in its smart phones. Get with the program RIM. In an era where many smart phones sold in the U.S. ship with at least 8 GB of storage inside, you’re still selling phones with 256 or 512 MB of memory inside. At least the BlackBerry PlayBook will come with a minimum of 8 GB of storage.

We’ll have to wait and see how AT&T handles its promised BB OS 6 update to its phones with only 256 MB of memory. Do CDMA BlackBerrys (Sprint and Verizon) need more memory to run the new OS than GSM (AT&T and T-Mobile) ones? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

While there is no timetable yet for when the BlackBerry OS 6 update will come out for the Bold 9650 or the Curve 3G 9330, the mere existence of this guide points to a pending release. If we’re really lucky, Verizon will tip us off at CES 2011 this January.

In case you’re wondering what all the fuss is, here’s a quick overview of what BB OS 6 will bring to the Bold 9650 and the Curve 9300 once the update comes out:

• Social feeds & views
• Much improved web browsing
• Universal search
• Improved user interface with better multitasking
• Better multimedia handling

The improvements are not the biggest but the new BB web browser based on the same Webkit technology that both Apple and Google use in their mobile browsers alone makes the update worthwhile. The new universal search feature also is a blessing and makes finding what you need a lot simpler. Now we just need the actual update to come out…

Ready for BB OS 6 on your Curve 9330 or Bold 9650? Let me know if you’re excited about the update!