https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plWOkI_Urwo&hd=1

Say what you will about the evils of the free market – you commie pig – but competition in the world of smartphones is definitely having a good effect.

Case in point: the latest look we’ve gotten at Blackberry’s forthcoming new OS6 looks pretty impressive – good enough, even, to make Blackberry a compelling alternative to the aesthetic niceties of iOS or Android.

Among the many features shown in the short clip are:

• An updated web browser that features multitouch gestures
• The ability to post to multiple social networks at once, in addition to social feeds
• An improved media player (finally!)
• Universal search, that will index all the content on a given device.
• An in-built RSS reader

More than anything though, the new OS seems to finally replace the utilitarian but archaic feel that has plagued Blackberries for some time now. The things shown in the video look slick and well-integrated, which is an excellent sign for Research in Motion, the makers of the device.

With Google’s Android becoming increasingly compelling and successful, Microsoft about the enter the game and Apple still chugging along, RIM had to do something impressive. Though things look impressive from what we’ve seen so far, we’ll see if they’re able to pull it off when the new OS launches later this year.