RIM announces BlackBerry Tour 9630 for Sprint, Verizon Wireless
RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630
(Credit: RIM)On Monday, Research in Motion unveiled its newest device, the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630, a 3G-enabled world phone that will be available from Sprint and Verizon Wireless later this summer. In addition, the smartphone will be sold in Canada through Bell Mobility and Telus.
The news isn't a complete surprise. Also known as the BlackBerry Niagara, the BlackBerry Tour 9630 has long been rumored for the CDMA carriers and finally brings an update to Sprint and Verizon's BlackBerry 8830 World Edition models.
As a dual-mode world phone, the BlackBerry Tour runs on the carrier's respective EV-DO Rev. A 3G networks domestically and offers 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) support, so you can get voice and data coverage while traveling outside of North America. The smartphone also offers Bluetooth 2.0 (including stereo Bluetooth and tethering) as well as assisted and autonomous GPS, but unfortunately, there is no Wi-Fi.
As far as design, the BlackBerry Tour is a blend of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 and the RIM BlackBerry Bold. The device measures 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighs 4.5 ounces. There's a 35-key QWERTY keyboard for easy typing and a 2.44-inch, 480x360-pixel resolution display.
Of course, the standard BlackBerry features are there, including support for personal and corporate e-mail, text and multimedia messaging, a speakerphone, and voice-activated dialing. The BlackBerry Tour also supports the recently launched BlackBerry App World and comes preloaded with Documents to Go for viewing and editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.
Other highlights of the phone include a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording, a music and video player, a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, an HTML Web browser, 256MB RAM with up to 16GB expandable memory, and a user-replaceable 1400mAh lithium ion battery with a rated talk time of 5 hours and up to 14 days of standby time.
While specific availability dates were not released by the carriers, Sprint did reveal that it will offer the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and said the smartphone will come preloaded with the Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Sprint NFL Mobile Live, and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile. Details of Verizon's pricing or offerings are not yet available, but we'll update you as soon as we have information.
On Sale Now: $149.99 - $649.99
View the latest prices for RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Sprint)
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie. 
If they had announced this new model of the BB a few weeks earlier, I probably would never have entertained the idea of switching because of how well my Curve performed and how happy I am with the service. This phone was leaked out months ago... why keep a good thing under wraps for so long and let Apple steal everyone's thunder?
I'm a gadget addict with full blown Blackberry addiction :-) If you have never had one and don't know what I mean when I say that don't worry, you will soon enough ;-) They say once you go BlackBerry you can never go back and for the most part that is true. I have had several Blackberries on Verizon (8830 World Edition, Curve 8930, Storm 9530, and soon to be the Tour 9630) which is my preferred carrier. But I do have a line on AT&T because I could not resist the Bold any longer. Soon I will have an unlocked TMobile BB 8900 Curve and swap that back and forth with my Curve (the wonders of a SIM card).
I came across a site for the blackberry tour owners http://www.Blackberry-tour.com I hope you will also find it useful. talk care.
For the people wondering why Wifi is so important you probably don't travel to remote locations much. I have many clients in areas where there is no cell phone coverage. If I had Wifi I would be able to connect to my clients business Wifi network and be able to use my phone. That would be a huge benefit instead of getting back to town and receiving 30 emails and 10 voicemails.
Six more months then I can drop Sprint like a bad habit and go with a company that has up-to-date phones.
Verizon needs your money and support to stay high-profit ! Join her and pay for your extra data plan for only $30/month/line. You get better services that way and you make Verizon happy. Who need that free Wi-Fi ?
Having been overseas with the world edition, having not been able to connect (no signal) and watched my wife pull out the iphone and simply log on via wifi, that was it. I found myself using her phone to check e-mail and communicate with my office. Would do that, but iPhone's calendar and address book simply aren't business-friendly. So what's a business user to do?
Simple: ditch Verizon, move to T-Moblie or Sprint for 3G/WiFi connectivity.
- by harleyy1 November 13, 2009 10:03 PM PST
- never ever take sprint. worse network, expect drop calls, nonworking phones, terrible and unreliable service and 3g is nothing with sprint. i have verizon and i receive real 3g network, ive had it for 1 year and i have the ENV 1 and it is fast as can be, EVEN WHEN I DO NOT RECIEVE SERVICE. verizon has wonderful phones, best and cheapest plans, LOOK AT THEIR CONTRACT CUT OFF DISCOUNT FROM SPRINT. VERIZON: $175, SPRINT: $200. SPRINT HAS ONLY 40 MILLION CUSTOMERS WHEN VERIZON HAS 100 MILLION. you get the 5 unlimited calls or 10 (family plan for 10 #'s) for FREE no extra cost! now reading this...listen verizon has everything. ok!
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