Sprint RIM BlackBerry Tour
(Credit: Sprint)Well, well, looky here. Just one day after Verizon Wireless announced a July 12 availability date for the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630, Sprint has responded and said it, too, will start selling its version of the BlackBerry Tour on July 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. How's that for a little friendly competition?
Sprint's model will also offer world-roaming capabilities with voice coverage in 185 countries and e-mail and Web browsing in nearly 150 countries. The carrier also touted easy access to social-networking sites, such as Flickr, MySpace, and Facebook.
Other features of the phone include a 480x360 pixel-resolution display, integrated GPS, Bluetooth, 256MB built-in memory, and a microSD expansion slot. We're still waiting to hear back from Sprint about whether it will offer a version sans camera, like Verizon will.
On Sale Now: $99.99 - $699.99
View the latest prices for RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Verizon Wireless)
(Credit:
Verizon Wireless)
Just a couple of weeks after the introduction of the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630, Verizon Wireless announced Tuesday that the smartphone is now available for preorder online and will be in stores on July 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $70 mail-in rebate.
For that price, the BlackBerry Tour offers world roaming capabilities, providing you with voice coverage in 220 countries overseas and e-mail and Internet coverage in 175 countries. Domestically, the smartphone works on Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A network and supports a number of the carrier's services, such as VZ Navigator and V Cast Music.
Other highlights include a full HTML Web browser, built-in GPS, Bluetooth tethering, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Verizon also revealed that it will release a camera-less model.
Sprint's version of the BlackBerry Tour carries the same $199.99 price tag, but the provider has not released a specific release date.
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)
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