| Brand: | BlackBerry | ||
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The feature-packed and highly refined BlackBerry Tour 9630 world phone for Verizon Wireless keeps you connected and lets you roam the globe in style. In addition to accessing the reliable and fast Verizon Wireless voice and data network, the Tour is also compatible with 3G-enabled GSM networks outside the United States, giving you the option to make phone calls in 220 countries and to access email and Internet in any of the 175 countries where Verizon Wireless provides data roaming services.
Roam where you want to with the BlackBerry Tour 3G world phone, which provides the option to make phone calls in 220 countries and to access email/Internet in any of the 175 countries where Verizon Wireless provides data roaming services. |
The Tour comes packed with all the communication and professional functionality you expect from a BlackBerry device, including a push-based mobile solution for email and access to Microsoft Office files. It’s also compatible with Verizon’s V Cast Music Service, which enables you to purchase songs through your phone and download them via Verizon’s fast 3G EV-DO data network. You’ll stay on course thanks to the VZ Navigator GPS turn-by-turn direction service, as well as be able to find your way in foreign destination using the VZ Navigator Global service. And with the optional Visual Voice Mail service, you’ll be able to quickly and easily scroll through your messages and pick the ones you want to listen to.
The BlackBerry Tour includes a large, highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard and a large 2.4-inch display with one of the highest resolutions available yet on a BlackBerry device. Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with geo-tagging capabilities, Bluetooth connectivity for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (a 2 GB card is included), easy access to favorite social networking and instant messaging services, support for BlackBerry App World, and up to 5 hours of talk time.
Dual Connectivity
Perfect for the fashionable world-traveling professional, the BlackBerry Tour and Verizon Wireless’ Global BlackBerry service allow customers to access e-mail and place and receive domestic and international calls in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and parts of Africa. When used at home here in the U.S., you’ll connect to Verizon’s 800/1900 MHz CDMA network, as well as its 1xEV-DO 3G high-speed data network–which offers download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps and peak rates up to 2 Mbps. (Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.)
But when you’re traveling within a GSM network coverage area outside of the U.S. provided by Verizon Wireless’ global roaming partners, the quad-band GSM-enabled Tour provides easy voice connectivity while roaming the globe. Additionally, it provides global 3G connectivity (2100 MHz UMTS) for fast access to the Internet, data and more when traveling outside the United States. It comes with a pre-installed SIM card.
Stay connected with a push-based mobile solution for e-mail, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS), and social networking (see larger version). |
Other features include GPS location services, a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with geo-tagging capabilities, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, MicroSD expansion (with included 2 GB card). |
Verizon Services
With this GPS-enabled phone, you’ll be able to access the Verizon Wireless VZ Navigator service (additional charges applicable) for voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, heads-up alerts, local search of nearly 14 million points of interest in the US (such as landmarks, restaurants and ATMs), and detailed color maps.
Additionally, this phone is compatible with the VZ Navigator Global service, which enables you to find locations and access turn-by-turn directions in North America and Western Europe, including Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (with more being added). Helping to alleviate stress or confusion caused by reading road signs or directions in an unfamiliar language, VZ Navigator Global allows you to choose either English or Spanish as the default language, and miles or kilometers to mark distances. You’ll also be able to find restaurants, gas stations, banks/ATMs and other popular spots in these countries using Local Search.
With Mobile Broadband Connect (subscription required), you can use your smartphone as a modem for your notebook when you connect the two using a USB cable–or open a Bluetooth connection–enabling you to access the Internet or your company intranet. The tethered modem capability is ideal when you’re traveling and need to use your notebook to check email, access corporate networks, or download large files like presentations and reports. And with Mobile Broadband Connect, you won’t have to buy an extra PC Card or other devices. Additional subscription charges applicable.
With Visual Voice Mail, you can delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions. Visual Voice Mail is the ideal tool for the busy mobile professional who may need to prioritize which messages he or she listens to first. Features include on-screen access to voice mail message status, save up to 40 messages for 40 days (or archive permanently), create up to 10 different caller ID-based greetings, and reply via call back, text or even voice mail.
The V Cast Music service enables you to download songs instantly to your phone, or purchase music through your PC and transfer the files to your phone. If purchased from your phone, you’ll receive two copies of the song: a Windows Media Audio Pro Plus format at 64Kbps stereo is sent to your phone, and a Windows Media Audio 9 format at 160Kbps stereo is sent to your account in the V CAST Music online store for downloading to your PC. V Cast Music offers nearly 2 million songs, with more being added all the time.
In addition to the V Cast Music service, this phone is also compatible with the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music with Rhapsody, which enables you to access this exclusive digital music service for RealNetworks and for MTV Networks. V CAST Music with Rhapsody delivers unlimited monthly access to music on up to three Rhapsody-compatible mobile phones and players and online on multiple PCs and Web browsers. In addition, customers who purchase music over-the-air are able to download the master copy of the songs or albums to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where music can be played.
Phone Features
The BlackBerry Tour 9630 features a chic black finish with chrome highlights surrounding its sleek design and a bright 2.4-inch display that delivers the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi)–presenting pictures, web pages and videos with incredible clarity. The Tour includes a trackball navigation system located on the top of the QWERTY keypad with finely sculpted keys for fast and precise typing. It also features an integrated spell checker with a customizable dictionary to help maintain accuracy while on the go.
It offers premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, and a low-distortion speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking–surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server (additional charges or subscription applicable).
With BlackBerry push technology, you don’t need to retrieve your e-mail. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, allowing you to be discreetly notified as new e-mail arrives. Support is also built-in for viewing e-mail attachments (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and PDF formats).
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With the BlackBerry Internet Service, you’ll be able to easily access up to 10 supported personal and work email accounts, send and receive text and instant messages, and connect on popular social networking sites with friends, family and co-workers. It’s also compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which provides advanced security and IT administration features within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.
In addition to the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution, the Tour supports text (SMS), picture (MMS) and instant messaging (IM) on today’s most popular platforms as well as social networking sites. Take your social life on-the-go with Facebook for BlackBerry and Flickr Photo Uploader for BlackBerry application. A Mobile IM feature provides access to Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo!, Windows Live, and AIM instant messaging services.
The media player can play movies smoothly in full-screen mode, display pictures and slideshows quickly and manage an entire music and video collection, and with BlackBerry Media Sync you can quickly and easily sync music from iTunes and Windows Media Player with the smartphone. The Tour comes with a 256 MB flash memory (and 256 MB of RAM), and the device is expandable via MicroSD/SDHC memory cards up to 16 GB in size (a 2 GB card is included with the Tour).
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Other features include:
- 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, image stabilization, 2x digital zoom, geo-tagging capabilities, and video capture
- Support for BlackBerry App World, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking and sharing, news and weather, and more.
- Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go, allowing you to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset.
- BlackBerry 4.7 Desktop Software with integrated email, phone, SMS, browser, calendar, address book, and additional organizer applications
- English, French and Spanish language support
- Ring Tones: 32 Polyphonic + vibrate (MIDI, MP3)
- Password protection and keyboard lock
- 3.5mm stereo headset jack
- Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264 (encoding and decoding 30fps), WMV
- Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus
- Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3
Vital Statistics
The BlackBerry Tour 9630 weighs 4.58 ounces and measures 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches. Its 1400 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of talk time, and up to 336 hours (14 days) of standby time. It runs on the 800/1900 MHz CDMA frequencies and is compatible with the EV-DO 3G data network when on the Verizon network in the US; in international territories, it’s compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks as well as 2100 MHz 3G (UMTS) networks. more info
Popularity: 25% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
VERY SAD…..
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I read on Crackberry.com ‘replacing your Curve with the Tour is a no brainer – too bad it didn’t have WiFi’.
Didn’t have WiFi – as if the phone would be worth a dime it it did?!
I sadly don’t think so.
I have had my ‘Tour’ now for a week.
The Tour won’t download FoxNewsMobile, CNN Mobile or any other mobile application outside of proprietary applications.
Further, I use a Plantronics Bluetooth that had zero issues with the Curve but cannot be used with the Tour as nobody can hear you.
As far as the phone functionality – I am repeatedly asked if I have people on speakerphone!!
I have rated the phone one star as it has been a complete waste of time (probably a full day of sitting in the Verizon store flipping contacts, emails and IM’s as well as trying to setup the home screen to a format that was half as functional as the curve).
Sadly, I have to sit on old technology because RIM can no longer compete apparently.
I was truly hoping to rave that the Iphone holds no merit to my new Blackberry – I can’t even keep it…
Save a headache – Don’t waste your time.
Great for email, okay as a phone
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
BlackBerry is not Apple. I say that because I really wanted an iPhone, but would not give up my Verizon service for AT&T, so I compromised by buying an iPod Touch and getting the Tour for email and phone calls. I am happy with my Tour, which I have been using for a month, subject to some points that I will discuss below.
Phone: The Tour is bulkier than an iPhone and any number of other phones. Also, since the microphone is inexplicably on the bottom of the phone facing downward instead of facing upward like the earpiece (as on every other phone that I have ever owned), I have to angle just right so that people can hear me clearly. There seem to be mixed opinions as to voice clarity, which I would say is very good–so long as you hold the phone properly.
Keyboard: I know someone who bought this just to send text messages, and has no data plan to retrieve email or use the internet. I think that is a mistake. The keys on my old Samsung u-740, for example, were larger and easier to send text messages with. Of course you can text message with the Tour, but if that is all you are going to use it for, consider buying a different phone.
Email: This is where BlackBerry shines. Another review has complained about problems sorting email into folders, but I have no such concern. I have four different email accounts. The Tour gives me the option to delete an email only on the Tour or on my computer as well. If something needs to be saved, then I preserve it on my computer and put it into the appropriate folder there (typically my work emails). I like being able to retrieve all my emails and delete them pretty effortlessly (the retrieval and deletion process is much easier than on my iPod Touch, which I used to use when a wifi connection was available.)
Trackball: The trackball works great, though like any trackball, it can “stick.” So far not a big deal, but something to keep in mind.
Camera: Nothing fancy, though the flash does come in handy at night.
Music: Playing music without headphones sounds very decent on the Tour, much like the old transistor radios. Volume is sufficiently loud that when I was doing some house cleaning recently, I could hear the music in the next room.
Apps: Apple is light years ahead when it comes to purchasing apps both in ease of purchase and variety available.
To purchase apps for the Tour, you need to download App World, which is free, and can do so either on the BlackBerry or using Desktop Manager on a PC (I am still waiting for a Desktop Manager for my Mac; the software is supposed to come out this September). But you can buy apps only on your BlackBerry (Apple lets me buy apps for my Touch either on the Touch itself or using iTunes on my laptop). In addition, you cannot buy apps unless you have a Paypal account. As for variety, the apps available for the Tour pale by comparison with what I can get for my Touch.
But there is a serious problem that affects some Tour users, including me. I am not able to buy a single app because I get an error 10,000 message when I try. BlackBerry blames Paypal, but I have no problem downloading free apps on my Tour or using Paypal for non BlackBerry purchases.
In any event, purchasing apps was not a major consideration for me, but if it is for you, then keep in mind that you may not be able to purchase anything until BlackBerry fixes the problem that affects some, but not all, Tour users.
Contacts: I used a program called Missing Sync to import all of the contacts from the address book on my Mac to my Tour. That program enabled me to transfer not just the contacts, but also the categories that I had created for the contacts (e.g restaurants, lodging, etc.).
Screen resolution: The screen is absolutely beautiful looking with vibrant colors. Although only five icons can be displayed on the main screen, there are themes for the Tour that can be downloaded from the internet (both free and pay ones) that permit you to have more icons, display appointments, weather etc.
Internet: The screen is really too small to make internet surfing something you want to do for any length of time on the Tour, and the connection is also not particularly fast. Having said that, accessing the internet is relatively easy, and it is convenient to be able to do so when you don’t have access to a computer and just need to check something quickly (like a movie schedule, or restaurant web site).
Some suggestions: 1. Buy the charging pod (which I have reviewed on Amazon), which charges the Tour by using the contacts on the battery cover rather than the micro USB port on the side of the Tour. Of course, you still need to plug the included charger into the pod, but you only have to do that once. It’s a lot simpler for me to take the Tour in and out of the Pod multiple times a day as opposed to unplugging and replugging the micro USB cord into the side of the Tour.
2. If you like to carry the Tour in your pocket, buy the pouch (which I have reviewed on Amazon). The included holster is just too bulky even if you remove the belt clip. The pouch helps to preserve battery life by automatically turning off the screen when the Tour is in the pouch.
3. To preserve battery life, set the Tour to go on and off at different times (mine is set to turn off at 11pm and go back on at 6am on weekdays, and on a different schedule on weekends).
4. If you have a technical problem, call the phone company who sold you the phone. Verizon, for example, has their own BlackBerry department, and if they can’t figure it out, they will put you in touch directly with BlackBerry. Note that there is no free phone support directly with BlackBerry, so if you don’t go through your phone company, you have to pay for phone support from BlackBerry.
5. Buy a screen protector. An inexpensive one will work fine (I reviewed one on Amazon). Before I bought one, I somehow scratched the screen even though I was being super careful.
Bottom line: I like the Tour a lot, but did not give it five stars because of the different issues that I discussed above. For email it is great. But if getting email is not your primary concern, I would get another phone.
Update September 19, 2009: After tweaking various sound settings, I can now talk on the phone and be heard clearly without having to hold the phone at a special angle. On the other hand, after going through the highest level of BlackBerry tech support, I still cannot buy any apps. In any event, as I said above, if you are not going to use the Tour to retrieve email, then I would still get another phone.
Update September 24, 2009: I have substantially extended battery life by changing one simple setting. Go to Options, Screen/Keyboard, Backlight Brightness and change the setting to 10 (the lowest one). In practice you will notice little difference from the default setting of 100, but there will be a dramatic improvement in battery life. As a further tweak, change Backlight Timeout to 10.
Update September 30, 2009: At the suggestion of BlackBerry tech support, I created a brand new Paypal account in addition to the one that I already had. With the new account I am now able to buy apps. For whatever reason, even though I still use the original Paypal account to make internet purchases without any problem, it does not work for buying apps. But since I can use my second Paypal account to buy apps, it doesn’t matter to me why this is so.
A great Blackberry
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is really a great Blackberry, that can be made excellent with a (relatively) simple software upgrade by RIM. First the good, this device runs the same OS as the storm (4.7) modified to work on a non-touchscreen. This time around RIM has worked out nearly all the software and hardware defects that plagued the Storm. The Tour is faster, not prone to defects (though I’ve heard of some trackball issues), has clear call quality, the charger plug is in a better position, a good camera/camcorder and a fairly nice speaker for a phone.
It sounds pretty good right? And in most ways it is a great phone. It’s glaring problem is the lack of WiFi. I hear people say Verizon’s 3G is fast enough that that doesn’t matter. Often that’s true. My Curve didn’t need WiFi because Verizon’s network worked even indoors. This phone has a major issue with reception. Reception is sporadic. I can be sitting in the open and watch as the bars jump for 0 to 5 to 2, etc. It even looses 3G and reverts to the painfully slow 1X network, or sometime looses the signal altogether. Aside from killing battery life this means it drops calls and you can forget about things like web surfing and e-mail. At first I thought OK, maybe this area is congested or something. So I tried reactivating my Curve, and sure enough the curve had 5 bars. Next I exchanged my Tour to see if maybe I had a defective one (it happens to the best phones). Nope, same issue with reception. Clearly this is an issue with the Tour. On the bright side, i believe it’s a software issue that can be fixed by RIM. That’s according to a friend who works at RIM. Additionally I tried a beta version of RIMs next OS (5.0) and the problem was fixed. So there is hope, but it might be awhile.
So if you can deal with spotty reception or manage to get one that doesn’t have reception issues, this is a great Blackberry. Sadly Blackberry’s are internet devices so with no WiFi and poor reception you loose a good chunk of what makes a BB worth the money. My suggestion is to wait for the next generation of Blackberry’s on Verizon, that will have OS 5.0 and WiFi.
I am really enjoying my Blackberry Tour
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I am really enjoying my bb. This is my first one, and I am amazed at the options that you have with it. I am now enjoying being able to get my emails on time, news, and anything that you may need as far as the internet. There are some time, but not a lot when it may take a few moments longer to get information while on the internet(that may vary depending on the location), but otherwise I am loving my phone. I purchased the Ipod Touch so that I would not have all my information,music on one. (In the event it gets dropped). I have had the Palm treo before and I was not happy with that, my last phone prior to the Tour was the LG Dare. When I compare the phones, I really will have to favor the bb because of all the things that you can do with it. I would recommend this phone to someone. I purchased my phone last month and I am glad that I did. My husband tells me that he is jealous, that I spend so much time with my Tour. I am glad that I purchased this.
This SmartPhone is Impressingly Smart
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just got my BlackBerry Tour 9630 from Verizon Wireless yesterday. This is my first BlackBerry (and my first smartphone). So far, this phone works great. I have read so many discouraging reviews here on Amazon that I almost wanted to skip this phone. But I’m glad that I went with my gut feelings on this one. Many reviewers complained about muffled voices. That was the first thing I looked into right after I got mine activated, up and running. I can confidently say that there is no truth to it at all. The voice clarity is impressive. I can hear the people I speak to very clearly without having to position my phone a certain way (as was suggested by someone here). The folks on the other end didn’t have any problems hearing me (and yes, I did repeatedly ask them if my voice was hard to hear/understand, and that hasn’t been a problem at all). Another common problem reported from Amazon reviewers about this phone is in regards specifically to the trackball. Some reviewers claimed to have had to send back their third BlackBerry Tour because they couldn’t seem to get the trackball to move as smoothly and easily as they would like it. Well, this problem can be easily fixed by going into the phone’s Option menu where you could set the trackball’s sensitivity level to your liking. I found that mine was set at level 20 for both “horizontal” and “vertical” movements(perhaps factory default setting) and the trackball was somewhat of a challenge to use at level 20. But once I increased the sensitivity levels, the trackball was so much easier to use (I now have mine set at level 70 for both “horizontal” and “vertical” movements). You just need to play around with the various options in the phone’s menu. Also, the Navigation system works wonders too. I especially enjoy using yahoo instant messenger on this phone and checking/sending emails. Web browsing is fast and easy. This phone is simply too good to be true. I highly recommend it.
Terrible speaker buzz
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I purchased this phone two weeks ago. 5 days ago I started hearing a buzz in the speaker during calls. Almost like the metal mesh is vibrating as people talk. It’s only gotten worse over the past day. I’m getting a replacement phone sent, but I have low expections that it will last in the long term.
I have not had any complaints from people I call about sound quality. I also have been happy with the speed and functionality of accessing e-mail and internet pages. I like the form factor of the Tour better than the Curve, but if the call quality is terrible, it is worthless to me.
Think Twice Before Buying any Phone from Verizon
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have no general complaints with this phone when it works. It has a nice screen and a fast web browser for a Blackberry. The major problem with the phone is a trackball that hardly scrolls horizontally. (which unfortunately is needed for basic top level navigation of the phone’s features). When I took the phone back to the store to complain about the problem, I was told by the rep that there are known issues with this model’s trackball (and specifically the horizontal scroll). I was also told that it is made in several different countries and that the the phones that were made in Canada seem to be the most reliable (take that for what its worth).
What prospective buyers should beware of is dealing with Verizon Wireless. In my opinion, they have extremely unethical business practices and customer service reps that are not empowered to actually help customers with problems. Despite the fact that I have a long-term relationship with this vendor and that I am an extremely profitable client for them, they have twice refused to provide me with a new replacement phone. They will instead offer to send you a refurbished phone, which in my experience at least, means that your replacement phone will have something wrong with it as well (and which has a higher chance of breaking again in the future). I’m on my second try now and they still refuse to send me a new replacement for a phone that never worked.
My advice to prospective buyers of this phone would be:
1) Put it on a credit card, and if you ultimately have an issue with 60 to 90 days, tell Verizon that you will charge back the purchase if they don’t live up to their end of the deal. If they refuse to handle the issue to your satisfaction, call your credit card company and initiate the charge back process. (Unfortunately, I can’t do this as it had to be provisioned through my company.)
2) Consider a smart phone on an alternate provider (perhaps the IPhone with AT&T if you don’t need it for serious business use).
Two defective Tours and now on a third one is being sent . . .
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’m about to completely give up on Blackberry. I had a Curve for over a year and, when the trackball on that finally died, I moved over to the Tour. Since then, I’ve had nothing but problems with the horribly designed and defective trackball. The first one simply never worked and Verizon replaced it. It didn’t take long for the trackball on the second unit to also start acting up. After dealing with that for a few weeks, a relative called me who also has a tour and asked me if I was having problems with the trackball. Both of us ended up going to the Verizon store (again) and getting our Tour’s replaced once more. While I haven’t had the problem, I do know that my relative’s tour has have very poor audio – I can barely understand him (if at all), when he calls his voice is muffled and often unintelligible.
I have since looked around the ‘net only to find that many are also have problems with others not being able to understand them (as their Tour’s provide a muffled/unitenlligible signal) and the problem with the trackball is very, very significant. This is obviously a very serious design problem (the trackballs on both of my Tours won’t scroll horizontally, but work fine vertically – which is the problem that so many others are also reporting).
If the phone worked properly, I would have easily given it a rating of five starts. As I’m now waiting for my third phone to arrive, I am quite apprehensive. If that one doesn’t work, I’m dumping Blackberry for good – I’m tired of dealing with a poorly designed and tested phone.
Worst BB Ever
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I have been a BB user for years and used many devices on many carriers in my time. The Blackberry Tour 9630 is by far the worst phone ever made by RIM. Let’s start with the most obvious flaw… the trackball. It doesn’t work. Period. There is a serious manufacturing issue with this phone and none of them have working trackballs. I have had mine replaced more times than I can count and I still don’t have a working phone.
The keyboard is poorly designed. I came from the 8830 WE, and there is no comparison. I do like the keys all being together more than say the Curve, but the indicidual buttons on the Tour do not have ridges like the 8830 WE. They have odd little despressions on the corners that make it very hard to type on, plus the keyboard being smaller than the 8830 WE.
The speed of the phone while using the OS is very slow. Slower than the Curve or 8830 WE. I am not sure how they accomplished this with supposedly better hardware in the Tour, but they did.
Stay away from this phone if you want one that will actually work.
A flawed device
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I really, really *wanted* to like the Blackberry Tour. I’m committed to Verizon and, as much as I’d love an iPhone or a Palm Pre, I won’t switch cellphone providers just to get one. I was interested in the Blackberry Storm when it first came out but — after reading the reviews and playing with one that was purchased by a friend who’s also a committed to Verizon — I realized that it wasn’t at all what I wanted, that RIM hadn’t yet figured out how to do a touch-screen device.
So on the basis of reading reviews, I opted to upgrade my Pearl for a Tour a little less than a month ago.
And yesterday, I returned the Tour to Verizon and reactivated my Pearl.
Compared to the Pearl, I found the trackball on the Tour sticky and slow, sometimes downright unresponsive. The voice quality on the Tour’s earpiece — particularly when listening to Verizon voicemail — is muddy, muffled. And the phone-dialing capabilities of the device are infuriating: Sometimes pressing a number key registers, sometimes it doesn’t (typically, it took me 2-3 tries to enter a phone number), and sometimes depressing a single number key while process of entering a phone number results in calling the speed-dial entry for that number. I guess the bottom line is that the keyboard and track-ball are slow and unresponsive, and the sound quality is mediocre to poor … and the thing is twice the size and weight of the Pearl, a huge brick in my pocket that gave nothing back in exchange for the extra size and weight.
So now, the Pearl is back in my pocket and I’m really appreciating it. Maybe I’ll keep it forever.
Two Tours of Doody
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I tried two Tours and couldn’t take it anymore. I got an 8830 and it actually works. Here’s my analogy…would you rather have a Mercedes (Bberry Tour) that’s in the shop, or a Toyota (8830) that you can drive? Here is my list of complaints and comments on the Tour:
1) The trackball didn’t work correctly on the first one. On both Tours, I realized I would accidentally hit the trackball when my left thumb would go to the right side of the keyboard. (For me typing the word “you” was the problem.) The “bump” would make the cursor jump in my typing and mess up the sentence. On my 8830 the trackball is farther away and I don’t have the cursor jumping issue. If your thumbs stay on their side of the keyboard, it’s likely not a problem for you.
2) The sound is horrible. Remember the old TV shows where people disguised their voices talking through a handkerchief? RIM brought that technology to the Tour! Everyone complained they couldn’t hear me…like I was muffled. (I did a test and heard it too.) And that was on the HANDSET! The speakerphone was worse because I was quiet and muffled. Bluetooth was unusuable. Really I’d say the Tour is a great device, if you don’t need to use it as a phone!
3) Battery life is horrible. After about 2 hours of talk time and maybe 5 of standby it was dead. I used to talk 8 hours on my previous bberry and it could go days on standby. What happened?
4) GPS worked great on my first one but couldn’t lock on my location in under 10 minutes on my second one. It made me realize it didn’t work on the second one correctly. Unfortuately Verizon disables the GPS on the 8830 so I didn’t win on that point. I did love the GPS with Google Maps on the Tour.
5) The media player was fine. It crashed watching certain MP4 movies but I only watched a few so I don’t know the cause.
6) Camera and video camcording were great actually…at least cell phone great.
My advice is to get the Tour, make sure you don’t have a trackball problem, and make sure you give your phone to someone else and have them call you so you know the pain that others will feel when talking to you. For me, it was unbearable to have people say “what?” 5 times per conversation. But to each his own…
How to take the “Sock” out of your mouth
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
There have been several comments related to the transmitted voice quality of this phone. I have no problem with being heard clearly, but there is a little trick to it.
Look at the bottom of the Tour phone. The pinhole is the microphone to capture your voice. It has been engineered electronically and acoustically to cancel out background noise while capturing the speaker’s voice clearly. For best results, hold the Tour 9630 so that that pinhole points at the corner of your mouth. You will be heard clearly and unwanted background noise reduced.
While working for the telephone company testboard, I frequently used a headset to allow me full use of both hands. The last one had a tube from the earpiece that served as the microphone pickup. The factory instructions were to place the tube so that it pointed at the corner of your mouth. It did not work if the tube was pointed anywhere else.
When I first tried a Blackberry, I had complaints about my audio. So I checked the phone for the location of the microphone. I then found a position for the phone that points the microphone at the corner of my mouth. For me, that is with the phone in my left hand, with my fingernails just below the temple of my glasses. Now I am heard clearly every time I use the phone. Try it. It works.
P.S. I absolutely Love this phone!
Love it!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I really love this phone. LOVE IT!!! So functional and small and lightweight. I used to own a Palm Treo 700wx. Very chunky. Plus I love that the Tour has soo many case options!! I would HIGHLY recommend this phone. Just one thing about that bugs me, about twice now it has frozen, but it was easy to fix by pulling out the battery and putting it back in. I love the way it is designed to fit in your hand.
PROS:
-Great design
-Fast
-Lightweight/Small
-Great apps
CONS:
-Froze a bit
-Trackeball is touchy
Horrible Battery Life
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I had this device for 2 weeks now… I had the old 8700 BB before this so you can imagine my excitement to finally graduate to this new device. BB has done a great job designing the Tour and packing it with all modern day features except WiFi.
My disappointment is in the battery life. All these features are great but if you run out of battery then they are useless. I knew from other reviews that this is an issue with this device but I never imagined how bad it was. 6 to 8 hours of battery life is just unrealistic especially for me. I attend many conferences where I would leave my hotel room in the morning and return late at night. Worrying about charging my BB will be a serious issue… the problem is, I can not get the Bold or the Curve 8900 from Verizon. So, i guess i need to adjust to the new battery life
EXCELLENT BLACKBERRY DEVICE
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first attempt to go to a blackberry from a standard motorola flip phone and mind you I”m no kid……..I”m a 64 year old baby boomer…….and I must tell you that I’m very glad I did…the features and benefits of the blackberry Tour 9630 are just to numerous to menchion…..In short….its like having my computer.with me in my travels…….I”m never out of touch…Emails News papers online Etc. Etc..I even added my favorite doo wop oldies music to my Blackberry to use as ringers.for all my friends and family and business needs…..On this wonderful device…….I guess Its true
that once you try a Blackberry……….you will never go back to standard cell phone……..I highly reccomend it