Short Version: As it stands, the BlackBerry Tour 9630 is the best smartphone available for Verizon Wireless customers. It’s a mash-up of the AT&T BlackBerry Bold and T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8900. One would think that this would lead to the perfect BlackBerry, but it has one glaring flaw and it isn’t one that you can get over quickly, if ever.
Review:
I hate to say it, but the Tour feels good in the hand. It has the weight (4.7 ounces) of the old 8800 series but the looks of the newfangled chrome and black motif BlackBerrys you see today (re: Storm, Bold, Curve 8900). Even the carbon fiber-like back plate is gorgeous. It’s visually stunning.
But then you get to the keyboard. At first, I thought it was the greatest keyboard to ever come out of Waterloo, but that reaction quickly subsided once I started to peck away. Notice those chrome-like bands in between the row of keys? They suck. The height of said bands are almost the same height as the keys themselves, leaving you little to no feedback when typing. If I closed my eyes and tried to type I have no idea what my fingers are tapping on. There’s no separation between the keys like the Curve 8900 and they feel like the Bold’s keyboard, but they’re squished together with very little distinction. It’s a shame, really.
The trackball is recessed a tad more than the Curve 8900, but its not burrowing into the device, so that’s a plus.
Call quality is what you’d expect from a BlackBerry device: great. A hint of background noise can be heard from whomever you’re speaking with, but it’s tolerable and barely noticeable. I managed to squeak out over six hours of talk time, which is pretty good for any device. Verizon does boast the largest 3G network in the country. Calls over Bluetooth were just as good.
RIM has nailed down the screens as of late but the Tour’s screen, while bright and gorgeous, is uber sensitive to the slightest amount of finger-on-screen action. But it’s no more sensitive than the Curve 8900, which I also noted had a sensitive screen. I worry about my keys easily puncturing the screen. You may want to invest in a screen protector of some sort just in case.
Equipped with the same 3.2-megapixel auto-focusing camera as the Curve 8900, the Tour differs from that model with the shutter sound. It’s more DSLR-like whereas the Curve 8900’s shutter sounds like a point-and-shoot. Picture quality is what you’ve come to expect: it’s not great, but it’s far from terrible.
Like the Storm and past 8800 series devices, the Tour is also a world phone. That means it comes equipped with a Verizon/Vodafone branded SIM card. Buyer beware: the Tour has no Wi-Fi so it can’t roam from wireless network to wireless network like T-Mobile BlackBerrys. You’ll have a hefty bill when you get back from your trip overseas. You can, however, get it unlocked after your initial 60 days with the Tour on Verizon.
The web browser still sucks. But you already knew that.
Video playback is simple and the high-res screen is impeccable as it is on the Curve 8900. You can download music tracks via V Cast and Rhapsody if that’s your thing. With a straight out of the box Tour there’s roughly 115MB of onboard storage but it accepts up to a 16GB microSD card and comes with a 2GB to get things going.
As a long time BlackBerry user I can tell you that there’s very little difference between the 4.6 OS and 4.7 OS. BlackBerry Messenger looks a little better with updated emoticons but little else.
And yes the GPS is ‘unlocked’ as Verizon has been notorious for locking customers into using VZ Navigator. You can download Google Maps and be on your merry way.
Conclusion
Shortcomings aside, the BlackBerry Tour 9630 is the best smartphone available on the Verizon Wireless network. However, as I pointed out earlier, the keyboard is a bit janky. The BlackBerry Tour 9630 is available now from Verizon Wireless for $200 with or without the camera.
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So the metal separators between the rows of keys are the 1 glaring flaw?
Pretty much. Not having Wi-Fi is a bummer, but it’s Verizon so I don’t expect it.
I have no issue at all with the keyboard on my tour. I think it’s great. I can’t touch the metal separators even if I press my hardest on the keys.
If thats the only flaw, sounds like a stellar device!
I’m trying out the Verizon Tour as i type. Having owned several other models of BB, i have to say this one is the best to date.
My only gripe (besides the 1989 browser technology) is with the size. I wish it were a more pocketable size like the Curve (8900). The size of the Tour falls somewhere between the Curve and Bold. Nonetheless, it feels great in the hand and manages to do what a BB owner expects it to do – make messaging seamless, accessible and fast.
I wonder what RIM’s excuse is for that browser…
Who cares? Throw Opera Mini on it and be done with it.
When do you think BB will catch up with Nokia with crisps photo images and videos that can actually be watched?
All of the BlackBerrys in the last year do a great job streaming video and displaying images. Especially the Curve 8900 and Tour.
Need assistance: trying to make a decision on if this new BB is better than the new iPhone 3GS, for ease of use, web browsing, and coverage of provider. Just moved back stateside and need some value added advice. Thanks!
Hey there. My primary phone is the iPhone, but because of coverage concerns in my area as well as the shoddy/spotty coverage of the iPhone (signal irratically goes in/out of 3G all day long) i’m trying out the Tour on Verizon.
I love the Tour, but from a usability perspective (ease of use) you can’t beat the iPhone. Same holds true with the multimedia and web browsing capabilities.
If you have good ATT coverage in your area and are most interested in web browsing and ease of use, go with the iPhone. If coverage is an issue and you’re more interested in good messaging capabilities, go with the Tour.
But at the end of the day…both providers offer you a 30 day trial period to try things out. So there’s no risk to give them both a try and see which one wins.
Good luck
Talking about the 30 day trial period you don’t get a
full 30 to try it out. They count the days before it gets to you as part of the 30 days. Guess the only
way is to get it directly from the store. The short of it
is don’t order it online.
hard to answer. For web browsing, go with an iPhone. For coverage and a solid provider, go with a BB.
I’m really fighting hard not to buy this thing. The only thing that stops me is the thought that this thing really doesn’t offer much over my current Berry.
When I read the feature list, its about the same as the BB I already have. No thanks….nice phone though.
having the same concerns – more onboard memory and faster processor than the curve, but otherwise pretty much the same thing but better looking…is it that much better?
If you’re on Verizon then this is the BB to get. Bottom line.
The Blackberry OS is antiquated. 256MB of ram for apps? Puh-lease. Clunky nonsensical layers of menus to do pretty much anything. No wi-fi is a showstopper for lots of people who get no reception in large corporate buildings. Plus its just user hostile for Verizon to cut wi-fi from this device. Verizon would have the same issues as AT&T if they had the iPhone with very heavy data usage on their network. I find in most major cities in the U.S. there is no difference in reception between Verizon and AT&T. In more rural areas AT&T sucks. I type just as well, maybe better on the iPhone 3GS using both thumbs on the widescreen keyboard as on any Blackberry and I have had Blackberrys for many years, long before they were phones. Opera mini is still not even close to the iPhone browser. The Blackberry is a poor media device and GPS and Google Maps on the BB are nowhere near as good as the iPhone. The fact that so many people who use Verizon are thrilled about the Tour is more a reflection of the very poor selection of phones on Verizon than anything else. The iPhone app store is a very big deal and BB is not even close to competing in quality, quantity or capability of iPhone apps.
Two points I really agree with is the lack of ram and the poor Verizon phone selection. By now RAM should not be an issue it is 2009 after all. My thoughts are that since most of the world is GSM there are limited manufactures who want to develop CDMA phones, plus Verizon is borderline communist. One final note BB needs to make nice with Adobe.
The Sprint version of the Tour has the silver bands recessed so that each row is quite distinct.
Verizon must not be paying attention.
I can live with the silver band. It does not come into play when I type….
jr
This is my first bb, I have been using windows mobile before.
I think this keyboard is great. I have never used the wifi on my old phone so I won’t miss it. I don’t get why that has anything to do with roaming,though ?! does the vodaphone sim limit me to vodaphone networks in countries where available? Even so, I get local sims anyway. What I don’t like is pushing on the trackball, I have to be carefull not to hit another key. I love this phone otherwise. I got the storm first and returned it. I am tired of touchscreens . This phone is the most responsive phone I had in years. Its not wasting my time with little animations , fade ins and slides etc. I am hooked on bb now like all my coworkers .
Great phone, looks professional, feels professional, and it is very professional in how it works. Iphone isn’t professional, my little 18 year old brother has an Iphone. If you’re a business man/woman the blackberry is what you want to get. Don’t our president have a BB??
Sucky bands on the keyboard? I don’t think so.
You want sucky keyboard try the Omnia. Worst text entry I’ve ever seen. So what if it’s got a great camera if you can’t hardly see what you’re typing on it.