BlackBerry Tour from Verizon

BlackBerry Tour from Verizon

When Verizon sent me the new BlackBerry Tour to review, I was pretty excited. This phone has the traditional excellence of BlackBerry’s email and messaging, a QWERTY keyboard, and a sturdy build, but it is also updated. Although the changes are minor, some make a major difference. For instance, I really liked the new design — not too big and not too small, with rounded corners and a great feel in the hand.

All-in-all, it’s a capable phone. It has a really great screen and a good camera and music player. It even does a great job at playing videos, if you are able to watch them on the small screen. The biggest negatives are that the BlackBerry OS is getting a bit dated, especially when compared to newer smart phones like the iPhone and the Pre and the Tour does not have Wi-Fi. Here are my general conclusions and Pros and Cons:

Conclusions

The BlackBerry Tour is the best CDMA BlackBerry that I’ve tested. Even with an aging operating system, it is quite functional as either a personal or business smart phone. The poor browser is offset by applications like Facebook, Flick3r and MySpace that allow you to access much-used web applications without actually using the browser. Phoning, e-mailing, messaging, and other functions work well as does the visual voicemail. The Tour is an excellent choice and all of the things we found wrong with it are minor, except for the lack of Wi-Fi, which will be a deal-breaker for some.

Pros

• Excellent screen
• Good keyboard
• Very Good Design
• Great feel in hand
• Good selection of apps for social networking, instant messaging
• MicroSD Card
• Good IM and social networking applications
• Good camera and video
• Accessories include a variety of plugs and a 2 GB MicroSD card

Cons

• No Wi-Fi
• Small screen
• Aggravating nested menus
• Inconsistencies in menu choices across the platform
• Poor web browser
• Keyboard needs dedicated @ and period keys

My full review including detailed pictures is at: Hardware Secrets.