[ffejie]

Verizon BlackBerry Tour review

"Put simply, the BlackBerry Tour is far and away the best CDMA BlackBerry available, and it could very well might be the best BlackBerry period if not for a few shortcomings. At this point in the game, we're still in denial that there isn't WiFi in this device -- it's inexcusable. We're well aware of Verizon's stance on the matter, and we still think it's ridiculous that they're allowing RIM to offer a device in this category that doesn't offer such a basic, universal feature, seemingly in an effort to increase reliance on WWAN data services and juice customers for a few extra bucks in data revenue. We're also disappointed that the screen doesn't make the most of the available real estate and that it seems excessively sensitive. Bottom line, if you're a CDMA user and plan to keep things that way, the Tour is definitely the best BlackBerry available -- and it will probably be that way for a long time to come."

[akosnitzky]

Thank you

[michael12005]

Useful review, thanks for posting.

[rambo47]

Very encouraging review! Especially for someone like me who gave up his Bold and AT&T for Sprint and the 8330. I love the Curve's overall size, but MAN, do I miss the Bold's keypad!

I love the idea of WiFi, but in truth I never really use it. So lack of WiFi is a very minor detail for me. I'm happy to hear that Engadget likes the build quality, the only thing that could have possibly kept me from jumping on the Tour on day 1 of it's availability.

[whenimcool]

What do you think they mean by "seems excessively sensitive" ?

[2 Samuel 22]

Originally Posted by whenimcool

What do you think they mean by "seems excessively sensitive" ?

Early (pre-release/eval units) 9630 screens seem to be prone to flexing when you press the Send/Menu/Trackball/Escape/End keys, which are along the bottom of the screen.

When you push these keys, the screen distorts slightly, similar to when you push on an LCD screen. Previous Blackberry devices, including the Bold and Storm did not do this unless you pressed fairly hard on the screens.

[akosnitzky]

This was similiar rhetoric when the 8830 came out because we were so used the ruggedness of the 7xxx models

[2 Samuel 22]

Agreed, the 7xxx series were tanks. As the BB models have progressed, durability appears to be eroding.

[jsntrenkler]

Originally Posted by 2 Samuel 22

Agreed, the 7xxx series were tanks. As the BB models have progressed, durability appears to be eroding.

I agree as well! ... I hope the flex issue isn't too evident, that might drive me crazy.