[qronos]

I have to admit, I snagged the title from a negative review on Amazon. Like a fool, even after seeing that review, I bought the Tour anyway and switched from my 8900.

I thought Verizon was supposed to be the best network? I found a few serious issues, not sure if they were Verizon or Tour related. I tried the phone in several locations, most of them with full service over the course of 2 weeks:

1. Sound Quality - When I was speaking everyone was telling me I sounded muffled, like I had a mouth full of crackers or something. My wife also got a Tour, and she complained to me about the same thing. The receiving quality was also below average - everything sounded like garbage compared to my 8900.

2. Verizon data network - SLOW. Edge on TMO was about the same. I am assuming this is a Verizon issue, probably overloading on their network. My 8900 was snappier.

3. Battery - A joke. If you crank on GPS and Bluetooth, it doesn't even last half a day. My 8900 would last at least 24 hours with everything running and constant use (and most other BB's I've owned were much better than that).

I'll miss the keyboard and the overall build quality - it looks a bit slicker than the 8900, but everything was an epic fail for me with this phone.

Same exact issues with my wife's. Interesting to note: She had a loose, rickety battery door. I didn't, the build quality on the one I got was great. IF it wasn't for the sound quality, it'd be a decent phone.

Both are headed back to Amazon tommorrow, and I already reactivated on TMO.

Anyone else just overall unhappy with this thing?

I am really surprised. I went from a blackberry 7100 to 7130 to 8100 (two of those, broke the first), and then the G1 for a week (straight to eBay for that), Pearl Flip (too laggy, but a cool phone), and finally the 8900 (my fav so far).

None of the other phones I listed there sounded as crummy as the Tour.

[akosnitzky]

Wirelessly posted (Its All About the U!)

The device has had its issues. Many of your comments are fair. I am still on the fence what I will do. In defense of Verizon, this product is off to a much better start than the Storm

[complexx]

I have to agree, I'm not really fond of the audio quality of the speaker output on this phone. However, I haven't had anyone complain about how I sound when making calls from it.

And I'll also note that it seems that the rate at which Verizon is getting new BB's is simply too fast for the development team to handle. These devices seem to be falling in the build quality department and the OS quality department. From my 8830, to my 8330, to my 9630, I find more flaws in both build quality and OS function. I've also had a 9530 but I kind of look at that device as experimental as it was such a drastic offshoot from a typical BB device and don't include it's quality in my overall view of RIM products. I'm fairly happy with my 9630, however I would be much more pleased to have the build quality that the 8830 had.

[mattu408]

Although I've had my issues with the Tour (I'm on my second), I'd say overall it is a decent quality phone. I'm pretty heavy on SMS/MMS and BBM's, a few emails, some web browsing, lots of FaceBook, ScoreMobile, AP News, and a little Google Maps, about 20 minutes of talk, and my first charge lasted a little over 24 hours (I'm at 10% right now waiting for it to completely die to recharge). Before I turned on Enhanced Audio, the sound quality was a little sketchy, but ever since, it's been great. The speaker phone quality is very good. I haven't had a single complaint about my sound quality on the other end. I just think it takes you getting the right one, as my first one had several issues.

[ArgonNJ]

Originally Posted by qronos

Verizon data network - SLOW. Edge on TMO was about the same. I am assuming this is a Verizon issue, probably overloading on their network.

Yup. The more customers you try to cram on your network, the more everyone suffers. Verizon may have the largest network, but when you have as many users as they do, you're not really getting what they advertise. Just wait and see what happens if Verizon ever gets the iphone. ATT is in the same boat, I had much better service on #3 Sprint, since they had less users.

[mastdog]

Originally Posted by akosnitzky

Wirelessly posted (Its All About the U!)

In defense of Verizon, this product is off to a much better start than the Storm

Wow, that is like saying, "Well the ship is sinking, but at least the hole is not as big as if we hit an Iceberg"

The Storm was a piece of junk, and it appears the Tour is now too. RIM better be ready if the iPhone hits Verizon, RIM will be out of a lot of users, and phone sales.

[Fletchi18]

A user at the firm I work at bought 2 Tours (one for herself and one for her husband) and she reported the same muffled sound issue mentioned here. I have not heard back from her after she exchanged the devices for new Tours.