[Joe1004]

FYI - I don't know if anyone has seen it yet, but VZW has the Tour posted with the other BlackBerries with and without a camera.

Maybe I have missed another post, and if so, OOPS!

[akosnitzky]

No big deal. I posted it and I an sure others did well. Some companies for security purposes, do not allow cameras. Thats the market on that

[Joe1004]

The info on the site is great. I am glad to see it is going to support VCast with Rhapsody. I have kind of wanted to give a Rhapsody subscription a try and never have because I only use my Blackberry for music.

I am excited. It is all good! (Visual voice mail too!!)

[SteveO86]

Yes companies with strict security policies would be the only ones who would buy it without a camera.. I remember a year and half ago I was looking for a phone w/o a camera and it was hard :(

Of course their has to be a market for it for RIM to actually put them in full production.. probably not as much as the one with the camera however.

[Donbp]

It's been years since BB offered one without a camera. Long overdue for the people still lugging around their 8800s.

[jsconyers]

Not quite years. They did the same thing with the 8350i.

http://www.blackberrynews.com/2009/0...s-the-shelves/

[Donbp]

Oh..never knew that. Maybe because it was on Sprint.

[jsconyers]

I like that they're doing this. Now corporate/government users with strict security policies can get newer devices as well. I would like to see this become more of a trend moving forward.

[akosnitzky]

Originally Posted by jsconyers

I like that they're doing this. Now corporate/government users with strict security policies can get newer devices as well. I would like to see this become more of a trend moving forward.

Agreed. I suspect we will see less 88xx models shortly

[Joe1004]

I think RIM would be well served if they made most of the models available without a camera.

I think we will see more and more restrictions on cameras. My employer has had a lot of discussion on it. Bad part is, when used wisely, the camera can be a great tool as well.

[michael12005]

Would much rather have Wi-Fi instead of a stupid useless camera! What is the matter with RIM, are they all asleep and out of touch?

[SteveO86]

Usually people double threads.. not posts lol...

I'm ok with the lack of wifi and the 3.2 MP camera is a cool feature when you need to take a shot of something... How many phones these days don't have a camera?? For more then those with Wifi.. Wifi isn't seen as a "Standard" for mobile phones as much as a camera is.

You can get a 9630 without a camera if you hate it much

[Joe1004]

I always wonder what the deal is with WiFi.

My take on it is from experience. Before I got my first BlackBerry, I was an iPaq user. It had WiFi. It was a complete pain in the a**. Associating with the AP and storing profiles stunk. Then, the processor/memory/browser did not do much for the speed anyway.

Since so many websites sense the mobile browser type and redirect you to mobile sites, the WiFi speed isn't as big a deal (IMHO). Especially when you look at a Rev A device that has the potential of regulalry having 1.2 Mbps speeds down with peaks up to 2.0 Mbps or more.

As the networks get faster, WiFi will be even more irrelevant. LTE on a device would make things very interesting. The effort it takes to find and connect to WiFi make it an even bigger pain when you have really decent data speeds with no effort.

[SteveO86]

I gotta agree with Joe..

While I love my BB... surfing over Wifi won't do me too much good (unless Opera/Bolt use Wifi)

If I had wifi though my BB would work alot better in office :( which is something I would like. No CDMA has Wifi yet.. It would be a nice plus but nothing I'm going to freak about (yet)

[hcheun]

Different folks, different strokes haha !

My preference is to have wifi, but hey, some people don't need it , but I do agree with everyone, RIM won't release something unless they see a need or market for and this is great for companies that truly need a cameraless environment.

[akosnitzky]

Originally Posted by SteveO86

I gotta agree with Joe..

While I love my BB... surfing over Wifi won't do me too much good (unless Opera/Bolt use Wifi)

If I had wifi though my BB would work alot better in office :( which is something I would like. No CDMA has Wifi yet.. It would be a nice plus but nothing I'm going to freak about (yet)

agreed

[jsntrenkler]

I think it's great that they are giving companies / government an opportunity to have a new device without camera. As far as WIFI is concerned I really have had great luck with Verizon's network, for me I don't need it. Although I suppose if I were in an area with weak signal it would come in handy. Fortunately for me, it's strong bars in Tucson Arizona.

[Mattywalnuts]

After 2+ years of an 8830 without a camera, I can't wait for the Tour.

On a side note...IT Depts with Enterprise Support can actually disable the camera on the device. My company does not on our Sprint 8350is, but at my father's company they do on the ATT Curves.

[jsntrenkler]

Originally Posted by Joe1004

I always wonder what the deal is with WiFi.

My take on it is from experience. Before I got my first BlackBerry, I was an iPaq user. It had WiFi. It was a complete pain in the a**. Associating with the AP and storing profiles stunk. Then, the processor/memory/browser did not do much for the speed anyway.

Since so many websites sense the mobile browser type and redirect you to mobile sites, the WiFi speed isn't as big a deal (IMHO). Especially when you look at a Rev A device that has the potential of regulalry having 1.2 Mbps speeds down with peaks up to 2.0 Mbps or more.

As the networks get faster, WiFi will be even more irrelevant. LTE on a device would make things very interesting. The effort it takes to find and connect to WiFi make it an even bigger pain when you have really decent data speeds with no effort.

I agree