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83 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
Another GREAT Blackberry - The Tour 9630
So, I have been using blackberries ever since the day they were released with the 8xx model and have since been through almost every model that has come out, including the Storm for one day. My recent device of choice was the Blackberry Curve II or 8900 which was a EDGE and Wi-Fi enabled blackberry with a beautiful screen and a great keyboard. The device prior was a...
Published 12 months ago by Tarun Chachra
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86 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
Can you hear me now? Yes but take the sock out of your mouth.
I've been waiting for the Tour since its early rumor days. I am already an addicted Blackberry user for my job. One thing I notice in general with cell phone reviews, is there is very little time spent commenting on the core function of a cell phone, that being a "Phone." I made my first call on the Tour and the recipient kept asking me to repeat myself. I didn't think...
Published 12 months ago by Stuart Singer
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86 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
Can you hear me now? Yes but take the sock out of your mouth., July 18, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
I've been waiting for the Tour since its early rumor days. I am already an addicted Blackberry user for my job. One thing I notice in general with cell phone reviews, is there is very little time spent commenting on the core function of a cell phone, that being a "Phone." I made my first call on the Tour and the recipient kept asking me to repeat myself. I didn't think anything of it. I made another call to a friend who said "Are you talking with a sock in your mouth?" Okay now I'm worried. I'm calling from the same chair where the day before I was using my old Motorola E815 and it was crystal clear. Finally I leave myself a voice mail. Literally I could not make out the words I said. Interestingly, the sound that I hear on my end is great so from my perception the call quality is excellent. I figured this has to be defective so I returned it for a replacement. It was exactly the same. I am also concerned that the replacement revealed inconsistent quality in the build of the phone. The battery door had a minor but detectable "jiggle" to it that conveys cheapness. The track ball on the second one seemed loose as if it were barely touching the rollers. A quick Google on the Tour Battery door revealed the loose battery door is a common complaint. In the end, I had to give up the Tour since nobody could hear me. One more thing because I know somebody is thinking this...no, my finger was not covering the microphone hole. I have a Curve 8330 I use every day for work, it is crystal clear.
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83 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
Another GREAT Blackberry - The Tour 9630, July 16, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
So, I have been using blackberries ever since the day they were released with the 8xx model and have since been through almost every model that has come out, including the Storm for one day. My recent device of choice was the Blackberry Curve II or 8900 which was a EDGE and Wi-Fi enabled blackberry with a beautiful screen and a great keyboard. The device prior was a Blackberry Bold, which incidentally sparked the new generation of Blackberries. Today I received my Blackberry Tour 9630 running on the Verizon Wireless network....sorry but the guy in the glasses was nowhere to be seen in the box and or around me. Jokes aside, the Tour touts the Verizon EVDO network and no Wi-Fi; it does have a SIM so that it can be used globally. I know there are dozens of reviews on this product so I am not going to go in to the features, I am merely going to try to share my experience with the device after one day.
Missing WI-FI: When the device became available I was a little worried that the lack of Wi-Fi might hamper its functionality, especially when doing things that required constant streams of data. I love TWITTER, as you all know by now, and thus I was worried that using apps such as the beautiful "Tweet Genius" would be cumbersome due to updates coming over the aged CDMA network. However, much to my surprise the speed is wonderful and I have yet to see any need for the missing Wi-Fi radio.
Battery Life: Time will best tell this tale, but as of now the battery stands at a cool 80%. The battery was fully charged by the time I got the unit in my hands, in fact it had been charged overnight by one of my associates. I received the unit at about 8am this morning and started the Verizon activation process. Once activated on the network, I proceeded to do a Blackberry Enterprise Server activation for corporate email, etc. I have since been using it, rather heavily, for email, twitter, and even streaming financial data. Battery loss of approximately 20% after almost 11.5 hours of moderate/heavy usage to me is phenomenal, but, as I said time will tell this tale and I will post updates about it when I can.
Keyboard: The Tour has a similar keyboard to the bold, except it seems to me that the keys are raised a bit more. The little addition of height allows for a better feel of the keys thus making typing a breeze. I was not a huge fan of the Bold keyboard but I do love the Curve II keyboard and now it would seem that this new style keyboard may just be the winner of the bunch. I am appreciative of the fact that Verizon left the number keys colored RED which AT&T always wants to re-color to white. The red actually provides for some contrast and makes using the device a bit more pleasurable.
Screen: The screen on the Tour is the same beautiful half VGA (480x360) screen found on the 8900 (Curve II). It is bright, sharp, and displays 65,000 colors. Not much more can be said...but it comes close to perfect for the Blackberries.
Camera: Again the same as the 8900, a 3.2mp auto focus camera with image stabilization and video capturing abilities. Yes, there is a flash also for those dark moments.
Charging: As with every new cellular device, this has a Micro USB port positioned on its right side...which is a little bit of a bad placement job as it was on the 8900, but, not a deal breaker. My only gripe here is that I tend to want to use Blackberry Docks and with all of these different devices you must acquire a different dock. #FAIL on the dock not being universal...but accessories make these guys big money and so they do what they must.
Sound: The built in speaker is finally right, its not stereo like the Bold but its also not tinny sounding like the 8900. It sounds great. The speaker for your ears sounds, to me, equally balanced for once...so it does'nt seem like someone is shouting in your ears..its a well balanced mid range sound.
Overall Feel: This Blackberry is HEAVY, and I mean heavy. Personally I like to know that I am holding on to something and the weight of the 9630 makes it feel solid. If you are into holsters then you know this thing is on your belt. Enough said!
Final Thoughts: The Tour comes with a newer version of the Blackberry operating system, v4.7.1.40, which is coincidentally used on the Storm. The OS seems to be well suited for the Tour and is very responsive. I did notice it stick here or there, but that has only happened 2-3 times and I am certain it was because I was taxing the device. I am, thus far, quite happy with this new iteration of the Blackberry and hope that I will have many days ahead with it.
Box Includes: Blackberry, Battery, AC Adapter w Word Adapter, Micro-USB Cable, Blackberry Ear Buds, Plastic/Pleather Holster, Documentation, Blackberry Desktop Manager SW CD, and a BONUS: 2GB Micro SD CARD.
I could go on into much more detail, but it would be redundant as there are thousands of reviews of Blackberries out there...I just wanted to share what I felt and thus the most pertinent observations are above. Please let me know if any of you are using this device and what your thoughts are.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
Almost Perfect...So Far!, July 13, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
7/29/10 REVIEW UPDATE: Device still going strong. This is what it does: make and receive phone calls in the US and abroad, receive and send emails for multiple accounts easily, text quickly with the querty keyboard, use simple but helpful apps such as Open Table, Google Maps, [...], Kindle reader(!),Spider Solitaire. It is just ok for web surfing. Perfect for quick fact checking but not leisurely browsing. It needs charging about every two days with moderate use, every night for a few hours with heavy use. It has never run out of power in the middle of the day. It is a useful device rather than a fun device. It does it's job. I don't use the Blue Tooth function so can't comment on that feature. I don't expect to receive email while I am talking on the phone so don't see the problem there. The camera is perfectly fine and I use it often. Here are the minuses: track ball can be pokey at times, sometimes this is a physical problem and sometimes it's related to malfunctioning apps. When the phone is receiving data the track ball will freeze for a second or two. This can be unsettling but if I see the little data arrows on the upper right hand corner, I understand that I might have to pause as well for a sec. I dropped the phone and found that the trackball wouldn't move easily as it was pressing against the rim. I moved the ball with my finger nail and everything went back to normal. (Now, I occasionaly check to see if the track ball is properly "centered", if not I do the fingernail thing). Hard reboot! The only way to really reboot the device is to remove and replace the battery! Some apps (Spider Solitaire) cause the device to hang and removing and replacing the battery is the only fix. Will I get another Blackberry when my contract is up? Will certainly consider it....along with Verizon's Android offering. Am not a touch screen fan.
10/22/09 REVIEW UPDATE: Almost perfect device! No sound or trackball issues! I read some of the other reviews and it seems like two completely different devices are being critiqued! How can this be?
9/21/09 REVIEW UPDATE: Still very happy! I've owned the phone for almost two months now and The Tour is part of my daily life. It continues to be easy to use, fast and even kind of fun. The sound quality is good, the screen is amazing and Verizon service is the best available anywhere you go in the US. (In case you haven't noticed it, AT&T service stinks). There is no "problem" with the Tour's track ball although I've noticed that when the device is receiving data (and this can be fairly often if you get lots of email, texts, rss feeds and the like) the screen and track ball freeze momentarily. Its more like a stutter than a long interruption....but it does happen. Another minor irritation is the way the keys are angled up and to the right on the left side of the key board and up and to the left on the right side of the key board. This seems as if it would be ergonomic and more productive for thumb typing, but I find it less comfortable and slower than my last Blackberry which had wider flat keys. One handed typing, say for number entering/phone calling, is much more difficult with the angled keys. As for apps, more and more are available every week through Blackberry App World. I do have to charge the phone once a day, but it charges very quickly, in just a few hours. So far, very, very good!
7/30/09 Great device! Works great! Excellent sound quality! Ultra Fast! Looks sexy. Feels good. Battery door secure! I use Blackberry Internet Service for email and it is seamless, and extremely easy to set up and maintain. Verizon tech support via phone is fast, responsive and speaks English! Used Media Sync to sync an ITunes playlist on to device. Transfered pictures easily between device and computer. Camera takes great pictures...for a phone. My only nit-picky complaint is that there are not enough apps yet, but there are more that become available every week. I am absolutely delighted!
Original review:
I've had the Tour for about a week now. I had been anxiously waiting for this Verizon Blackberry hybrid-cross between the Bold and the Curve for months after my contract ended on a Neanderthal 8700G with T-Mobile and I was afraid that my expectations would exceed reality. I have to say that I am very, very pleased!
The device is beautiful, black and solid in one's hand. The screen is large and clear. The buttons are all in logical positions. The software is a vast improvement over earlier versions. The camera is 3.2 mp auto focus and takes better than average pictures....for a smart phone.
I am still getting used to the qwerty keyboard....the keys are small, smooth and strangely angled. There must be an ergonomic reason for the up and to the side tilt to each key but my thumbs are resisting the logic!
The track ball is slightly recessed and is easy to use (and the horizontal and vertical sensitivity is adjustable).
Making and receiving phone calls is a snap. The call reception has been clear and virtually distortion free. I have no muffled sound experience reported in other reviews. Even on a noisy sidewalk, I am told that the sound quality is clear and crisp. I took the Tour up to a cabin in the Lake District of Northern Minnesota and it worked seamlessly. Calls, texts, and browsing as if I were home in Manhattan.
My biggest pleasure so far is the lightening speed of receiving email! In HTML! And web browsing! And Googling! Fast, fast, fast.
One complaint is that web pages are still a bit too small for really enjoyable browsing. And there is no touch screen to enlarge areas with fancy finger work a la IPhone. One can choose between "Column View" or "Zoom In" but sometimes neither option gets things really the size one would like.
Why can't this thing ring and vibrate simultanously? Seems like a silly oversight but the Blackberry engineers must have some reason behind it. You can buy an ap to fix this problem....but?
Another caveat is that the BlackBerry App Store is not fully stocked with Apps yet. The choice is still slim and sort of pathetic compared to the big, sexy, fully loaded "candy shop" of selections for the IPhone.
The pre-loaded Blackberry Map application worked very well with the GPS function turned on. In fact, it navigated better than the Garmin Nuvi on the dashboard of the car.
So far, I am sold on this baby.
Will continue to report in the weeks ahead.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
How to take the "Sock" out of your mouth, September 30, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
There have been several comments related to the transmitted voice quality of this phone. I have no problem with being heard clearly, but there is a little trick to it.
Look at the bottom of the Tour phone. The pinhole is the microphone to capture your voice. It has been engineered electronically and acoustically to cancel out background noise while capturing the speaker's voice clearly. For best results, hold the Tour 9630 so that that pinhole points at the corner of your mouth. You will be heard clearly and unwanted background noise reduced.
While working for the telephone company testboard, I frequently used a headset to allow me full use of both hands. The last one had a tube from the earpiece that served as the microphone pickup. The factory instructions were to place the tube so that it pointed at the corner of your mouth. It did not work if the tube was pointed anywhere else.
When I first tried a Blackberry, I had complaints about my audio. So I checked the phone for the location of the microphone. I then found a position for the phone that points the microphone at the corner of my mouth. For me, that is with the phone in my left hand, with my fingernails just below the temple of my glasses. Now I am heard clearly every time I use the phone. Try it. It works.
P.S. I absolutely Love this phone!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
This SmartPhone is Impressingly Smart, September 10, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
I just got my BlackBerry Tour 9630 from Verizon Wireless yesterday. This is my first BlackBerry (and my first smartphone). So far, this phone works great. I have read so many discouraging reviews here on Amazon that I almost wanted to skip this phone. But I'm glad that I went with my gut feelings on this one. Many reviewers complained about muffled voices. That was the first thing I looked into right after I got mine activated, up and running. I can confidently say that there is no truth to it at all. The voice clarity is impressive. I can hear the people I speak to very clearly without having to position my phone a certain way (as was suggested by someone here). The folks on the other end didn't have any problems hearing me (and yes, I did repeatedly ask them if my voice was hard to hear/understand, and that hasn't been a problem at all). Another common problem reported from Amazon reviewers about this phone is in regards specifically to the trackball. Some reviewers claimed to have had to send back their third BlackBerry Tour because they couldn't seem to get the trackball to move as smoothly and easily as they would like it. Well, this problem can be easily fixed by going into the phone's Option menu where you could set the trackball's sensitivity level to your liking. I found that mine was set at level 20 for both "horizontal" and "vertical" movements(perhaps factory default setting) and the trackball was somewhat of a challenge to use at level 20. But once I increased the sensitivity levels, the trackball was so much easier to use (I now have mine set at level 70 for both "horizontal" and "vertical" movements). You just need to play around with the various options in the phone's menu. Also, the Navigation system works wonders too. I especially enjoy using yahoo instant messenger on this phone and checking/sending emails. Web browsing is fast and easy. This phone is simply too good to be true. I highly recommend it.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Great Blackberry from Verizon, July 24, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
I have had the tour for a little of two weeks. This is my 4th Blackberry and is my favorite by far. I have had the 8830 World, Curve, Storm and now the Tour.
Pros:
Camera - Has the same MP as the storm but the quality is much better.
Screen - The resolution wicked, very crisp and bright.
Menus - They are much more user friendly. Reminds me of the Storm's menus.
Size - Sits between the Curve and the Bold. Very comfortable in the hand
Speed - Almost as fast as the Bold and much faster then the other Blackberrys on Verizon Wireless.
Home screen dialing - This is by far my favorite feature. You just starting typing the name or the number of the person that you want to call and the name pops up and you click to dial. No need to go to a phone app within the Tour (or any keypad blackberry for that matter).
Case profile switching - No need to go to a meeting and remember to switch your Blackberry to vibrate. All you have to do is customize your profile to Silent when in case and to vibrate. Genius!
Verizen Customer Service - When ever I have had an issue or question they have an answer. I have also been transferred directly to Blackberry Tech support when I had an issue with the desktop software. Verizon also called me back to make sure that the issues was solved. BIG fan of customer service.
Cons:
Battery - Is a little on the weak side. Lasts about ¾ of the day. This should improve with a device software update.
Battery Cover - Is a little loose but not as bad as many are saying.
Start up Time - Because data security is a hot button for RIM. I have been told that the long start time is because of security processes with the files on the device. When you do a battery pull or a soft reset it takes about 5 minutes for the phone to be up and running again.
With that said, this is a great phone. I still have a couple issues with 3rd party apps like Facebook (calendar sync issue) and Ubertwitter (not installing properly) but updates to the apps should solve the problems.
One way of extending the battery life is to turn off your connections when you know you are not going to have signal.
Syncs great with PCs and comes with Desktop software 5.0 which increases the speed of the sync process. Apple users not to fret, RIM is going to be releasing an Apple version of their desktop software in the 3rd quarter of the year.
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39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
NOT UP TO EXPECTATION, especially the firmware and the email software, July 14, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
Background of the reviewer: I have used Palm Treo 700p (Verizon) for a really long time, and also used Palm Pre for a week (Sprint), prior to switching to Blackberry Tour (Verizon again). I also tried iPhone, and currently own iPod Touch, and I believe its OS and applications are very good, but I do need a physical keyboard and so iPhone is not an option for me.
I won't repeat catalog specs and other info released by manufacturer. This review is about user review, and in particular, comparison against Treo and Pre.
THE POSITIVES:
Blackberry Tour is a well built, very practical phone, and feels very nicely in my hand.
The OS seems stable and reliable. It doesn't have many hiccups (brief freezes) as older generation smart phones, and even when hiccup occurs, it's very brief. It also has a very good keyboard, which is easier to type than Treo 700p, which I've long considered the best keyboard among smart phones (700p had better keyboard than Palm Pre), and it has excellent screen, with rich colors, sharp, crisp images and bright images that are easy to see even outdoors. The screen is smaller than iPhone and Palm Pre, but it has more pixels than many other smart phones; text is easy to read, even in small sizes, and outdoors while walking, and images are really rich of details. The battery life is excellent, camera is usable, 3.5mm headset jack is a good move (while I'm not sure if micro USB is a good move). The speaker phone is loud and clear enough for checking voice mail and waiting for "next available customer service rep" in a private office.
Integration of basic functions, among phone, text message, address book, is very good. Perhaps comparable to Palm OS. Very easy to call someone from text message view, or vice versa (which was not true with Pre).
NEGATIVE: erratic ringer
This phone doesn't reliably ring when someone calls me. The problem happens randomly, and not related to specific callers or ringer mode setting. This happens most often when the phone is in the pocket or bag, and rarely happens when it's on my desk. Even when the ringer does not ring, the phone recognizes the incoming call and show it as missed call. I've reported this problem to Verizon tech support as well as RIM but they don't acknowledge this problem exists. If you google, you see people having this problem.
NEGATIVE: Email
I don't know who started saying "BlackBerry is good at email" but it seems not true. If your company sets up Blackberry Enterprise Server, or if you use one basic email service with just one folder, it may be adequate for basic email access. However, most people who buy a smart phone have a bit more interesting life, and many of them are creative professionals, academics, freelancers, or simply people with multiple worlds. These types of people often use multiple email accounts, or multiple folders within one IMAP server, and use each for different purposes. Blackberry Enterprise Server is not an option for this type of people, and this is the type of people who will find BlackBerry's email functions vastly inadequate.
My ancient Palm Treo 700p with Chatter Mail provides much nicer user interface and full IMAP access to the email server, with access to any IMAP folder and with real time notification (equivalent to push email). The email software on BlackBerry can access only the Inbox folder, and you cannot change it. Why don't they provide direct access to any IMAP server and any IMAP folder, is beyond my understanding. Sure, Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) may provide a bit better access, and which was one of the original Blackberry technology years ago, but, lack of proper IMAP support sets this phone behind now-obsolete Palm phones and iPhone. Even though open standard IMAP is widespread, RIM might want to keep multiple folder access for BES users, and as a consequence, frustration is building up among users as most blackberry related forums have several threads on this topic, with no acceptable solutions available.
RIM, why can't I do the basic email on this brand new 2009 phone, which I could do perfectly well on a 2006 phone?
NEGATIVE: trackball. It's sluggish and often doesn't work, especially in the horizontal direction. This is a common problem with Blackberry Tour!! The news reports that the return rate of this phone is approaching 50%! You better return the phone at the first sign of the trackball problem because mine took me a month to develop this problem.
NEGATIVE: Voice quality, muffled voice, BUT IT'S EASILY FIXABLE!
The quality of voice sound you hear is excellent. What's not is the quality of your voice they hear; it is muffled and sounds like you are speaking from a distance, and it requires focused listening from the other person to understand what you say. This is not good for business or private.
The problem is that the tiny hole of the microphone is located on the bottom side, pointing down, and this is not very ideal to pick up high frequency components of the voice from my mouth in the regular way you hold the phone. One easy fix is to hold the phone so that your fingers hold very bottom of the phone, and your palm is right below the phone, not behind it. This way, your palm will reflect and funnel sound into the microphone of the phone. This solves the problem without costing any money. Even better, use the other hand to channel sound more effectively into the mic. In my experimentation (using voice recording software on Blackberry), this technique made improved the voice quality so much that people now tell me my voice is very easy to hear.
ANOTHER NEGATIVE: Mac OS compatibility
RIM now provides BlackBerry desktop application for MacOS since October 2009. It has basic functionality and ok integration with basic features of iCal and Address Book. However, the program is still rather buggy, slow and has limited features. It's caused fewer serious errors and is faster and better than PocketMac but has a large room for improvement.
~ooOoo~
I took two points off, but let me explain. The phone as a hardware probably deserves 6 stars. Voice quality deserves 3 stars. There are some minor annoyances specific to blackberry (such as it can't vibrate and ring simultaneously without using a third party software) that deserves some points off. The email software deserves 2 stars. Many third party softwares do not run quickly and smoothly like on iPhone, and if the same software is available on both Blackberry and iPhone, the features and support are often better with the iPhone version. The phone is not really up to expectation.
In comparison, Treo 700p was an ok hardware, and it's quite dated by today's standard, but the OS and applications were excellent. Palm Pre was nothing like Treo line, more heavily network-based apps and applications are still incomplete and not very mature yet. Blackberry is supposed to be a very mature platform and "business friendly" but I personally find it's not as user-friendly as Treo 700p in practical business situations. If Palm OS run on Blackberry Tour, that would be the best of both world. I personally, reluctantly continue to use Blackberry Tour. If my Treo 700p didn't break, I would probably go back.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome Phone. The best yet from RIM., July 19, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
I've received the new Tour last Tuesday. The first thing I noticed was that screen and resolution was so clear. Verizon included many accessories with the phone; holster case, stereo headphones (can be used to listen to music); USB cable; software for the computer; as well as different adapters to be used for other countries. The battery door was a little loose at first. After a quick trip down to the Verizon store, the customer care rep. was able to replace a new battery door. Now the phone is perfect. In addition, this phone came with a 2gb memory card. I was also able to transfer music files from my computer and stored them into the phone. Best of yet, I can set the music file as ring tone which I found a very nice feature as I don't wish to pay per ringtone fee from Verizon.
The OS is similar to the BOLD and STORM. It's quite easy to use. Setting-up e-mails push directly into the phone was a breeze. I was able to set-up hotmail and g-mail in a matter of minutes. There was also a bundle software included with the phone: MSN Live Messanger; G-Talk; Facebook, MySpace, etc... With heavy usage, I was able to get 2 days of usage.
I would recommend you to download the Opera Mini as the serving browser. It's much quicker to load pages than the one that came with the phone.
Highly recommend this phone!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A great Blackberry, September 22, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
This is really a great Blackberry, that can be made excellent with a (relatively) simple software upgrade by RIM. First the good, this device runs the same OS as the storm (4.7) modified to work on a non-touchscreen. This time around RIM has worked out nearly all the software and hardware defects that plagued the Storm. The Tour is faster, not prone to defects (though I've heard of some trackball issues), has clear call quality, the charger plug is in a better position, a good camera/camcorder and a fairly nice speaker for a phone.
It sounds pretty good right? And in most ways it is a great phone. It's glaring problem is the lack of WiFi. I hear people say Verizon's 3G is fast enough that that doesn't matter. Often that's true. My Curve didn't need WiFi because Verizon's network worked even indoors. This phone has a major issue with reception. Reception is sporadic. I can be sitting in the open and watch as the bars jump for 0 to 5 to 2, etc. It even looses 3G and reverts to the painfully slow 1X network, or sometime looses the signal altogether. Aside from killing battery life this means it drops calls and you can forget about things like web surfing and e-mail. At first I thought OK, maybe this area is congested or something. So I tried reactivating my Curve, and sure enough the curve had 5 bars. Next I exchanged my Tour to see if maybe I had a defective one (it happens to the best phones). Nope, same issue with reception. Clearly this is an issue with the Tour. On the bright side, i believe it's a software issue that can be fixed by RIM. That's according to a friend who works at RIM. Additionally I tried a beta version of RIMs next OS (5.0) and the problem was fixed. So there is hope, but it might be awhile.
So if you can deal with spotty reception or manage to get one that doesn't have reception issues, this is a great Blackberry. Sadly Blackberry's are internet devices so with no WiFi and poor reception you loose a good chunk of what makes a BB worth the money. My suggestion is to wait for the next generation of Blackberry's on Verizon, that will have OS 5.0 and WiFi.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Second unit is much better than the first, August 30, 2009
This review is from: BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone)
I'll list the bad stuff first, then the good stuff, so make sure you read it all...
I waited 6 months for the phone to come out, then waited a month to buy one so as not to risk getting a "buggy" new one.
After the purchase on Aug 7, my results were as follows: Transmit audio quality is poor (low treble) with the built in mic unless I cup my hand around the bottom of the phone, so the other person has a hard time understanding me sometimes; trackball motion is extremely erratic - it moves anywhere from 0% to 100% of what was expected, but usually 20% to 50%, and far too often it doesn't move at all - one time I rolled it SEVEN times before it even budged; keyboard has a nice feel but I am new to BB so it will take a little getting used to typing with my thumbs - but I have XL hands and I can see that it is completely workable - I am a little slow, but I make almost NO typos, which is way better than I did on the Storm or the iPhone when testing them; the back is loose, making it feel cheap; screen quality and sound are amazing; photo quality seems very good but I am not fussy about that since the camera is an "extra" to me; headphones are decent, but they sound much bassier (better) when you hold them in your ear.
My favorite features: 1) INSTANT email reception; 2) automatic synching with my work MS Outlook email and contacts; 3)Pandora! I have never had an iPod, and now that I have Pandora, I realize that I would have probably loved having an iPod all these years, but I also realize how much time and money I saved because I would have spent a lot of both collecting music - but now I can listen to great tunes on Pandora all the time for free - it's amazing! 4) When you hover over a phone number in the browser, you can simply click on the number and dial it - very awesome idea! 5) I HAVE a working browser everywhere I go - sure it's not as fast as a desktop with broadband, but it pretty much does what I hoped it would do. (I had trouble logging into eBay for the first week, in fact eBay support told me BlackBerry was not supported, but then for some reason it started working last week. One of my online banks works, but I can't log into citibank.com. Also, I thought I could use the phone and the brower at the same time. At least the manual seems to say you can, as long as you are on 3G service. Well, my phone has never displayed the 3G icon, and sure enough I cannot use the browser while on the phone. And I happen to live right next door to a Verizon Wireless corporate office. So I have just written off that feature as not working. If some day I can see a 3G icon on the phone, or can use the browswer while on the phone, I guess I'll be pleasantly surprised. 6) Cell coverage is very good; 7) Battery life seems excellent (I turned the backlighting down to 10% from the default of 100% which made it even better); 8) The email shortcut keys are very intuitive (R, C, T, B, F, etc.) - this is old news to someone with BB experience, but BB is new to me, so I was happy to learn these (hint - read the included shortcuts guide!); 9) The included hip holster: Although my wife says hip holsters are "for old men", I LOVE it and I wear it constantly. It provides great protection, extreme convenience, and hibernates the phone when you holster it, and wakes it up when you unholster it. Really nice design! I carry it so that the phone is horizontal with the headphone jack facing up, since I am always listening to Pandora now, as I said earlier.
After only 2 weeks with the BlackBerry, my wife said I am clearly addicted, and I guess it's true. For example, we were sitting in a restaurant (which she found online while I was driving), and she asks "what does this word mean ...?" and in 15 seconds I am on dictionary.com looking it up. Very handy.
I was getting VERY sick of the Trackball not moving, so yesterday I went into a Verizon dealer and tried an employee's Tour, and wow - it was completely different! His sensitivity settings were still on 70/70 just like mine, but his trackball WORKED! So today I went back to BestBuy and returned my phone for another one. The sales girl said mine was working fine (and I must admit, she seemed to navigate a little bit better than I could, but only a little - - she claimed I was pressing down too hard while rolling, but I swear I was barely touching the ball). So I got a new one, and it is NIGHT AND DAY different from the original one. The trackball moves 100% as expected every single time I roll it, and the back is not loose at all. So now I have to ask Verizon/Qualcomm/RIM: Why did that original phone even leave the factory? It was defective, as I now know. Why let customers do your quality control? What a hassle that was! Spent 90 minutes at the store getting the new phone, and that was AFTER I had already wiped the old one clean at home. So my advice is, if you get a lemon like I did, don't get stuck with it for two years - go ahead and try another one. You may find it to be a completely different experience from the original one.
Oh - one more minor complaint: the volume control buttons are "context sensitive", which was probably considered a "feature" when they designed it. But I find it annoying that I cannot turn the volume down on the phone or the Pandora radio unless the screen is on "awake" mode and the program I am using (i.e. the phone call or the Pandora program) is the ACTIVE program on the screen. So for example if I am listing to Pandora but reading email, I cannot turn the Pandora volume down until I first switch applications back to Pandora. Seems very strange to me that what appears to be a hardware-level control is actually software-level not hardware-level. I would like to be able to configure the volume controls so that they work while the phone is holstered if I want them to.
Another one: I am VERY scared of breaking the headphones. The wires are super thin and seem flimsy. I am being super cautious with them, because I am betting a new pair is not cheap!
Overall, I love the BlackBerry Tour, and can't imagine how I lived without a BlackBerry all these years. Every once in a while, a tool or device appears in your life that really changes your life for the better. My first car was such a device, and this, my first BlackBerry, is another such device.
My rating for Tour #1: 2 Stars (due to horrible trackball, loose back)
My rating for Tour #2: 4.5 Stars (would be 5 Stars if the transmit audio was a little better; after all it IS a phone too, right?)
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