Foreword:

Blackberry Tour called as Blackberry BOLD for the CDMA network is a perfectly blended phone with style and features. Tour has better QWERTY keyboard and design than the similar looking Blackberry curve. It is a Hybrid phone that works on both CDMA and GSM networks and is capable of roaming all around the world, on any network. This feature gives it the name, Tour. The data speeds should be pretty good as it supports 3G on both CDMA (EVDO), and GSM (UMTS/HSPA).

Tour does not fail to impress on the first go. Though, slightly higher in weight compared to other Blackberry devices, it doesn’t take much of a time to get used to it. Its wider dimensions has made it possible for RIM to have a well placed QWERTY keyboard, and the tiled moulds on the keys makes it surprisingly easy to type. The rubber finish on the backside of the device is really smooth and satisfying to hold, but the silver lining on the device might wear out just like other devices. The phone has a 3.2 Mega Pixel camera along with flash for clicking photos and shooting videos. The quality of the photos thus taken is decent but not spectacular.

The phone does not have a Wi-Fi support, and another shocking thing is that you cannot install applications on your memory card. You will have to fit everything within your phone’s 256MB storage capacity, which is a poor decision by RIM. SMS/Email works wonders and setting up an email account in the phone doesn’t take more than 5 minutes. RIM has bundled the device with almost all IM clients like Yahoo, Gtalk, AIM.

+Ves:

• Good battery life – The battery life is pretty good when compared to the specifications of the phone. This of course means that you won’t have to carry your charger along most of the time.
• 3G and GPS support – Even though 3G is coming in as a standard option, such is not the case with GPS, and having a 3G and GPS together makes it a good deal.
• Availability of GSM and CDMA – The Blackberry Tour gives justice to its name, and supports both GSM and CDMA, allowing the user to use local SIM cards while on travel and international roaming.
• 3.5 mm audio jack – The 3.5 mm audio jack in the phone enables easy connectivity to most of the devices.
• Good camera – The 3.2 MP camera provides good image quality, and also shoots crisp and clear videos.
• Good quality integrated speaker – Performs well and gives crisp sound even at high volume.

-Ves:

• No Wi-Fi available – a bit old fashioned for a new technology phone. A Wi-Fi is must in the phones of today’s age.
• Applications can only be installed to the internal 256 MB memory – This provides very limited space for the applications.
• No VGA camera in front for video call – Availability of this would have made the phone a perfect business machine.
• No FM radio – An FM radio would have been a good value add to the phone.

Final Word:

The Blackberry tour does pretty much everything you ask for it, if kept the exception of not having a Wi-Fi aside. The slimmed casing and rock-solid email functionality are a great combination to business people and messaging-obsessed personal users, to which decent multimedia functionality is the icing on the cake. If a hardware keyboard is a must and Wi-Fi can be ignored, then Blackberry Tour may be your best device.