RIM gets official with BlackBerry Tour 9630
RIM has announced its next world phone, and apparently it is going to take you on a Tour.
The new Tour, also known as BlackBerry 9630, is the successor to the popular BlackBerry 8830. While it has been known for quite a while that this phone was on its way to release, the announcement only became official today.
The BlackBerry Tour is going to keep you connected in 185 countries across the world thanks to its use of 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad. The new model will also be sporting the brightest screen available thus far on the phones with a 2.44” screen at 480 x 360 resolution.
The line-up of other features is impressive, and seems to include numerous new features that used to be optional applications, some that you even had to pay for. The list of features includes the following from the official press release:
- 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording(i)
- Full HTML web browser, including support for streaming audio and video (RTSP)
- Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth(R) Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
- 256MB Flash memory
- Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting cards of up to 16 GB today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available
- Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry(R) Maps and other location based applications and services
- BlackBerry(R) Media Sync allows customers to quickly and easily synch music from iTunes(R) and Windows Media Player with the smartphone(ii)
- Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
- Preloaded DataViz(R) Documents to Go(R), allowing users to edit Microsoft(R) Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
- Easy mobile access to Facebook(R), MySpace and Flickr(R), as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry(R) Messenger, Yahoo!(R) IM, AIM(R), Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger(TM)
- Support for BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking & sharing, news & weather, and more
- BlackBerry(R) Internet Service allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
- BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server provides advanced security and IT administration features within IBM(R) Lotus(R) Domino(R), Microsoft(R) Exchange and Novell(R) GroupWise(R) environments
- Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of talk time and 14 days of standby time
RIM is wasting no time in getting the word out this new phone and has already set up an information page and Sprint & Verizon in the USA have already set up notification pages to let customers know when the phone is officially available. Neither carrier is currently listing a firm launch date, although July 13th is being rumored in BlackBerry fan circles, and pricing is believed to be $199.99 at both companies with a two-year contract.
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June 29th, 2009
Think of Blackberry Tour as the Storm with the 8900 screen (smaller than the Bold but higher resolution), and the Bold keyboard (slightly shrunk to fit the phone size) and some minor cosmetic changes. From the videos we have seen the bask of the inside looks exactly the same as the Storm.
Sprint and Palm did a great job getting the words out there on the palm pre, verizon and rim needs to step up and spend some money on advertising this blackberry tour, what you guys think?
share your views at http://www.BlackBerry-Tour.com a forum dedicated to the blackberry tour.