BlackBerry Tour 9630 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless)

Label: BlackBerry
Publisher(s):

BlackBerry

Studio: BlackBerry
Manufacturer: BlackBerry
Binding: Wireless Phone
Brand: BlackBerry
Model: Tour
Color: Black
List Price: $499.99
Feature(s):

BlackBerry smartphone with QWERTY keyboard; dual-network capable for 3G-enabled GSM access when traveling abroad
Access V Cast, Music and Video services via fast EV-DO data network; GPS-enabled for turn-by-turn directions; use phone as a modem for your laptop
3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder; Bluetooth stereo music; MicroSD memory expansion to 16 GB; access to personal and corporate email
Up to 5 hours of talk time, up to 336 hours (14 days) of standby time
What's in the Box: handset, battery, travel charger (with international adaptors), 2 GB MicroSD card, wired stereo headset, swivel holster, USB cable, pre-installed SIM card, documentation

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description

The feature-packed and highly refined BlackBerry Tour 9630 world phone for Verizon Wireless keeps you connected and lets you roam the globe in style. In addition to accessing the reliable and fast Verizon Wireless voice and data network, the Tour is also compatible with 3G-enabled GSM networks outside the United States, giving you the option to make phone calls in 220 countries and to access email and Internet in any of the 175 countries where Verizon Wireless provides data roaming services.

Roam where you want to with the BlackBerry Tour 3G world phone, which provides the option to make phone calls in 220 countries and to access email/Internet in any of the 175 countries where Verizon Wireless provides data roaming services.

The Tour comes packed with all the communication and professional functionality you expect from a BlackBerry device, including a push-based mobile solution for email and access to Microsoft Office files. It's also compatible with Verizon's V Cast Music Service, which enables you to purchase songs through your phone and download them via Verizon's fast 3G EV-DO data network. You'll stay on course thanks to the VZ Navigator GPS turn-by-turn direction service, as well as be able to find your way in foreign destination using the VZ Navigator Global service. And with the optional Visual Voice Mail service, you'll be able to quickly and easily scroll through your messages and pick the ones you want to listen to.

The BlackBerry Tour includes a large, highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard and a large 2.4-inch display with one of the highest resolutions available yet on a BlackBerry device. Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with geo-tagging capabilities, Bluetooth connectivity for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (a 2 GB card is included), easy access to favorite social networking and instant messaging services, support for BlackBerry App World, and up to 5 hours of talk time.

Dual Connectivity
Perfect for the fashionable world-traveling professional, the BlackBerry Tour and Verizon Wireless' Global BlackBerry service allow customers to access e-mail and place and receive domestic and international calls in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and parts of Africa. When used at home here in the U.S., you'll connect to Verizon's 800/1900 MHz CDMA network, as well as its 1xEV-DO 3G high-speed data network--which offers download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps and peak rates up to 2 Mbps. (Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.)

But when you're traveling within a GSM network coverage area outside of the U.S. provided by Verizon Wireless' global roaming partners, the quad-band GSM-enabled Tour provides easy voice connectivity while roaming the globe. Additionally, it provides global 3G connectivity (2100 MHz UMTS) for fast access to the Internet, data and more when traveling outside the United States. It comes with a pre-installed SIM card.

Stay connected with a push-based mobile solution for e-mail, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS), and social networking (see larger version).

Other features include GPS location services, a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with geo-tagging capabilities, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, MicroSD expansion (with included 2 GB card).

Verizon Services
With this GPS-enabled phone, you'll be able to access the Verizon Wireless VZ Navigator service (additional charges applicable) for voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, heads-up alerts, local search of nearly 14 million points of interest in the US (such as landmarks, restaurants and ATMs), and detailed color maps.

Additionally, this phone is compatible with the VZ Navigator Global service, which enables you to find locations and access turn-by-turn directions in North America and Western Europe, including Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (with more being added). Helping to alleviate stress or confusion caused by reading road signs or directions in an unfamiliar language, VZ Navigator Global allows you to choose either English or Spanish as the default language, and miles or kilometers to mark distances. You'll also be able to find restaurants, gas stations, banks/ATMs and other popular spots in these countries using Local Search.

With Mobile Broadband Connect (subscription required), you can use your smartphone as a modem for your notebook when you connect the two using a USB cable--or open a Bluetooth connection--enabling you to access the Internet or your company intranet. The tethered modem capability is ideal when you're traveling and need to use your notebook to check email, access corporate networks, or download large files like presentations and reports. And with Mobile Broadband Connect, you won't have to buy an extra PC Card or other devices. Additional subscription charges applicable.

With Visual Voice Mail, you can delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions. Visual Voice Mail is the ideal tool for the busy mobile professional who may need to prioritize which messages he or she listens to first. Features include on-screen access to voice mail message status, save up to 40 messages for 40 days (or archive permanently), create up to 10 different caller ID-based greetings, and reply via call back, text or even voice mail.

The V Cast Music service enables you to download songs instantly to your phone, or purchase music through your PC and transfer the files to your phone. If purchased from your phone, you'll receive two copies of the song: a Windows Media Audio Pro Plus format at 64Kbps stereo is sent to your phone, and a Windows Media Audio 9 format at 160Kbps stereo is sent to your account in the V CAST Music online store for downloading to your PC. V Cast Music offers nearly 2 million songs, with more being added all the time.

In addition to the V Cast Music service, this phone is also compatible with the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music with Rhapsody, which enables you to access this exclusive digital music service for RealNetworks and for MTV Networks. V CAST Music with Rhapsody delivers unlimited monthly access to music on up to three Rhapsody-compatible mobile phones and players and online on multiple PCs and Web browsers. In addition, customers who purchase music over-the-air are able to download the master copy of the songs or albums to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where music can be played.

Phone Features
The BlackBerry Tour 9630 features a chic black finish with chrome highlights surrounding its sleek design and a bright 2.4-inch display that delivers the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi)--presenting pictures, web pages and videos with incredible clarity. The Tour includes a trackball navigation system located on the top of the QWERTY keypad with finely sculpted keys for fast and precise typing. It also features an integrated spell checker with a customizable dictionary to help maintain accuracy while on the go.

It offers premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, and a low-distortion speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server (additional charges or subscription applicable).

With BlackBerry push technology, you don't need to retrieve your e-mail. BlackBerry devices are designed to remain on and continuously connected to the wireless network, allowing you to be discreetly notified as new e-mail arrives. Support is also built-in for viewing e-mail attachments (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and PDF formats).

With the BlackBerry Internet Service, you'll be able to easily access up to 10 supported personal and work email accounts, send and receive text and instant messages, and connect on popular social networking sites with friends, family and co-workers. It's also compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which provides advanced security and IT administration features within IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise environments.

In addition to the industry's leading mobile email and messaging solution, the Tour supports text (SMS), picture (MMS) and instant messaging (IM) on today's most popular platforms as well as social networking sites. Take your social life on-the-go with Facebook for BlackBerry and Flickr Photo Uploader for BlackBerry application. A Mobile IM feature provides access to Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo!, Windows Live, and AIM instant messaging services.

The media player can play movies smoothly in full-screen mode, display pictures and slideshows quickly and manage an entire music and video collection, and with BlackBerry Media Sync you can quickly and easily sync music from iTunes and Windows Media Player with the smartphone. The Tour comes with a 256 MB flash memory (and 256 MB of RAM), and the device is expandable via MicroSD/SDHC memory cards up to 16 GB in size (a 2 GB card is included with the Tour).

Other features include:

3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, image stabilization, 2x digital zoom, geo-tagging capabilities, and video capture
Support for BlackBerry App World, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking and sharing, news and weather, and more.
Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go, allowing you to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset.
BlackBerry 4.7 Desktop Software with integrated email, phone, SMS, browser, calendar, address book, and additional organizer applications
English, French and Spanish language support
Ring Tones: 32 Polyphonic + vibrate (MIDI, MP3)
Password protection and keyboard lock
3.5mm stereo headset jack
Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264 (encoding and decoding 30fps), WMV
Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus
Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3

Vital Statistics
The BlackBerry Tour 9630 weighs 4.58 ounces and measures 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches. Its 1400 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of talk time, and up to 336 hours (14 days) of standby time. It runs on the 800/1900 MHz CDMA frequencies and is compatible with the EV-DO 3G data network when on the Verizon network in the US; in international territories, it's compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks as well as 2100 MHz 3G (UMTS) networks.

Customer Reviews

A piece of $#!+

Have had the phone for slightly less than one year. But it's already crapping out on me.

I was out on a biz trip back in July. I turned phone off to recharge it at night. When I woke up, it was year 2049. Since my calendar setting was to remove appointments older than 90 days, it wiped all the appointments prior to 2049. So I was flying blind until I got back to my office.

The Internet server is excruciatingly slow. Sometimes after I hit the submit button, I'll have wait like minutes before it tells me "sorry, there's communication error".

If you just wanna call & check emails, this phone is great & has good reception even in remote areas. But if you want to use 3G features, it just doesn't hold a candle to the iPhone, which is what I'll be getting after my contract expires.

Lastly, the track ball is annoying & it's so 80s technology.

Mediocre "smartphone" and horrendous "phone."

I was issued a Blackberry Tour 9630 through work, and it has been the biggest pain of a phone. I've been on Verizon for close to 4 years now, the first 3 of which were with 3 different types of regular flip phones (Kyocera, Motorola). A new position / project required the use of a smartphone, so I was issued this "phone."

Pros:
1) I get internet access (this is my first phone with internet access)
2) I get email
3) Various apps available (definitely an upgrade over my old phones)
4) The ability to tether my computer to this and access to the internet is VERY nice

Cons (just off the top of my head)
1) I need to hold the phone in a precise position in order to be able to have myself heard
2) The OS randomly freezes up for up to 30 seconds
3) The phone randomly re-boots (white screen), sometimes in the middle of a call
4) Poor reception / MANY dropped calls. Never had a problem with reception ever before with my 3 other phones on Verizon. The day I switched to the BB, I started dropping calls at about a 15% clip.
5) Trackball. If you're going to essentially limit your users to one hardware device, make sure that it works. All of the time.
6) Viewing PDF's is nearly impossible - zooming in on a doesn't update the resolution.
7) Battery life is horrible. The longest I've had this thing stay on is 10 hours. I usually have to charge it twice a day.
8) No HTML email.

More than anything, my single biggest complaint is with the dropped calls. Since I use this company issued phone as my home phone as well, I've had numerous experiences being dropped while talking to customer support (utilities, etc) after being on hold for nearly a half hour.

As something other than a cell phone, it's a great device. It can do email (99%, I'd say - HTML-dependent messages being the other 1%), it gets enough internet access for about 90% of what I need, and if I DO need that HTML-dependent email message or that flashy non-BB supported website, I can tether my laptop up to this to get what I need. Nearly every other "con" I listed I can live with. Short battery life? Fine - I've started carrying around an extra battery, and I make it a point to put it on the charger for at least an hour during the day if I can. OS freezes or re-boots? OK - I'll wait. If I can't view the fine print on a PDF, I'll just fire up my laptop and read it on there.

However, since I still require my cell phones to make, receive, and not drop calls, this phone gets a one star rating from me.

If I wanted it plugged in all the time, I'd have a landline

I like the build of this phone. It's nice and solid. The software is great. The Browser is fabulous and displays whole pages, a major improvement over my 8330 Curve. The high resolution screen is a thing of beauty. Able to read very small fonts and they are crystal clear. I'm amazed at the sharpness. I prefer the little trackball to the touchpad thing on the new Curve so I got this Tour. I also find the GPS is flawless after being unworkable on my old Curve. My only complaint is the VERY VERY short battery life I have been getting. I used to get 2 days on the Curve and am now lucky to get 6 hours with this. I always get asked 'Do you use it a lot?' when I mention it. Well, I'm sure if I shut it off and put it on a shelf the battery would last all day. But to compare it to the Curve which I used just as much, the battery life is awful. I have it plugged in a few hours per day! I bought a charger for work, and one for the bedside and I have one in the car. I have the USB cable to charge it from the computer but it apparently is only able to charge at the same rate it depletes. All the positives for this phone do not matter if you can't take it anyplace without dragging a long extension cord with you to keep it plugged in. My cell phone service provider allows you to walk in to any retail location and exchange your depleted battery for a freshly charged one So I suppose if you map your day carefully you can easily get from store to store and this is not an issue.

Great phone but...

This was a great phone for my purposes. It made calls well with very few dropped calls. I was even able to pick up signal sometimes in the New York subway system between stops (past phones of mine could never have managed that feat). The internet is slow but I didn't expect lightning speed when I bought the phone. I was just thrilled by the fact that I could access the internet. The email capabilities are very fast though. The only problem and the reason I gave this phone only three stars was the fact that the sound stopped working shortly after I purchased the phone. My mom has a blackberry bold and the sound stopped working on hers too.

The year long warranty was not up so I took my Tour to a local retailer with a technical support counter. It took close to two hours of wait time but they gave me a new phone because they could not fix my tour. The staff in the Verizon store were very nice and knowledgeable of their various products. I was really surprised that they were willing to give me a new phone to replace my broken phone.

In the end, I really like using blackberries and I will continue to use them. This tour is a good phone but unfortunately, mine ( and my mother's blackberry) had sound problems.

Bad phone - do not buy

This is the worst phone I have owned. My husband had to return two of his phones in less than one month. I have had several issues with mine. It locks up often. The battery is very short lived and it simply does not allow you to make calls when the battery is low. I have had phones which would let me make calls until the battery dies! Once the battery drains completely, somethimes the phone does not startup even if you charge the battery for several hours. I hate this phone, but I'm stuck with it for 2 years because of the verizon contract. I plan on buying an unlocked phone just to get rid of this one. It does not deserve a single star. If I could give it negative points, I would.

Browse BlackBerry Accessories

Other Wireless Categories

Service Plans

Cell Phones & Service

Store Valu

The biggest selection of books, magazines, music, DVDs, videos, electronics and anything else!