BlackBerry Tour 9630 is Unveiled

Release Date: 19th June 2009    |    By: The Boy Genius    |    From: boygeniusreport.com

 

Research in Motion has finally unveiled its 3G-ready world BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone. Its CDMA version was announced in U.S. on Sprint and Verizon Wireless. This is the same BlackBerry Niagara 9630 smartphone, images of which were leaked back in March. And as noted, Tour is the combination of the best of BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Bold. Now let's have a close look at this BlackBerry Tour 9630 with pictures.

 

 

Hardware:
You can literally think of the BlackBerry 9630 as a BlackBerry Storm with a QWERTY keyboard. It's that exact. From the cell radios (quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, single band UMTS/HSDPA, 1X/EVDO) to even the layout of the keys on the side, it's almost identical. It definitely follows RIM's styling cues from the Curve 8900 and obviously the Storm as well. This will be tough for people contemplating switching to Verizon because it offers 90% of what every BlackBerry user has dreamed and it's on the nation's best network..

 

Phone:
Voice calling is an important part of any phone , and it's a combination of hardware and software. As far as the hardware portion goes, this is probably the best phone. The speakerphone is absolutely off the ringer. It is just insane how loud and clear it is. We're not talking about phone performance like holding onto calls, and all that, just connecting the call and having a conversation. And in that area, both the ear speaker and speakerphone excel beyond almost any other phone, ever. Add in Verizon's network and you've got one bad ass piece of machinery.
This is a tried and true BlackBerry — you know by now — everything is logically arranged and organized as far as the phone goes.

 

Battery:
The BlackBerry 9630 uses the same battery as the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Storm; a 1400mAh cell.

4 hours of talk time

3 hours of video playback

8 hours of music playback

18 hours of light email, messenger, SMS, browsing.

 

Screen:

The screen on the 9630 looks great. It really looks like a plasma display with a glass lens over it. Colors are rich, sharp, and images are crisp. In terms of resolution, you're looking at the same res at the 8900 and Storm, 480×360.

 

 

Keyboard:
As you'll read below, the keyboard is also a mash-up of the Bold and the Curve 8900 as is the size of the phone. It's just right. We have to give credit where credit is due, and RIM still knows how to bang out some of the most perfected and usable keyboards on the planet. The keys are a smaller version of the Bold's with a bit more click like the 8900. Since the Bold is as wide as a boat, the keyboard could afford to be laid out extra roomy. On the 9630, however, things are smaller obviously. This isn't a problem for the keyboard for the most part, but one annoying thing is keys on the edge. What we mean is that the curved shape of the key is flush with the actual outer case of the device, and if you don't hit the key precisely on the right spot, you'll end up typing on the chrome bezel.
One other huge negative is the placement of the back button. We're not sure why it's so close together (well, we are) but we wish there was another way of working that out. On countless occasions we've hit the back button while pressing in the trackball.

 

Size:
The size of the 9630 is a perfect blend between the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve 8900. It fits squarely in the middle. It feels great in your hand and is incredibly comfortable to use. One odd fun fact: we couldn't put our finger on it at first, but after a while it finally hit. The 9630 feels like the BlackBerry 7130 (Cingular model). Not sure why, but its like the wider 2009 version of that.

The device is a tad skinnier than the bold, less wide, and less tall too. So you're basically getting the entire Bold package without much sacrifice. Well, one big sacrifice actually — Wi-Fi. Though people could use the argument you gain Verizon so it evens out. We'll leave that up to you.

 

 

OS:
Think of 4.7.1 as the same OS the Storm uses minus the touchscreen. All the visual elements look the same — everything from highlights and gradients to slight UI changes –and even "gestures" work. We say that clearly not insinuating there's a touch screen, but if you for instance scroll left or right in the media application for example, the photos will flick left or right. It's a nice touch.

 

Browser:

The browser in its default mode now zooms into web pages much more than earlier versions. Things are so far zoomed in that it makes text look enormous and images look tiny. Another issue with this current OS build is that you can't click on any links with the mouse pointer. You have to go to menu, then hit "get link". It's not like we care, though.

 

 

Build Quality:
The build quality is great and you can tell that Verizon's getting more durable hardware than say AT&T is. You can tell that this phone will stand up to multiple daily beatings, and that's a really good thing.

The Bold's build quality left a lot to be desired. The 8900 feels pretty plasticky and cheap (the cheesy plastic battery door doesn't help) so the 9630's build quality is very refreshing. We, again, think it's going to stand up to various drops, punts, and drop kicks.