BlackBerry Tour hitting Verizon on July 12 for $199.99?

You know what'd sell like a cold glass of water in hell? A $199.99 BlackBerry Tour on Verizon, that's what -- and it looks like that might be what the carrier's planning to unleash. Boy Genius Report has what seems to be a promotional graphic advertising the release of the Tour on July 12 -- just over two weeks from today -- which has the potential to make it the first Tour release anywhere, beating Telus' July 15 date and Sprint's nebulous "later this summer" window. Who's camping out in line with us?

[Joseph @ Jun 26th 2009 10:17PM]

I'll be there. But I prefer you guys give me one for free ;)

[Nick @ Jun 26th 2009 10:19PM]

I'll have to wait until August for my upgrade :(

[Nick @ Jun 26th 2009 10:19PM]

Wow I don't know why that showed up as a reply to you...

[JimboJones @ Jun 27th 2009 12:22AM]

not to beat the dead horse, but the the heck this has no WIFI ? Seriously, this could be amazing phone if it would have WIFI

BB makes "world phone" and yet one thing you cannot do is to use skype and call over WIFI when you travel overseas

[d889 @ Jun 27th 2009 1:11AM]

wifi is pretty much trivial when you have verizon in the US and then you just pop in a sim card when you are somewhere else, if you need skype so bad then there will probably be computer wherever there is wifi

i have been using verizon since 2000 and i my patience has finally been rewarded

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Jun 27th 2009 7:35AM]

you don't need wifi when you have vzw... BLAH BLAH BLAH

wifi is WAY faster... i can't stand that my current vzw phone does not have wifi... ev-do a is better than 1x but, it still suck

[JimboJones @ Jun 27th 2009 3:05PM]

totally agree, wifi is was faster

comments about computer with skype? the whole point of having smartphone is to minimize use of computer in communication, if I go for a week vacation to europe, I can find tons of places with wifi, not that many will have computer with skype + microphone + speakers

BB Bold is awesome phone, I really don't get why this BB has no wifi

[ChrisF @ Jun 26th 2009 10:27PM]

will this phone have a great browser? i have been holding off on leaving verizon to get a pre with sprint or iphone 3gs with at&t because ive had no problems with verizon and dont want to pay an etf.

[JimboJones @ Jun 27th 2009 12:24AM]

wait for STORM 2

[Lord Nibbler @ Jun 27th 2009 12:37AM]

In for the Storm 2 as well... if they can ever get the current Storm working as it should.
Latest update - x.148 - was 2 steps forward and 3 steps back (in comparison to .141 I was running)
*Sigh* Oh well... can't win 'em all...

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 27th 2009 4:14AM]

I'm not keeping my hopes up... I have the 8830 and have been waiting for Verizon to get ANYTHING decent in the smartphone world. I currently just use my iPod Touch when I have WiFi in airports/restaurants/cafes. The browser on every blackberry I've had is useless for non-mobile websites..

[K Hop @ Jun 26th 2009 10:41PM]

now just gimme some android, preferably soon.

[ChrisF @ Jun 26th 2009 10:30PM]

oh by the way i lost my voyager and had to buy a cheap $30 samsung flip phone to replace it and im ready to get rid of the piece of junk

[The Mad Mule @ Jun 26th 2009 10:33PM]

Hmph, I have to wait a whole 'nother year before my Curve is eligible for that two-year upgrade thing.

[Jkswiss @ Jun 26th 2009 11:09PM]

Wait, what? No sense of entitlement? You should raise of a fuss like the 3g iPhoners did. I'm sure you generate 1.6x the revenue of the "average" Verizon Wireless customer. I can upgrade with new customer pricing but I'll lose the new ever 2 $100 credit I'm supposed to get in January.

[Tdburn @ Jun 26th 2009 10:34PM]

Dang Sprint and their fuzzy release dates!

[HyeWarrior @ Jun 26th 2009 10:42PM]

Anyone know how much it would cost to buy one outright? I bought a LG Dare exactly a year ago, and I'd love to sell that pos and upgrade to one of these babies

[m3nphls @ Jun 26th 2009 10:42PM]

mmmmm should I wait till september and pay $100 or do it on launch day for $100 extra?

[timomcd @ Jun 26th 2009 10:46PM]

My New Every 2 hits July 21. I've been looking for a Blackberry without total-touchscreen like the Storm. Is this a good idea for a starter Blackberry? Will Verizon cripple additional features like GPS?

[Michael @ Jun 27th 2009 1:38AM]

Almost certainly. I don't know a lot of details, but I've read things on here and other blogs where you can flash the firmware to enable GPS for google maps...ymmv.

Verizon wants to rope you into their monthlt subscription for using their GPS app, go figure.

Another common complaint about the Tour is the lack of WiFi, to get such a feature, you'd have to choose another model.

[Canis_Minor @ Jun 27th 2009 8:08AM]

Verizon does not cripple smartphones any longer. The latest BB's (and other similar devices) are fully functional: BT, GPS, etc, work just handy.

The only device that I know of that is still crippled is that Nokia 7205 Intrigue running some CrapOS from VZW.

[Erik @ Jun 26th 2009 10:48PM]

Yay another blackberry that looks and most likely feels the same as the last 10.

Hooray for 90's software!!

[KeegdnaB @ Jun 26th 2009 10:57PM]

why mess with a good thing?
blackberries have kept the same basic design for years because it's a design that works well and pretty much anyone who owns one swears by it.

[Erik @ Jun 26th 2009 11:23PM]

Works well for a few,
but why waste half the device with a plastic keyboard?

[KeegdnaB @ Jun 26th 2009 11:34PM]

because keyboards are good

[Erik @ Jun 26th 2009 11:50PM]

aaaaalrighty then...

*snaps back into reality*

[Sphen @ Jun 27th 2009 2:06AM]

Believe it or not, not everyone likes touchscreen keyboards.

I know, it's shocking, but you have to accept it.

[ethana2 @ Jun 27th 2009 3:43AM]

They don't like them because they haven't been done right yet.
...but a keyboard on a phone belongs on the BACK. No one has done that right yet either.

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 27th 2009 4:16AM]

The design is ok, everything else is poor. They use slow processors, the OS isn't optimized for modern ARM cores, there is no graphics acceleration of the UI so everything is slow and laggy, the browser sucks, etc.

The only reason I have an 8830 is because Verizon has nothing better...

[Mark L. @ Jun 27th 2009 10:43AM]

soon ppl'll be saying that about osx, if not already

[Jamesology @ Jun 28th 2009 6:01AM]

@ Erik

Why do Laptops, Macbooks, iMacs, and Pcs still have keyboards? I believe RIM and Palm know the answer.

The IPhone does have fantastic games and little entertaining apps, but in the big boy world we need to get the job done.

[Jason Martin @ Jun 26th 2009 10:49PM]

I guess for a phone on Verizon, that's okay (great network, mediocre phones), but there are so many other smart phones out there at that price point and lower that are much better options that this. No WiFi = Fail, as far as I'm concerned.

[m3nphls @ Jun 26th 2009 11:30PM]

When you got a reliable 3G network you do not need wi-fi. Other carriers rely on their wi-fi feature because their 3G network sucks

[jake @ Jun 27th 2009 12:23AM]

wifi is useful because that awesome 3g network doesnt extend into other countries, basements, private networks, planes, or coverage dead zones.

[d889 @ Jun 27th 2009 2:18AM]

thats because in other countries you pop in a sim card to use data

and if your in someones basement chances are a real computer is nearby for whatever reason you need it

[James @ Jun 27th 2009 3:25AM]

And wifi is a must when verizon has such a low data cap.

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 27th 2009 4:17AM]

EVDO takes far more power than WiFi too

[Sarcasticone @ Jun 26th 2009 10:50PM]

Finally! A reason to live! ... And to stay on verizon

[James @ Jun 27th 2009 3:29AM]

If this is a reason to live for you then you must have a sad life, may be a reason to stay on verizon if youre a blackberry lover, I loved my curve for texting and emails but the lack of a decent browser(even opera on it was pretty much worthless), and lack of 3g caused me to make the switch to winmo.

[Robert @ Jun 26th 2009 11:11PM]

The promo graphic is available on testman.verizonwireless.com. Just click next a few times. Nothing special from BGR, a reader just happened to be on the test site at the right time.

It's available however you cannot preorder as the graphic shows.

[Badger_badger_badger @ Jun 26th 2009 11:25PM]

If one is currently on contract with verizon, would it be $199 to upgrade from your current phone?

[m3nphls @ Jun 26th 2009 11:28PM]

Depends if you have reached your upgrade elegibility date or not. If you don't then you will have to get it at full retail and depending on the price plan you are on you might qualify for early upgrade and get it at this price.

If your upgrade date is up and you are not a 9.99 line then you should have New Every Two which brings it down below 199

[Colin @ Jun 26th 2009 11:37PM]

Is it just me, or has the iPhone and its clones (most notably the Pre) moved so far beyond RIM that new Blackberries just aren't exciting anymore?

[Epsilon-Not @ Jun 26th 2009 11:50PM]

People like different phones, I guess.

I appreciate BlackBerry keeping the physical keyboard out front where it belongs... but I'm not sure I would want to go back to a non-touch device.

[Badger_badger_badger @ Jun 27th 2009 2:08PM]

Business users still like the simplicity and speed of BBs.

[jamesbriano @ Jun 28th 2009 11:53AM]

I have an iPod touch that I absolutely love; I use it constantly around the house. However, after six months I still have a very difficult time typing with the touchscreen. This is compounded by a hand injury I sustained many years ago which makes it challenging to hold the iPod steady with my left hand. It's slippery!

I've been quite jealous of my friends on ATT with their sweet iPhones, but honestly, I couldn't compose an email message of any significant length on an iPhone. I really do require a physical keyboard. I'll be grabbing a Tour the day they are released.

[Colin @ Jun 28th 2009 3:34PM]

I'm a business user and I actually like the iPhone for keeping track of my calendar, contacts and email, it's just that it does so much more, too!

I hear what people are saying about not wanting to compose an email message of significant length on a virtual keyboard, but I personally wouldn't want to compose a message of significant length on the tiny physical keyboard of a Blackberry either.

I used to have an HTC 8525 with about the best slide out keyboard possible (big enough to use two thumbs to type comfortably), and I was only marginally faster typing on it than I am with my iPhone.

[boomhower @ Jun 26th 2009 11:41PM]

Come on Sprint, you can't let them get a big lead on this one. Get it out!

[cmil1212 @ Jun 26th 2009 11:49PM]

Is that the new Centro?

[soobin27 @ Jun 27th 2009 12:41AM]

pffftttt i just came in my pants.
FINAL-FCKIN-LY.

plz go shove that storm up ur ass Verizon.