Verizon's BlackBerry Tour coming July 12th, pre-order page now live

Looks like Verizon's got a winner here. That leaked promotional graphic was right on the money, as the carrier's just replaced its BlackBerry Tour teaser with a pre-order page and, lo and behold, it's indeed coming July 12th for a penny under $200. We're still waiting to see if Sprint's whispered July 20th date pans out, but regardless, if you want a Tour before anyone else, looks like VZW's the way to go.

[Thanks, Jeff]

Update: She's official. The press release says so.

[grull27 @ Jun 30th 2009 12:20AM]

Yay another Blackberry that looks like every other one besides the Storm and Pearl. -_-

[Dorf @ Jun 30th 2009 12:24AM]

Um, it's replacing the 8830.. they don't look much alike at all. And I'll deploy over 1000 of them just in my company so I think they have a winner.

[Andrew @ Jun 30th 2009 12:24AM]

Perhaps they've found a good form factor...?

[iKrolm @ Jun 30th 2009 12:26AM]

Yup, agree with grull, another *YAWN*

[AndrewNoNumbers @ Jun 30th 2009 12:35AM]

Perhaps Blackberry users are Qwerty-monoblock fanboys...?

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 30th 2009 1:41AM]

@grull27

What do you expect?

Blackberry (RIM) already makes almost every type of phone... QWERTY, flip phone and touchscreen.

Maybe they need a slider (or something like a Sidekick) but I doubt they would make those...

[Chris @ Jun 30th 2009 3:54AM]

So, you are saying it has sleek styling and perfect QWTY form factor just like the Bold and Curve 8900. Well put...

[Citivas @ Jun 30th 2009 6:39PM]

I have the AT&T version of this one now and other than being on AT&T is my favorite smart phone ever. I still own an iPhone,too but this new Blackberry is what I use for email. I tried out the Storm for weeks and the Pre for weeks and gave them both back. I could care less that it looks like the old Blackberry's -- it WORKS great. And despite the looks it is a little smaller/lighter than my old Curve and much smaller/lighter than the Bold, but has the same OS and screen quality as the Bold. It also is faster, lightning fast for email. It makes using email in the Pre feel like you were stuck in slow motion. It also makes the Pre App Store look like a joke, though it obviously is not remotely in the iPhone league there. It has a great camera (3.2 MP and video) too and accepts micro SD cards. It also has wiFi and a GPS. Like all Blackberry's, its internet browser blows chucks compared to the iPhone or Pre. But as an office / email device, it still blows them away. True real-time push syncing of all email (inbox, sent items, contacts, calendar, etc). Ah, what a pleasure to return to after using the toy Pre, etc.

[*Just some girl @ Jul 1st 2009 12:02AM]

@grull
LOL exactly my thoughts every time I see a BB post.

[william @ Jun 30th 2009 12:24AM]

i just love how they say they are the best 3g network.... lol thats a joke if you leave any major city you have no signal. looks like the 8900 i love my 9500 vodafone storm

[Chris @ Jun 30th 2009 3:57AM]

That's weird I had reception through an entire flight from Seattle to Los Angeles. I guess you aren't getting reception outside YOUR major city. Let me guess OKC?

[From My Cube @ Jun 30th 2009 7:49AM]

i have two phones, personal VZW and work ATT...the vzw has a 95% uptime being connected to 3G while ATT is probably more around 50%...

[tweak @ Jun 30th 2009 12:24AM]

I honestly debated between this and the Pre, and I decided that the web browser on the Storm was so clunky that I couldn't possibly give a Blackberry a chance. Granted, it might work fabulously, but at this point I'm "Prenamored." :-P

[patriotsn1 @ Jun 30th 2009 2:03AM]

Did the option of 3rd party browsers factor into your equation?

[Rogue_Genius @ Jun 30th 2009 12:25AM]

I left Verizon back in March, for AT&T & the Bold. I didn't realize ATT sucks DONKEYBALLS here in the D.C. area. Soooo...back to VZW I go. Anyone need a 3 month old bold in great condition? No? Okay then...*sigh*

[jperry2010 @ Jun 30th 2009 12:00PM]

Ah...D.C. One of my favorite things about Verizon in the D.C. area is that it is the only carrier that gets service in the D.C. Metro. Considering how much time I spend on the Metro when I'm in D.C., that is kind of a big deal for me.

[m3nphls @ Jun 30th 2009 12:26AM]

Recent test done by PC World

http://www.pcworld.com/zoom?id=167391&page=1&zoomIdx=1

now eat your own words you fool!

[m3nphls @ Jun 30th 2009 12:27AM]

Forgot to click reply, but this message is for william

[xtasi @ Jun 30th 2009 12:38AM]

@m3nphis: that chart doesn't have my small town of Los Angeles.
I've had mixed results. At my place both VZW and Sprint work great, friends come over and they can't get a signal. They have to go out to my garage to get a signal. However, when I go see my mom, I barely get one bar and my brother with the G1 has full signal.
In any casse "largest network" means squat, if YOU don't get a signal. where you use your phone.

[we need thneeds @ Jun 30th 2009 12:50AM]

That chart seems a bit unreliable to me. I live near San Jose, CA and commute to SF every week and have seriously never, not even once, had a problem with the reliability of AT&T's 3G service. Maybe I'm just a lucky outlier, but I have more than a few Verizon friends who have so many problems with a reliable signal that they actually borrow my phone to make calls on the reg. And it seems like almost no one in the Bay Area has Sprint for some reason. Any other Bay Area people concur?

[Anticrawl @ Jun 30th 2009 12:58AM]

No wonder my Storm roars past the iPhones of my friends out here in New Orleans loading up pages and videos online.

[m3nphls @ Jun 30th 2009 1:12AM]

Well, xtasi about the call signal then I guess it can vary depending on location as every carrier but that chart shows the reliability on 3G signal.

I forgot where I read about it but AT&T already said they will be holding on spending about upgrading their network and stuff....so I guess we'll see what happens when LTE deploys.

[nicksa7x @ Jun 30th 2009 12:26AM]

my birthday is on july 12th...
yay?

[Anthony @ Jun 30th 2009 12:28AM]

Um, maybe tomorrow there will be another blackberry!

Two weeks from now something revolutionary! It has a 7MP video camera!

In one month the blackberry website will have tripled the amount of products on their website!

Because wasn't there just the storm, then the storm 2 and like 5 others (which all looked the same) and now this oen?

BLACKBERRY IS CONFUSING. I'm not choosing sides I am just stating my opinion.

[Nick @ Jun 30th 2009 12:35AM]

i agree, i liked how they just made a curve, and then put that one phone on all the major networks, instead of making different phones for the networks like they are now.

[Chris @ Jun 30th 2009 4:25AM]

That has more to do with the carriers than phone companies. The carriers are the ones that pay to have certain phones exclusive to them, therefore blocking other carriers from using the same phone and forcing companies like RIM to make similar phones for the other carriers to maximize their customer base. Only when all carriers agree to not buyout exclusivity will you see the same phone across all major carriers, IE the Curve.

[richard @ Jun 30th 2009 12:36AM]

Hey guys it's another clunky blackberry woo.......... Oh and it's for verizon...... I always wanted to waste another $30 a month just to have a smartphone...

[KeegdnaB @ Jun 30th 2009 12:38AM]

because you don't pay 30 bucks a month on ANY other carrier for smartphones

[AndrewNoNumbers @ Jun 30th 2009 12:37AM]

I don't know why people even compare this to the iPhone, Pre, and myTouch. Those are the "it" phones, this is just another BB.

[Chris @ Jun 30th 2009 4:14AM]

palm pre: too small, cuts my hand, ugly shape

iphone: ATT, no keyboard, slips out of my hands, smudges, contract rape

myTouch: non functional OS

Blackberry Tour, Bold, Curve: Have none of these problems.

When you don't care about playing games on your phone the iphone's "it" factor is zero. I have an ipod touch that I use for my Sonos, the browser is not something worth paying $120/mo for. When you don't have tiny hands the pre is very uncomfortable to hold and the keys are sub-par as is the general construction. myTouch, really? an "it" phone? if you can explain why i'll give you that one to have for yourself... What makes a phone "it" for you? Is it all the grade school girls and boys who love app stores and touch screens? My "it" factor for a phone is communication power and ease of use.

[KeegdnaB @ Jun 30th 2009 12:40AM]

blah blah blah dey all look same

Seriously people, if the best reason you can come up with for bashing this thing is that it uses a tried and true form factor that millions of people swear by, you just aren't trolling hard enough.

I however, will be enjoying this thing the minute it comes out (or maybe the next day if I order online and they don't deliver on sunday)

[JohnTech @ Jun 30th 2009 12:56AM]

Finally....time to upgrade my Voyager. I guess I'll be getting this w/o contract and save my $100 NE2 for something in the future.

[glinc @ Jun 30th 2009 1:09AM]

mmmm, I wonder where did you copy this comment from.

[Bryan @ Jun 30th 2009 1:12AM]

Any idea of VZ is disabling GPS on this as they have done on their other BBs?

God I hate phone companies

[Anticrawl @ Jun 30th 2009 1:17AM]

Verizon hasn't locked or disabled GPS on a Blackberry since the Pearl and they unlocked the Pearl's GPS very quickly with an OS update. Get your facts straight fuckstick. You don't have to pay to use verizons turn-by-turn you can use anything you want. I have Garmin and Google Maps on my Storm.

[tweak @ Jun 30th 2009 1:21AM]

But you still have a garbage Storm...so...

[patriotsn1 @ Jun 30th 2009 2:08AM]

tweak, you might be stuck in the storm's first month of release but since all the firmware updates, the storm is a great phone.

[Bryan @ Jun 30th 2009 9:05AM]

Nice to meet you Anticrawl.

Isn't GPS disabled on my BB 8830? I thought google maps finds my location via tower triangulation, hence the enormous radius of uncertainty. If GPS is enabled, why is it so bad at knowing where I am ?

[tweak @ Jun 30th 2009 1:33PM]

Either way you slice it the Storm is still crap. The screen that clicks? Come on.

[drdobsg @ Jun 30th 2009 1:39PM]

@Anticrawl, I believe the Storm is the ONLY Verizon model that works with Google maps. GPS on the 8830 and 8330 is only available to VZ Navigator and Blackberry Maps.

[J @ Jun 30th 2009 1:21AM]

Hmmmm page seems to be not working. I click pre-order and type in my zipcode (NYC) and it says not available at this time.

[Jkswiss @ Jun 30th 2009 1:21AM]

I have the Verizon Curve and I don't really get the uproar. It's a blackberry. Its a great messaging device but its not really a fun phone. I was so hyped when the Curve finally came to Verizon...after I got it, I was kind of underwhelmed. I mean its great for what it does but don't expect to play any games worth a damn on it or to actually watch anything with it. GPS is locked down to BB Maps, which is a horrible, horrible, horrible program.

I'm a grown man who has to be in a business setting (accounting). I find that the iPhone just doesn't seem to fit the culture very well. Think of a pretty silver Macbook Pro standing out ostentatiously amongst a sea of black thinkpads and you have your iPhone compared to a more conservative, subdued BB. Doesn't help that it seems that a good chunk of iPhone/Apple owners on the net make themselves out to be complete douches when it comes to defending apple.

[kobioshi @ Jun 30th 2009 2:21AM]

I just don't get it... With the notable exception of the Pearl and Storm all these RIM devices look the same, require additional software & administration to work the Exchange, and offer limited functionality and inferior features when compared to WinMo, WebOS, Android and OS X based devices... Not to mention the fact that once an admin has all the BES crap setup that they are a pain admin ongoing... Why are these things so popular?

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 30th 2009 2:32AM]

Well... considering the Blackberry and BES were introduced long, long ago... when there were no Android, OSX or WebOS phones... it makes sense that they are still being used today.

I don't know the ins & outs of setting up Exchange with BES... but are corporations willing to throw all that out for the Android G1?

There are plenty of amazing phones and platforms now. Unfortunately, those old systems are already in place.

Plus... if you're given a Blackberry for WORK... I doubt they are *really* that popular :)

[kobioshi @ Jun 30th 2009 3:18AM]

Yep that's my point... They need to innovate some more, drop BES and build in native Exchange support, focus on newer style for their devices, update their OS and look FORWARD rather than banking on what is already in place. many corporations that used BlackBerry 10 years ago are getting ready for major IT overhauls and I am willing to be with Pre and iPhone they are giving serious thought to making the change.

[Eh? @ Jun 30th 2009 4:58AM]

Just keep on betting there....

The main reason blackberry devices and the BES are so popular with business is that unlike the other devices you mention, the BES offers more than just the token *exchange support*. Using a BES, a company has complete and total control over each and every device they implement on it. They can lock down or trow the doors wide open, however they choose to do so, not to mention full and complete remote wipes and better security than any of the other devices offer, among other things. None of the platforms come close to offering the type of control a BES enables. You want to disable specific features of the device? No problem. You want to ensure all traffic is routed back through your corporate network before going to the internet? You got it.

I guess people are too enamored by the pretty pretty colors, golly-gee-whiz animations and shiny surfaces of the other devices to really understand what the draw for business would be. It's ok, I won't fault them, those are some pretty shiny devices there.

Exchange support isn't the end-all, be-all, it just happens to be one of the more widely-publicized features.

[kobioshi @ Jun 30th 2009 11:07AM]

Good answer! I agree with you, but the problem is, I have done IT for many companies using BES and when I offer to enable the advanced features every singe one of them tell me know and ask me to just get the email working.

I know referencing my customer base isn't exactly scientific research on the matter, but in my realm on reality BES and BlackBerry just doesn't seem practical or cost-effective... But I gotta hand it to RIM, my clients want BlackBerry because bigger, more successful businesses use them... They introduced fashionable to the unfashionable, and brought me lots of business! :) I just personally don't care for them all that much... I like shiny! But to be honest the Pearl Flip is tempting me...

[Eli G @ Jun 30th 2009 2:31AM]

Is anyone else having trouble upgrading an existing line to the Tour? It's eligible for an upgrade but the Tour is not an option when you choose to upgrade a line.

[Aaron Basrai @ Jun 30th 2009 4:49AM]

its not out yet. I assume preorder is for new customers

[jcoulter36 @ Jun 30th 2009 7:57AM]

I can't preorder either, I wanted to upgrade my phone. You would think that they would let loyal customers preorder before new ones.