Verizon says trackball issue is 'addressed' on Tour, no longer a problem
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Sep 18th 2009 10:59PM
posted Sep 18th 2009 10:59PM
Early on there was an issue with the trackball that affected a small percentage [of] the early production units -- far less than industry norms. The issue was detected early, addressed immediately and is no longer an issue. Returns on this device are some of the lowest among any of our smart phones.In other words, it sounds like new buyers (and anyone who's taken the plunge recently) should be fine, and Verizon's actually taking it to another level by boasting that the handset's now one of its most return-proof smartphones. That doesn't change the fact that the trackball's a little too recessed for our liking -- but at least it should stay functional.
Now they just need to release a version with Wi-Fi.
Supposedly, a version called the "Essex" is in testing for release. It's the Tour with all the same features + wi-fi.
P.S: Hey Chris (Ziegler), I may have found a quick typo in the article. I think a word is missing in between "percentage" and "the" in the quote from the Verizon response.
I wish I had a way to just send it to you instead of jacking the comments :( Sorry Frozen72...
@Rogue_Genius: Indeed, thanks!
Damage Control. Erect a level 10 force field!
I gathered the 50% return rates were overblown like everything else is on the internet. It was probably 5% that somebody misread to be 50%. RIM's share price never missed a beat.
who use trackball this day ?, OLD, isn't it ?
Not as old as your boring fanboyism.
Man, I love trackballs. I wish there were good ones widely available... precise, no pulling on the cord, excellent :) Plus, they used to come on laptops. FAR superior to trackpads, IMHO. Even better than "TrackPoint style pointing devices" :)
I have already had my tour swapped out once for the trackball......went in to the Verizon store the other day because this one was doing it as well. They were out of stock so my third tour in less than a month with me delivered to me Monday! Ughh..
"Returns on this device are some of the lowest among any of our smart phones."
But... but... the analyst said they had a 50% failure rate! How could they not know the truth? Aren't the smartest people in business supposed to be on Wall Street?
Analysts are like the over-exagerating self-proclaimed-know-it-all friends that you could never figure out how to shut up.
I bought one of these on September 3rd, and already the trackball is getting stuck from being dirty, and I am very very protective when it comes to expensive gadgets like this. So this has me baffled as to first off how it got that much dirt in it and that verizon can honestly say that they have fixed the problem without a comment from RIM.
I've had my Tour for a week now with no issues with the trackball. I love it. :)
... So the Tour's trackball is too recessed and capacative owns resistive. Geez maybe RIM, HTC , Nokia, and all the rest should just can their engineers because you guys are obviously smarter than they are.
Shouldn't be a problem to begin with.
I have a Verizon Tour for 3 weeks now, never had an issue with the trackball, however, coming from a Curve, it was a bit of a challenge in the beginning, but now I love it.
BUT -> Biggest issue by far is the "muffled sound" during calls, which is widespread as well as proven in many forums.
I'm on a replacement Tour and the trackball was no better than the first Tour I had. I eventually decided to put in a Trackball meant for an 8330, and that solved the problem.
http://forums.crackberry.com/f141/green-dot-trackball-problems-solved-317661/
"Returns on this device are some of the lowest among any of our smart phones."
Sure they are Verizon. I suppose all those Blackberry fanatics on the Blackberry forums who are on their 5th Tour are just making it up. The trackball is not the only QC issue either.
I'm amazed such few people are posting about this issue. It's a big enough issue to be featured on Engadget, and it's not just a fluke of a problem either. My girlfriend has the Tour, and we picked up the phone on the release day. Within 3 weeks, when you would scroll the track ball to the right, the cursor would move left. You'd have to scroll probably 4 pages worth of movement in order to get it to move in the right direction, and then to the spot you need. It is ridiculous. I've had a Bold for about 6 months now and I've never had any issues. This phone is getting exchanged... it's not usable as is.
my mates got a BB with an optical trackpad thing. it was ok - less tactile but less likely to break I guess..
as crackberry.com posted, "new" tours will have a green dot next to the battery, which indicate a slightly revised production model in which this issue has been resolved. aparently RIM noted the problem somewhat quickly and have not only found a resolution, but acted on it and rectified it. Personal tastes aside, problem solved.
My tour's trackball has been shitting itself for 3 weeks now.
I had the same problem with my new 8900. I was told by T-Mobile store employee that I shouldn't carry it around in my pocket. The fault was caused by pocket lint. (?) After much discussion they finally relented and the device was replaced. I haven't had any trouble with the new unit.
This problem is not limited to the Tour.
I got mine 3 days before release and it has some tracking issues.. I notice them the most when scrolling the curser through text and trying to highlight stuff.. it's annoying but it doesn't happen all of the time so i'm just going to live with it for right now because the rest of the phone is perfect. I also have the insurance on it, so down the road I can replace it whenever I please
I might actually try to have them exchange the phone with a touch pro 2, but I'm not sure how easy that would be since i'm over 30 days
@ rube Why do you want a WinMo phone though? just wait till the end of Oct. and switch it out for a Storm 2 or an Android Sholes.
New "trackball fixed" BB Tours on Sprint should have a yellow dot on the side of the box, so make sure you check.
" Returns on this device are some of the lowest among any of our smart phones."
failure rate and retuners are two different things, Some people might have a busted tour which would be part of the failure rate but for what ever reason didn't return it. So that's how it could have a low rate.
I hate to say it but Blackberry isn't what it used to be, let's see there was the greatly anticipated Bold 9000, 3G with OS 4.5 and crashes are free. Then a revamped 8900 sans 3G so not that revamped other than it's new look and OS. Then the long awaited touchberry that just failed, 9500 Storm series that have no WiFi and the same problem 3G radio as the Bold. Now the Tour the better Blackberry, nothing more than a 8900 on EVDO so sort of 3G. I think Rim has lost it and should just stop pushing out crapberries and make a good solid line instead of flooding the market with useless telephones that do the same thing with the difference being 3G or WiFi radio. But what do I know right? I'm just that guy that won't buy one again.
Didn't Verizon say the same thing about the Storm? Oh wait. They did... almost.
“The Storm has the lowest return rate of any of our PDAs and at this point in its life cycle, it has the lowest return rate of any PDA we currently sell.”
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/18/blackberry-storm-buyers-remorse-youre-not-alone/
Have had the Tour from Verizon for a week and no trackball problems (so far).
I have had many issues with my Tour. My trackball is slow at times but the whole blackberry is slow. I can't end a call without it taking 5 seconds. I am very frusterated with the little black watch thing that always pops up.
I've always been a BB fanboy.
I had a Tour that I got on release day. I restored it with a backup from my curve. It ran crappy and the trackball was worthless for going left to right.
I swapped it out two days ago while traveling in NC. The new device was restored with only my contacts and messages. I reinstalled all of my apps individually. It runs great and my trackball is issue free!
I'm in love all over again :)
just had to call verizon CS last friday to get mine replaced because the local store had "no more replacements" in stock so that's gotta say something about the issue right there. bought mine day after launch, trackball took a sh*t about 5 weeks ago (no left to right movement really...)