X

RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Verizon Wireless) photos

The RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 will make its way to Verizon Wireless on July 12. Check out CNET's hands-on photos of what could be the carrier's best smartphone yet.

Bonnie Cha
Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.
Bonnie Cha
336862312440FT.jpg
1 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630

The RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 will be available from Verizon Wireless starting on July 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates. Sprint will also offer its own version of the Tour to be released on the same day for the same price. Nothing like a little friendly competition.
2 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

3G world phone

As the replacement to the RIM BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, the Tour offers 3G world roaming capabilities and brings a number of improvements in design, features, and performance.
336862312440DT3.jpg
3 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

BlackBerry Curve 8900 vs. BlackBerry Tour 9630

The design of the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 is a mix of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (pictured here) and the RIM BlackBerry Bold, inheriting some of the best traits of the two smartphones.
336862312440SD.jpg
4 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Right side

On the right side on the smartphone, you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, a user-programmable shortcut key, and a microUSB port.
336862312440POCKET.jpg
5 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Pocket friendly

The Tour measures 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 4.5 ounces, so it's a bit bigger and heavier than the Curve, but much more pocketable than the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry 8830.
336862312440PALM.jpg
6 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Quality build and sharp display

While heavier than the Curve, the BlackBerry Tour's extra weight gives the smartphone a satisfyingly solid feel. It also retains the high-resolution display of the Curve, so images and text looked smooth and vibrant.
336862312440DT2.jpg
7 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Excellent keyboard

The BlackBerry Tour offers a 35-key QWERTY keyboard that is reminiscent of the one found on the Bold, which is a good thing. It features good-size buttons and a slight bump to the keys that prevent them from feeling too flat.
336862312440BUTTON.jpg
8 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Great messaging device

As usual, the BlackBerry Tour excels at messaging. The smartphone includes Microsoft Exchange and POP3/IMAP e-mail support and even has expanded its IM client list to include Yahoo, Google Talk, AIM, and Windows Live.
336862312440DT4.jpg
9 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Roam where you want to

The RIM BlackBerry Tour offers dual-mode functionality (supporting dual-band CDMA and quad-band GSM networks) for world roaming capabilities and ships with a SIM card. In all, you'll get voice coverage in 220 countries and data coverage (e-mail and Internet) in 175 countries.
336862312440DT1.jpg
10 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

The Tour's camera

On back, you'll find the BlackBerry Tour's 3.2-megapixel camera. It features a 2x zoom, auto focus, flash, and image stabilization. It can also record video and geotag photos using the phone's GPS.
336862312440SS1.jpg
11 of 11 Corinne Schulze/CNET

Little fuzzy

Picture quality was mediocre mostly because images looked fuzzy or hazy in some places. Plus, the camera has a bit of shutter lag. That said, we were impressed with the video quality.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos