BlackBerry Tour
Encyclopedia
The BlackBerry
Tour is a mobile phone
developed by Research In Motion
and is part of the 9600 device series. This high-end messaging phone combines the multimedia features of the Curve with the global roaming of the 8830 (with the addition of North American GSM/GPRS/EDGE capability), plus a higher-resolution display, 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera, 3G data overseas and faster EVDO Rev. A data in the United States and Canada. Other key features include video capture, 3.5mm audio jack, memory card slot, push email, QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, and GPS navigation. The BlackBerry Tour was released on July 12, 2009.
Research In Motion (RIM) released BlackBerry OS 5.0 for the Tour in North America in April 2010.
OS 5.0 feature improvements:
Official Released 5.0 Operating Systems:
's Bonnie Cha has criticized the BlackBerry Tour for lacking Wi-Fi
and for not allowing applications to be downloaded to the memory card, but also praised its high resolution display and QWERTY keyboard and concluded that it was a "feature-rich and well-performing smartphone".
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
Tour is a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
developed by Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
and is part of the 9600 device series. This high-end messaging phone combines the multimedia features of the Curve with the global roaming of the 8830 (with the addition of North American GSM/GPRS/EDGE capability), plus a higher-resolution display, 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera, 3G data overseas and faster EVDO Rev. A data in the United States and Canada. Other key features include video capture, 3.5mm audio jack, memory card slot, push email, QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, and GPS navigation. The BlackBerry Tour was released on July 12, 2009.
Specifications
The BlackBerry 9630 has the following features:- 256MB on Board Internal Memory
- 3.2 MegapixelPixelIn digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
camera with flash (Available without camera) - aGPSAssisted GPSAssisted GPS, generally abbreviated as A-GPS or aGPS, is a system which can, under certain conditions, improve the startup performance, or time-to-first-fix of a GPS satellite-based positioning system. It is used extensively with GPS-capable cellular phones as its development was accelerated by...
- internal assisted GPS with extended ephemerisEphemerisAn ephemeris is a table of values that gives the positions of astronomical objects in the sky at a given time or times. Different kinds of ephemerides are used for astronomy and astrology...
, BB Maps is standard - MP3/WMA/AAC+ media player
- DivX/WMV/XviD/3gp video player
- BluetoothBluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
v2.0, Bluetooth Stereo Audio via A2DP and AVRCP - Browser - HTML browsing, View Movies/Clips from websites built for mobile streaming, RSS feed support
- Operating System: 5.0
Research In Motion (RIM) released BlackBerry OS 5.0 for the Tour in North America in April 2010.
OS 5.0 feature improvements:
- All BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) devices running OS 5.0 will get an updated Web browser with more accurate AJAXAjax- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...
rendering, faster JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
processing, and BlackBerry Widget support—including Google Gears and SQLite for BlackBerry Widgets. - Companies running BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0—originally released back in May—will see several additional improvements on BlackBerry OS 5.0-equipped devices. They include follow-up flags for e-mail messages; e-mail folder management; the ability to view, edit, save, or e-mail documents from remote file shares; calendar appointment forwards and attachment viewing; and wireless contact sync for multiple folders, distribution lists, and Public/Shared folder contacts.
- BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) 5.0 (chat with other BlackBerrys)
- Email and text messages will have a stationary date header
- Threaded text messaging
- When sending pictures (via email, mms or bbm), an option to resize individual photos to 1024×768, 800×600 or 640×480 is given.
- Forward calendar entries
- Updated BlackBerry Maps
- Users will be able to set their default download folder, wallpaper, theme and reset the icon layout of a theme to its default layout from “Homescreen Preferences”
- If the device is running low on memory, a message will pop up that not only informs the user of the low memory, but also recommends rarely used apps for deletion
- Users can decide if they want to have sounds when the device is booting up, shutting off, plugged in to charge, unplugged from charging, when the battery is full and when the battery is drained.
- Users can now individually encrypt email PIN messages. All that is needed is for the sender and receiver to know the encryption password which is done via S/MIME
Official Released 5.0 Operating Systems:
- Telus : 5.0.0.419
- SaskTel : 5.0.0.419
- MTS Mobility: 5.0.0.419
- Sprint : 5.0.0.1030
- Verizon Wireless: 5.0.0.975
Critical reception
CNETCNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
's Bonnie Cha has criticized the BlackBerry Tour for lacking Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
and for not allowing applications to be downloaded to the memory card, but also praised its high resolution display and QWERTY keyboard and concluded that it was a "feature-rich and well-performing smartphone".