eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry Tour will arrive in Verizon Wireless stores July 12, the carrier has announced.
The Tour is a 3G “world phone,” which Verizon says will enable customers to make calls in 220 countries and access e-mail and the Internet in the 175 countries where Verizon offers data-roaming services.
That’s in addition, of course, to the expected BlackBerry features, such as push e-mail, IM, SMS and MMS messaging, and easy access to social networks. A 3.2-megapixel camera with geo-tagging and video capabilities is also included-though a version without the camera will also be available-as are GPS, full HTML Web browsing and Verizon’s Mobile Broadband Connect tethering service.
For additional fees, Verizon’s music player, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, and its turn-by-turn directions app, VZ Navigator, are also supported.
A smidge slimmer and lighter than the BlackBerry Bold, the Tour weighs 4.58 ounces and is 4.4 inches long by 2.4 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep. Verizon is currently accepting preorders on its Website, at a rate of $199 after a $70 mail-in rebate and a new two-year contract. E-mail and Web plans begin at $29.99 when added to a nationwide voice plan.
The biggest summer savings, however, may be in Verizon’s inventory of BlackBerry handsets. With the same $70 rebate and two-year contract preface, it’s now also offering the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone and Curve 8330 for $49.99, the Pearl Flip 8230 for $79.99, and the Storm for $149.99.
During the announcement of RIM’s first-quarter 2010 revenue-$3.42 billion-co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced that during the first quarter approximately 80 percent of net new subscribers were non-enterprise customers.
“These [consumer] customers now represent over half of the total BlackBerry subscriber account base,” said Balsillie.