Every time you feel that RIM has launched its best blackberry, the engineers at RIM come up with a better product. The Blackberry Tour is probably the best Blackberry version launched till date with features that are bound to make a mark on the user. Like most of the Blackberry phones, the Tour comes with an overhauled and advanced Blackberry OS, full QWERTY keypad and a high resolution screen. The design is polished and more sophisticated than the earlier models, though still maintaining the “Blackberry Look”. So what makes the tour different than its predecessors, you ask? It’s the design and the added features. The phone is a delightful combination of two of RIM most popular phones, the Bold and the Curve. The lack f Wi-Fi maybe disheartening but now the phone comes with full 3G support and works with both GSM and CDMA networks.
This phone is a must for any serious business user who wants to be constantly on the go while still being in touch with his work.

The basics:

Design and display:
The Blackberry Tour comes in a breathtaking glossy black case with a body similar to that of the blackberry bold and the curves of that of Blackberry Curve. A comfortable grip and a curvy smooth body make the Tour absolutely delectable. The phone weighs 130gms, a bit smaller than the Bold but at the same time a tad heavier than the curve. Although packed in a shiny black exterior surrounded by a smooth aluminum rim, the phone surprisingly is not at al prone to fingerprints.
The wide 2.4 inch screen occupies the top of the phone with the familiar navigation buttons below: the trackball, the menu keys and the call buttons. Below the navigation keys is the full QWERTY keypad with a key feel that is quiet but comfortable and tactile. The overall design of the phone is cool on the eyes and comfortable for the fingers.

The other control buttons for sound, camera and the USB jack are placed at the side of the handset.
The navigation is smooth on the Blackberry OS which is at its best on the Tour.

Multimedia:
Camera:
The phone comes with decent multimedia capabilities which just about manage to meet the expectations of the users. But then the Blackberry is a business phone and not a multimedia phone, so no complains here. The decent 3.2 MP camera is capable of handling both still images and video and produces good quality results. Complete with auto focus, zoom and a great LED flash, the camera matches up or is rather better than some of the other phones in its category.
A video call camera though is found lacking but the other features mange to overshadow this lacking

Media player:
Transfer you favorite music, create play lists and enjoy your music on the phone with its integrated music player that supports all the popular formats. The media player can also play your favorite videos in almost every available format like MPEG4, DivX, XviD, H263 and WMV. The built in speaker is again a surprise from RIM which is capable of reproducing crisp and clear sounds.

The phone comes with the welcome 3.5 mm jack which can be used to plug in your favorite headphones or external speakers while playing media. The phone can be compatible with the Rhapsody internet music player from where tracks can be easily downloaded for an affordable fee.

Organizer and Email:
What is a PDA phone without an efficient organizer? The Tour comes with an excellent organizer that lets you plan your days and appointments in advance. The organizer lets you sync the calendar with the enterprise calendar as well.

The tour lives up to Blackberry’s legendary email support with compatibility for:
1.    web mail with POP and IMAP account support.
2.    Blackberry enterprise server for Microsoft exchange, Novell GroupWise and lotus domino server.
3.    Push mail feature.
The phone is also compatible with most of the instant messaging clients like Google talk, yahoo messenger and aim.

Specifications:
Display: 2.4-inch TFT wide screen with support for 65k colors.
Dimensions: 112 x 62 x 14.2 mm.
Weight: 130gms.
Camera: Main camera – 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, auto focus, LED flash.
Second camera – No.
Audio: media player with support for MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA.
Video: video player with support for DivX/XviD/MPEG4/WMV.
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging.
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, mini USB.
Internet: EDGE, GPRS, HSCSD, 3G, HTML Browser.
Games: Built-in and downloadable.
Memory: 256 MB internal with support for microSD up to 8 GB
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1400 mAh with stand by up to 336 hours and talktime up to 5 hours.
Extras:
* Blackberry OS.
* GPS with A-GPS support.
* Document reader/editor.
* Organizer.
* Document editor for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF.
* Blackberry Maps.
* Voice memo.
* Geo tagging.
* 3.5 mm headphone jack.
* GSM and CDMA compatible.
* FM Stereo.