Comments on: BlackBerry Should End This Tour

By: gloria

gloria — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:30:07 +0000

haha!

just get your phone repaired.

http://www.blackberryplace.com

By: LarryMcJ

LarryMcJ — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:23:35 +0000

I held out for 48 hours, but now I’ve looked at, and played with, the Tours that VZW here locally is handing out and they’re definitely MUCH better. No trackball problem, no bluetooth or low audio problems…they seem much better. I may go back and try one again since there just isn’t any other BB option with VZW, unless you count the upcoming Storm 2, which has a lot of negative press already. Or, I may hold out and try the 8530, only because it has WiFi.

By: jake

jake — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:49:11 +0000

On top of everyone else’s comments and suggestions (like changing network settings from Global to CDMA, etc etc), I have somehow improved my Tour battery life from less than a full work day to almost THREE full work days. I am floored right now. The keys are AutoStandby and the new Seidio Innocell Extended Life Battery (2600mAH).

Check out my blog post on it here:

http://jakeandjake.blogspot.com/2009/10/blackberry-tour-battery-life.html

Jake

By: Parkite

Parkite — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:06:16 +0000

50% return rate? Seems hard to believe. If your source is sell-side analysts, i’d be cautious. Have been using a Bold on ATT for almost 1 year now with NO issues aside from the network. Great keyboard, screen, battery, trackball……..just a solid, reliable device.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:43:25 +0000

I have been using a Tour and I haven’t experienced any issues with it. The new BB is great. So far I haven’t had any issues with my Tour.

By: Alberta

Alberta — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:11:23 +0000

My BB Tour is a fantastic replacement for the Palm Treo 755p I purchased exactly two years ago. The Treo worked fine for the first year but developed keyboard issues and considerable lag issues after that.

Apart from some transitional issues moving data from the Treo over to the Tour (via a Macintosh), this Telus Mobility device works awesomely for me. Had some battery issues during the first few days but killed some apps that seemed to drain the power supply. Despite considerable amounts of daily texting and email, I usually end up with 65% power remaining at the end of my 18 hour days.

Yes, it’s a CDMA device but it worked very well in Europe two weeks ago. As much as I wanted an iPhone, I also needed a real keyboard and this BlackBerry rocks! Looking forward to the Desktop Manager for Mac OS X!

By: Raymond Padilla

Raymond Padilla — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:28:57 +0000

You shouldn’t have abandoned your 8900! One of the reasons I bought it was because you seemed quite happy with yours.

By: AG

AG — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:06:51 +0000

+1 Seriously? You are going to toast an entire company because you got some sand in the trackball and couldn’t figure out how to fix it? Lame.

By: bijan sabet

bijan sabet — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:52:11 +0000

i had the VZW Tour for exactly 24 hours. it was awful.

By: VS

VS — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:02:41 +0000

Om,
your passion for all things high tech; especially mobile devices; is what draws so many of us to GigaOm. I recall when you passionately wrote off the iPhone few months back, based on your ill experiences with that service. In fact your peer at TechCrunch also followed thru with a similar action, shortly thereafter.

However, given the influence your word carries, I believe you and your peers could adopt a more balanced approach to critiquing products and services. Frankly, the current approach of cutting off products at their knees comes across as being rather impulsive and emotional, almost to the point of being personal; rather than being objective. Specifically, we all know how sturdy and reliable blackberry products have been (relative to their peers). While its true you and many others have experienced significant issues with the Tour device, in all probability this is an exception than the norm for Blackberry products. Also, we all know that design/manufacturing issues are inevitable with increasingly complex products like smartphones. The real question is how a product or service provider addresses such issues as and when they occur, and to that extent, your experience represents an opportunity for Blackberry/Verizon to grow. Perhaps with a balanced approach, you could initiate a dialogue with providers like Apple & Blackberry, steering them towards delivering effective resolutions to such issues. Finally, a balanced approach will safeguard you from taking the extreme position of divorcing a product (like the iPhone) and having some of your readers follow you; only to later retract or revisit that step.

I firmly believe a balanced approach will help further strengthen your bond of credibility with readers like myself, and will also more positively influence actions by leaders (aka 1000 pound gorillas) like Blackberry, Apple, etc; all for the benefit of consumers at large! (fyi, I don’t own any stock in Apple, RIM, Verizon, AT&T, Motorola, or Google. Also, I don’t use the iPhone or Blackberry devices currently, since they are too expensive for my budget as an unemployed professional ;).

I know my feedback will not be easy (or even possible) for you to accept, but I believe as a GigaOm fan, its my responsibility to share the same with you. Keep up your great work & tare care,
-v

By: JoeS

JoeS — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:00:21 +0000

Ever consider just getting an exchange instead of being frustrated. I did and the trackball works fine. I also do a reasonably heavy day of use and still have battery left.

By: Raj Sarma

Raj Sarma — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:21:24 +0000

There were some early trackball issues, but overall this has turned out to be an amazing phone!

#Swappable/expandable memory.
#Swappable SIM card for use with overseas carriers.
#Media player along with all popular apps like Pandora, Slacker, Shazam, OpenTable

I don’t see what’s not to like! In terms of functionality, the Tour the iPhone every time. The iPhone is revolutionary, but is still a closed (Apple) black box that cannot be used anywhere out of the Apple/ATT circles.

I had some initial trackball issues as well, but a quick trip to the Sprint store and a replacement fixed this!

By: CharlieJ

CharlieJ — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:04:09 +0000

You and the analysts are WAY off when it comes to the trackball issues. You need to check your figures BEFORE posting such junk. While the Tour has its issues, 50% or higher return rates because of the trackball is NOT one of them. Get it right or your credibility with end users will be nil.

As for not recommending Blackberry to anyone, that’s absolutely stupid and very shortsighted based on your two month experience with ONE model phone. How can anyone trust YOU if you’re gonna post such trivel without knowing what you’re talking about. Test the entire product line for a year or so, then post your opinion. Until then, you’re an amateur quoting idiots — and you look foolish.

By: Girish

Girish — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:21:06 +0000

I am one of the early Tour adopters. I switched from AT&T to Verizon for better coverage and a single handset that works in US and EMEA.

I do experience the horizontal scrolling problem – often I close the app and return later on.
Frustrating for sure.

VZW coverage is much superior in Bay area – not great in MA.

Is there any mention from Verizon/BB about exchanges?

Girish

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:13:32 +0000

Ever notice that the two suckiest BlackBerry devices in recent memory are both CDMA devices? (Storm and Tour)? Why didn’t they just change radios in the Curve 8900 and call it a day? I’m sure that Verizon and Sprint were pushing for something “new” so they wouldn’t just be 6 months behind AT&T and T-Mobile’s devices.

I’ve had my Curve 8900 since launch on T-Mobile and it’s been great. My trackball will stick one in a while… but, then again, so did the ball on my Pearl I had for two years. I could probably fix it by not putting it in my pocket….

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:58:28 +0000

Hit a nerve?