Posts Tagged ‘blackberry tour’
The Best Smartphones on Every Carrier [Smartphones]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on November 24th, 2009
For the first time ever, every major carrier in the US actually has smartphones worth buying, meaning you don't have to break up to get a good phone. Here's the best phones on each one, along with the best deals.
If you hate the gallery format, click here.
All pricing shown is with a new year 2-year contract, and some deals may be temporary.
AT&T
iPhone 3GS
The iPhone 3GS is the best overall smartphone you can buy. It's really that simple. Best user interface, best internet, best apps, best media support—the list goes on. Okay, not the best network, but nothing's perfect. $199
BlackBerry Bold 9700
I miss the original BlackBerry Bold's king-sized keyboard, but the Bold 9700 squeezes the best of the BlackBerry workhorse into an impressively tight form factor—faux leather back included—making it very possibly the best BlackBerry you can buy. $10
Bonus: Nokia e71x
It's free, and an actually good smartphone—my favorite Nokia phone on the planet. Free
Verizon
Droid
It's a terminator. A huge, disgustingly high-res screen, Batman-worthy industrial design, and the full power of Android 2.0 make it the best phone on Verizon—and the fact that it's running on arguably the best network in the US make it the second best smartphone you can buy, period. $150
BlackBerry Tour
Sure, it's notorious for trackball problems and it's missing Wi-Fi, but this is the BlackBerry of choice for email warriors if they're not on AT&T or T-Mobile—and it sure as hell beats anything running Windows Mobile. $50
Bonus: Droid Eris
If you're desperate to save $100 over the Droid, the Droid Eris will run Android 2.0 soon enough, and is smoother, smaller friendlier, if a little blander. $99
Sprint
Palm Pre
The Pre offers one of the best user experiences of any smartphone with Palm's webOS, and it's probably the best phone on Sprint, hardware build issues and comparatively dinky App Catalog aside. $80
HTC Hero
The best Android phone not running Android 2.0, HTC's Sense UI makes the sometimes confusing Android interface more digestible and has a few nifty tricks of its own, like integrated social networking. $180
Bonus: There is none. The Pixi's close ($25), but the fact that you can get the Pre for nearly as cheap undercuts a lot of the value, as much as we like the design and form factor.
T-Mobile
Motorola Cliq
Motorola's other Android phone is gussied up with Blur, a custom interface that's bright and friendly, with widgets for keeping track of everything happening on your social network. It's our favorite Android phone on T-Mobile. $100
Unlocked iPhone
No, I'm not kidding. A jailbroken and unlocked iPhone, even without 3G powers, is the second best smartphone you can use on T-Mobile.
Bonus: BlackBerry Bold 9700
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is the first BlackBerry with 3G on T-Mobile, which is reason enough, really, but it's good the reasons listed above, too. $130
Video: BlackBerry support coming to REDFLY Mobile Companion, adds only marginal appeal
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on September 17th, 2009
Read - Press release
Read - First look
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops
Video: BlackBerry support coming to REDFLY Mobile Companion, adds only marginal appeal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsBlackBerry Essex: The Tour, Plus Wi-Fi and a Trackpad [Unconfirmed]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on September 1st, 2009
You're looking at what's supposedly the BlackBerry Essex—which is basically a Tour tarted up with Wi-Fi and the Curve 8520's trackpad that's gonna creep across the line. So it's better. How you feel about that, Tour owners? [CrackBerry]
MoGo Talk Bluetooth Headset For BlackBerry Comes With Its Very Own Baby Carrier [Bluetooth Headsets]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 22nd, 2009
Bored with just talking about their microthin Bluetooth headsets, MoGo has started screwing them to things. For example: BlackBerrys! Now you can buy a headset with an adorable little backpack for your Curve and Javelin, and soon, Bold and Tour.
The Mogo Talk is more or less the same MoGo Bluetooth wafer that's been kicking around since 2007, except this time accompanied by purpose-built backplates for a sizable portion of the BlackBerry range. Burying the headset harness in the battery cover ostensibly helps keep a mounted headset from protruding too far, and enables a charging system to be built in without adding unnecessary bulk.
Looking at the suspiciously not-in-profile shots here, though, the deep integration and 5mm headset thickness still seem to leave a lump that would be at least noticeable, and at worst, irritating, especially in tighter pockets. Of course, something tells me that this might not matter too much, since the Bluetooth+BlackBerry combination guarantees a fair number of these will end up living in belt harnesses, strapped around the wastes of people named "Dad." The MoGo Talk will ship within a few weeks for $129.99. [MoGo]
BlackBerry Tour Available Today, As Expected [BlackBerry]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 12th, 2009
As promised, the BlackBerry Tour went on sale today at Sprint and Verizon for $199, with contract. The wonderful lack of carrier exclusivity surrounding a smartphone launch feels good. [Sprint, Verizon]
Sprint to Require WiFi on All Future Phones We Care About [Sprint]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 10th, 2009
While announcing the company's intention to release an updated version of the BlackBerry Tour with WiFi next year, a Sprint spokesman let slip that WiFi will also be present "in all its major devices going forward." Big win!
We're still annoyed with current-gen or even last-gen smartphones that are lacking WiFi (which leads to a general annoyance with Verizon), so we're glad to hear a major player is embracing it for the foreseeable future. Said the spokesman, "It is now a requirement for all our PDA equipment suppliers to include WiFi," which is a pretty firm commitment. What do you think, readers? Is WiFi a dealbreaker in a smartphone purchase? [Fierce Wireless via Engadget]
Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630 review
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 7th, 2009
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsEngadget Podcast 153 – 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 3rd, 2009
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Virt - Katamari on the Rock
Hear the podcast
00:02:10 - Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review
00:10:26 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market
00:14:22 - Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren't worth the fuss
00:24:45 - Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ
00:32:08 - Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development
00:38:10 - Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI
00:47:30 - Video: NVIDIA Tegra's GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash -- Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt
00:47:30 - Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing
00:50:17 - BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold
00:53:00 - RIM CEO: "SurePress is here to stay"
00:57:00 - 13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact
01:04:55 - iPhone 3GS review
01:07:15 - Palm Pre review
Subscribe to the podcast
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Download the podcast
LISTEN (MP3)
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Contact the podcast
1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.
Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Filed under: Podcasts
Engadget Podcast 153 - 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsVerizon Does an About Face, Offers BlackBerry Tour to Existing Customers [Verizon]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 2nd, 2009
Behold, the power of bad press! Verizon is now set to offer pre-orders of the upcoming BlackBerry Tour to existing customers in the very near future.
While yesterday had Verizon reps telling us that the Tour would only be available to new customers or Verizon customers at the end of their contracts, the site has since been updated:
Existing customers will be able to upgrade or purchase the BlackBerry Tour on this site very soon. Please check back with us tomorrow.
There we go, that makes a lot more sense. [Verizon via Boy Genius Report]
Verizon Customers Under Contract Can’t Order BlackBerry Tour [Verizon]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on July 2nd, 2009
Here's something for our hefty "WTF, Verizon?" file: The BlackBerry Tour, soon to be Verizon's top phone, cannot be pre-ordered by existing customers under contract who want to upgrade. What's worse, upgrades may be blocked even after the phone's release.
On the pre-order page, Verizon notes that, "Pre–orders not available for upgrade orders at this time." So if you're stuck with a years-old Curve 8330 or Pearl and want at least a current-gen BlackBerry, you'd better hope you've finished your contract. Even if you're eligible to upgrade to every other phone Verizon offers, you'll be blocked from nabbing the Tour. Oddly-named Verizon customer service agent "Markelvus" confirmed that the only Verizon customers allowed to pre-order the Tour are those whose contracts are completed.
Even stranger, Verizon customer service rep "Alexis" (who refused to provide me with her last name) stated that existing contract customers may not even be allowed to upgrade to the Tour when it's released. She said that such customers will be notified when upgrades are available, but that she does not know when that may be, and it could be well after the phone's July 13th release date.
She said, and I quote, "There is not a clear explanation on why existing customers are not able to order this device now. I am not sure when you are able to order it."
Those mid-contract upgrades cost Verizon money, so on kind of a cold, reptilian level, we understand the reason for the rule. But there's also a little thing called "not screwing your customers," and Verizon seems to have a tough time grasping that one. The Tour will be the most desirable phone in Verizon's lineup upon its release (and while we like the Tour okay, it's definitely not in the same league as the Pre, iPhone, or Hero), and yet they're keeping their contracted customers from ordering only this one device.
Sorry, Verizon customers. We feel your pain, we really do. We're getting tired of applauding Verizon's network while bashing absolutely everything else they do. At what point is staying with the Big Red no longer worth the hassle?
