BlackBerry goes on Tour

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 16 Jun 2009 at 08:28

RIM has launched a new BlackBerry handset that is aiming for the middle ground between mobile professionals and consumers.

The new BlackBerry Tour will slot in between the high-end Bold and the consumer-oriented Curve in RIM's ever-expanding handset line-up.

Dubbed the Tour because of its compatibility with worldwide voice and data networks (3G EV-DO in the US, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM in Europe) the handset will be launched in North America this summer. Curiously, for a phone that's making a virtue of its worldwide compatibility, RIM is yet to announce any plans to launch the device on this side of the Atlantic.

The phone boasts a 2.4in display, which at 480 x 360 shares the same high resolution as the Curve 8900.

The Tour will also include a 3.2mp camera and built-in GPS, although there's no Wi-Fi support.

The handset design is hardly a radical departure from RIM's recent models. Measuring 112mm x 62mm x 14.2mm and weighing 130g, the Tour sports a full QWERTY keyboard that has Chrome frets in between the keys to supposedly increase typing accuracy.

RIM claims the Tour's 1400 mAhr battery will offer five hours of talktime and 14 days on standby.

Pricing details have yet to be announced.