The dude over at SprintGurus was wrong.

Found over at CrackBerry:
Sprint BlackBerry Tour Available July 12th via Online And Telesales at $199 for Upgrades | CrackBerry.com

Here is a direct link to the twitter post from Sprint.
Twitter / sprint: BlackBerry Tour available ...

Yep, found here too:
http://www.blackberrynews.com/2009/0...the-9630-tour/

I'm sure once VZ went public with a firm date Sprint wasn't going to let them eat their lunch.

I think Sprint's date was always the 12th.
The only way the 20th came up was because the guy over at SprintGurus claimed he knew it was the 20th.

I'm just glad to see CDMA carriers releasing devices relatively close. Still not on the same scale as GSM carriers, but better than it has been in the past. I mean Verizon released the Storm and now the Tour. And the Storm 2 is rumored to be released later this year.

True. Verizon has picked up the pace on their devices.

Just went to the Sprint website and July 12th is when it is available.
As soon as you goto thier homepage it is there on the top banner.

Of course NO PRE-ORDERS for Sprint.....

I don't think there are going to be supply problems with these devices.

This does seem more like a pre-order. I can't figure out what they mean by "available". Does that mean I can purchase online or by phone and they will immediately ship one to me? Will I have to wait a few more weeks? I've been to 6 different stores and none of the reps had any idea about this release date. Only a couple had even heard of the Tour.

I called Sprint directly yesterday and after several minutes of typing away she confirmed that it would be "available" but couldn't find any more information than that.

I think this is all really odd.

Well I for one will be waiting around midnight saturday to see if the website is updated with the Tour. Whether there is a shortage or not, I plan on ordering early. Always excited when a new BB comes out.

Played with a sprint one today.

The size isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Think of the curve 8300 but longer. Felt very solid too. It had a plastic glossy battery door that I felt wasn't fitting for the rest of the device.

However, that sucker is heavy! Heavier than the storm. (or definately felt like it was).

Does anyone know if there is going to be a tour without a camera? I work on base and we are not allowed camera phones.

Yes, they are making them with and without camera.

My local Sprint Store says they'll be available for order on the 12th (tomorrow) but the stores won't have them in stock for maybe another month. If I order it tomorrow I will have it by Tuesday. Unfortunately for me, since I'm a new customer and not eligible for an upgrade (I bought the Palm Pre - what was I thinking?!) it will cost me $500 plus tax and shipping. My 8330m is working so well it makes shelling out that kind of $$ tough. I almost wish my 8330m was screwing up. That would make the decision for me!

You could always sell your Pre and recoup most of the cost difference.

I read that the Tour will be available for sale via telesales and web at 12am EST/9pm PST 7/12/09.....can anyone confirm this? I find this odd also, I no longer see the banner on the sprint website for the Tour.

Yeah, but I'm going to hang onto the Pre for a while and see if this WebOS thing actually lives up to the promise, or if it at least comes close. I may sell my GSM BlackBerry Bold though. Not much need for it since I went CDMA. I will keep an old 7105t (unlocked) for a GSM backup, just in case a need arises.

I was able to order the Tour a little after midnight on Sunday morning. I haven't received any confirmation from Sprint yet. During the process the screen said shipping may be delayed due to "high demand".

So, I have no idea when to expect to receive it.

"High demand?" lol
That's a lame excuse. They really weren't ready to release on the 12th.

See:
baw - Will! Sarah! Help Pls: Tour 9630 Online orders show as 'cancelled' Lots of worries... - BlackBerry Smart Phones - Buzz About Wireless Forum

According to my local rep, Sprint doesn't even have the Tour listed in their inventory. I shows up, then disappears, then comes back later. Nobody is sure what's up at Sprint with the Tour. But I ordered one this morning and was "promised" it would be in the store for pickup by 1:00 PM tomorrow. We'll see....

I had the same situation. My order wasn't listed on the web site until late yesterday (despite placing the order on Sunday @ 12:30 CST). The site showed the order on 07/12 as canceled and another order placed 07/13.

I received an email from Sprint that my order shipped on 07/13 and would arrive 07/14. I called and confirmed this with a rep. The tracking number shows that it should be delivered on time.

I do have to say that this wasn't the best experience w/ Sprint. It looks like they weren't prepared for the launch date of 07/12. I would have felt much better if their reps were more informed about how this would work so there would have been less confusion. I didn't know what was going to happen after I placed my order on Sunday morning. Didn't know if it was going to two days or two weeks. I hadn't received any confirmation until I got the email that it shipped.

Can't wait to play with it when I get home.

Tour: 130g
Storm: 155g (almost 20% heavier)

Probably an illusion because of how solid the Tour feels, especially compared to recent Curve models. The Curve 83xx weighs in at a paltry 111g.