[etjandra]

guys, i dont know if this is the right place to ask, but i am considering to ditch my blackberry bold for blackberry tour. i was wondering what are the pros and cons of the tour. would you guys recommend the tour over the bold? thanks for the help!

[etjandra]

forgot to ask couple questions. since tour is originally designed to work on CDMA network, what is the downside of using it on a GSM network? also, i'm going to get the unlocked tour, any suggestion on what brand i should get (verizon/sprint)?

[y.bb]

Since you're using AT&T, be forewarned that the unlocked Tour will not use AT&T's 3G network. It will only use EDGE and GPRS. Furthermore, there is no Wi-Fi in the Tour. You may also have some difficulty getting your internet services to work properly, although it is definitely possible to have everything working normally.

Otherwise, the Tour is a great device. Much smaller and fits in your hand much better--it feels like a phone!--than a Bold ever will. The Tour has a microUSB port, not a miniUSB, so you will need new chargers or converters. It has the black trackball, so it won't appear yellow and dirty after using it for awhile. Also, a MUCH better camera than the Bold's (Tour's is 3.2 MP).

I've heard that Sprint's phones come unlocked for GSM. Verizon's can be unlocked for any GSM carrier.

[etjandra]

Originally Posted by y.bb

Since you're using AT&T, be forewarned that the unlocked Tour will not use AT&T's 3G network. It will only use EDGE and GPRS. Furthermore, there is no Wi-Fi in the Tour. You may also have some difficulty getting your internet services to work properly, although it is definitely possible to have everything working normally.

Otherwise, the Tour is a great device. Much smaller and fits in your hand much better--it feels like a phone!--than a Bold ever will. The Tour has a microUSB port, not a miniUSB, so you will need new chargers or converters. It has the black trackball, so it won't appear yellow and dirty after using it for awhile. Also, a MUCH better camera than the Bold's (Tour's is 3.2 MP).

I've heard that Sprint's phones come unlocked for GSM. Verizon's can be unlocked for any GSM carrier.

So, the 3G network from AT&T or any other carrier will not work on the tour? it seems that people has been using tour on different carrier and the 3G network seems to be working perfectly fine.

[y.bb]

Originally Posted by etjandra

So, the 3G network from AT&T or any other carrier will not work on the tour? it seems that people has been using tour on different carrier and the 3G network seems to be working perfectly fine.

If your GSM 3G network uses the 2100 MHz band, then yes, you will have 3G. But AT&T does not use this band. AT&T only uses 850 and 1900, depending on where you are. This phone is really only designed to use GSM 3G in places outside North America.

[etjandra]

Originally Posted by y.bb

If your GSM 3G network uses the 2100 MHz band, then yes, you will have 3G. But AT&T does not use this band. AT&T only uses 850 and 1900, depending on where you are. This phone is really only designed to use GSM 3G in places outside North America.

gotcha! thanks man! its a good news though since i am going to use the phone overseas most of the time.

[NJBlackBerry]

Can ANYONE verify that the Tour actually works on a 3G network outside of North America. Thank you.

[etjandra]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

Can ANYONE verify that the Tour actually works on a 3G network outside of North America. Thank you.

I think it would work. I got couple of friends using tour in Indonesia on GSM 3G network.

[dix@]

I am trying to understand. The Bell tour has CDMA for North America, and they say it will use GSM only in Europe (et al) where the frequencies are 900 and 1800, but when I read the specs sheet, Blackberry says the tour has both these frequencies AND the North American frequencies (850 and 1900) PLUS it has these frequencies for CDMA as well. The Bell sim cards issued for this phone only use GSM, but the new network HSPA cannot be accessed unless you use the new SIM cards which are for North America only. My question is, could it be possible to use the SIM card from another carrier in the tour while in North America. Bell says it cannot, but then they have a vested interest to be sure that it does not, otherwise, I would be able to let the phone go to the competition at will. I could pick CDMA OR GSM, whichever was the best signal. Anyone know?

[rambo47]

For a Bold 9000 user on AT&T, the logical upgrade would be to the 9700.

9700 vs. 9630

[rambo47]

Originally Posted by dix@

I am trying to understand. The Bell tour has CDMA for North America, and they say it will use GSM only in Europe (et al) where the frequencies are 900 and 1800, but when I read the specs sheet, Blackberry says the tour has both these frequencies AND the North American frequencies (850 and 1900) PLUS it has these frequencies for CDMA as well. The Bell sim cards issued for this phone only use GSM, but the new network HSPA cannot be accessed unless you use the new SIM cards which are for North America only. My question is, could it be possible to use the SIM card from another carrier in the tour while in North America. Bell says it cannot, but then they have a vested interest to be sure that it does not, otherwise, I would be able to let the phone go to the competition at will. I could pick CDMA OR GSM, whichever was the best signal. Anyone know?

Some folks are using the Tour 9630 on GSM networks. They only get EDGE speeds, but it will work in North America if you get the GSM portion unlocked. Most people who did this made their decision when the Tour was new and the 9700 was not yet available. Some people just HAVE to have the newest shiniest device out there.

The Tour will ALWAYS choose cdma when there is a signal, switching to GSM only when it's the lone choice available, unless you set it use one or the other exclusively. These devices were designed to use a Sprint or Verizon-supplied GSM SIM card with your native carrier's data roaming package. Because you can't have the device's PIN registered with more than one carrier for data services, if you use another carrier's SIM in the GSM slot you won't get BlackBerry data on both CDMA and GSM carriers. You have to pick one to use. If you go with a GSM carrier the device won't work at all on CDMA. If you go with CDMA as your primary and use another carrier's GSM SIM you will only get phone and SMS.

World phones like the Tour really are poor choice for GSM use other than with data roaming through your CDMA carrier.