We understand that BlackBerry Tour owners might feel like the forgotten redheaded stepchildren of the Verizon BlackBerry family now that the Bold 9650 has arrived, but word has it that Verizon will begin pushing out an OS update for the Tour starting at 6pm EDT. Apart from an assortment of fixes relating to the recently introduced Push-to-Talk feature, the move to 5.0.0.732 should also go a long way to fix other niggles including issues with data reception. We’ll be sure to holler back once the update ...

When you think of push-to-talk you might conjure up images of construction workers on job sites wielding yellow ruggedized handsets. However, recently Verizon rolled out push-to-talk to its business-centric BlackBerry Tour handset in an attempt to bring PTT to new industries and work places. The adoption rate for this $5 monthly service has apparently a bit sluggish amongst Tour owners, as Verizon is reportedly launching a new promotion that will allow 9630 owners to add the PTT service to their line…fo...

With Verizon soon to be carrying some hot new smartphones from HTC and RIM, the carrier has decided it no longer has a need for the HTC DROID ERIS and BlackBerry Tour 9630. In an internal memo sent out during the week, Verizon informed employees that the DROID ERIS will reach end-of-life at the end of May while the Tuh-Tuh-Tuh Tour (it’s been a long time, eh?) will hit the same brick wall in June. They’ll be around only as long as their stock holds up, so in case you’re dying to have eithe...

When it was first leaked it earned something of a reputation for being moody, but Verizon is clearly confident that BlackBerry OS 5.0.0.591 will serve Tour 9630 users well because it’s now pushing out the software OTA complete with Push-To-Talk capabilities. A truncated change-log is available after the jump, but first we have one simple question for you. How’s it feel? (more…)

One of our ninjas let us know that Verizon Wireless will be making the much-awaited BlackBerry 5.0 OS upgrade available to BlackBerry Tour 9630 owners come Tuesday. It will also have PTT built in.

It was mentioned in one of our whispers and now it’s here: Verizon has released a Push-To-Talk application for its fleet of BlackBerry smartphones. Free to download but requiring a monthly fee of $5 to use, Verizon’s BlackBerry PTT app allows for unlimited nation-wide calls to other PTT devices. Other key features include:Make group calls with up to 50 participants.Use Presence to see who’s available for Push to Talk calls.Manage Push to Talk contacts for your entire company online.Access email...

We have two bits of Verizon BlackBerry information for you guys… (more…)

CrackBerry caught a quick screen shot of the BlackBerry Facebook account attempting to… actually, to be honest, we’re not sure what exactly they are trying to do. The post has been removed, but it read: “The BlackBerry Tour 9650 is coming! Check back soon for official news!” We’re a little perplexed as to why RIM didn’t go with the Tour2, like the Storm2 and why the announcement was made via their Facebook account (and on Apple’s Tablet day?). In any regard, any Tour ...

Verizon seems to be planning on expanding its prepaid line-up and options for current and would-be customers by throwing BlackBerry into the mix. Word is that within the next three months, prepaid BlackBerry plans will become available, though we’re not sure if all devices would be included. Rumor is that the plan adds $35 on top of the voice package, which isn’t so bad when compared to other carriers and most post-paid plans. We’ve also received word that the prepaid bundles would match Ver...

One of our Best Buy connects just let us know that the BlackBerry Tour 9630 is on its way out. (more…)

We have just received word that Verizon will officially release a 5.0 OS upgrade for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 in “late February / early March.” Anyone want to bet the BlackBerry Tour2 will hit before that?

Another year, and even more devices, products, and services to look forward to. Things will be smaller, more advanced, faster, and some new markets might even be defined, but for now, check out the top 10 posts of 2009 (by traffic):1. Motorola DROID hands on2. BlackBerry vs. iPhone 3G: yeah, we definitely went there3. Android 2.0 screenshot walkthrough4. BlackBerry 9700 Review: Part 15. Nokia E71 Review6. BlackBerry Curve 8900 hands on7. Palm Pre Review: Part 18. T-Mobile’s Walmart roadmap: the wrap up9. Bl...

Not too much to say here other than an OS update for the Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630, 4.7.1.61, has started to trickle out. Although it’s already available to download from Verizon’s website and through BlackBerry Desktop Manager, we’ve been told that a handful of users will receive on-device update notifications throughout the night with general OTA availability tomorrow. No change log has been released. Let’s just hope that it’s not much longer until OS 5.0 drops for your belo...

While the launch of the BlackBerry Storm2 on Verizon is widely expected to take place on October 28th and the Bold 9700 is so close we can almost taste it, owners of current generation BlackBerry smartphones  — the Pearl Flip 8220/8230, Curve 8330/8350i/8900, Bold 9000, Storm 9500/9530 and Tour 9630 — should be pleased to note that RIM is all set for the launch OS 5.0. Specific dates aren’t easily pinned down as it more or less depends on the device one has and the carrier one is with, but ...