So you read part 1 of our BlackBerry Tour review and then our impressions of Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour, but you’re still too scared to go out and buy one because you live in Canada and aren’t sure how the newest BlackBerry handles life above the 49th. Well it’s time to put your neuroses aside, Canadians, because Bell recently sent a Tour our way just so you crazy Canucks wouldn’t feel left out. So site back, relax and hit the jump to see what’s up with the Bell BlackBerry Tour 9630.

Before we begin, we think it appropriate to clarify just exactly what one gets when he/she purchases a Tour from Bell: The device itself (which was made in Mexico, for those of you who fawn over Canadian-made devices), a leather holster, stereo headset, travel charger, microUSB cable, Bell SIM card, Desktop Manager installation CD and instruction manuals. Unfortunately, Bell does not ship the Tour with a microSD card. Okay, that’s out of the way so let’s move on.

Seeing as we’ve covered the Tour’s hardware and software so many times before, we hope that you’ll forgive us if we skip over all that and focus on the things that make the Bell Tour different from all other Tours. There are two physical differences and although they’re both pretty minor, one makes us really smile and makes us scratch our heads. The positive is that Bell has decided against putting its logo on the device, meaning that those of you who have a coronary out of anger when seeing a physically branded device are safe and won’t have to hit up cnn.cn. The negative is the battery door. While Verizon opted for a soft-touch rubber coating on the areas surrounding the faux carbon fiber, Bell has chosen to leave a glossy black finish in its place just as we saw on our pre-release unit. Why do we take issue with this? Two reasons. The first being that it’s summer; perspiring hands and slick-finished smartphones don’t mix well. The second reason is that it just looks half-assed because it doesn’t match.

Moving on to the OS, the Bell Tour ships with the same OS as every other Tour on the market from various carriers — OS 4.7.1.40. We’re a bit shocked that this is the OS that shipped on all devices seeing as there are quite a few annoying bugs in it, the worst of which seems to be radio issues. Our Canadian office is located a few hundred meters from several Bell towers yet we haven’t managed to get over three bars of EV-DO. The strangest thing however, is that our Tour seems to love to sit at zero bars when not in use. Once we pick it up to use data however, we always get an incredibly fast connection. Whether we were downloading attachments, surfing the web, using GPS Nav by Telenav (yes, GPS is unlocked) or using the awesome Bell TV & Radio streaming app, everything worked fine despite only showing about two bars of service. Guess it goes to show you that bars aren’t everything and CDMA does provide a digital connection regardless of bars most of the time.

Despite a few issues here and there, the Tour is a solid performer and overall it handles itself very well in its infancy. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that it’s the best device Bell has in its catalog. If you don’t already have one, it’s definitely one to check out.

And just like that, yet another carrier has officially jumped in on the BlackBerry Tour action — today the honors belonging to Canada’s TELUS. The carrier is willing to let anyone and everyone get their hands on the latest sexy number from RIM provided they’re cool with dropping $229.99 and signing off on a 3-year deal. But don’t worry, those of you who are contractaphobes or just like to spend cash like it’s going out of style, because the Tour can be bought off-contract for $599.99. In other news related to the green carrier from North of the 49th, the HTC Snap and Touch Pro2 have officially been announced as coming soon. This means it’s likely that all is indeed set for the 15th and 21st of July respectively. However, considering that the TELUS launch date of the Tour has been pushed up by two days in response to Bell’s earlier than expected launch, we wouldn’t be surprised to see things for the Snap or Pro2 change at the last moment as well.

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For over a year the BlackBerry Tour 9630 has been front and center on oh so many of your minds and now, CDMA-bound BlackBerry fans, it’s finally here. Both Verizon and Sprint have made the anticipated handset available this morning and it’s time for you to put your money where your unending comments mouth is and snag one. We think you’ve earned it. Just let us know how you like it and perhaps more importantly, how the inventory is holding up.

Read (VZW)
Read (Sprint)

Ready for some good news and some bad news, Canadians? The good is that Bell has pulled an ace out of its sleeve and announced it will begin selling the BlackBerry Tour tomorrow, July 11th, for $249.95 CAD on a 3-year contract ($699.95 contract-free). The bad news? Supplies are likely to be somewhat limited for the first few days and many dealers won’t have a single device on hand. The launch had been scheduled for the 17th as per Bell’s announcement, but apparently sticking it to TELUS where the sun (and its Tour) don’t shine is a bit more important than actually having phones on hand to sell to customers. Isn’t spite exciting?

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We appreciate the fact that many people are sick and tired of all of the coverage the BlackBerry Tour has received lately but the fact is there are tons of people eager to get their hands on a modern CDMA BlackBerry with a QWERTY keypad. Both TELUS and Bell are going to be carrying the Tour as we know, with TELUS offering it for $249.99 as of July 15th — kind of a steep price considering a 3-year contract is required. So for those who are looking to save any amount of money up front on the device, we recommend checking out Best Buy where the Tour is $20 cheaper compared to TELUS’ direct price. It’s not much but every penny counts these days.

Thanks, Ed!

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It looks as if July is shaping up to be a pretty good month for TELUS subscribers — how does three hot new handsets in one week sound? One of our ninjas just hit us to let us know the carrier will apparently be launching both the BlackBerry Tour and the HTC Snap on July 15th followed less than a week later by the HTC Touch Pro2 on the 21st. So far the only pricing we have is for the Tour and the Snap, which will go for $249.99 and $29.99 respectively on 3-year contracts. As for the Pro2, unfortunately pricing has yet to be entered into the TELUS system. We’re doing our damnedest to get more details but in the meantime you’ve got some decision making to do, TELUS subscribers.

Thanks, Bird!

UPDATE: We’re hearing $249.99 for the Touch Pro2.

It’s been a while since we talked about these devices coming to TELUS, but the BlackBerry Tour, HTC Snap and Touch Pro2 are front and center in our minds today, having just popped up in a new Best Buy Mobile flyer. TELUS has yet to officially announce the two HTC handsets (the Tour popped up on its website this morning) and unfortunately nothing juicy like pricing or release dates are specified for any of the handsets. The flyer is valid from July 3rd to July 30th though so hopefully we’ll get official word from TELUS soon.

[Via Mobile Syrup]

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Well then. It looks like we’re now able to confirm that the BlackBerry Tour 9630 — which Bell has yet to officially announce — will touch down in Canada on the 17th of July. Beyond that, we’re also able to confirm that the full retail price will be $699.95. So what does this mean for those who are willing to take on a new 3-year contract? The standard numbers add up to $249.95 out the door but we wouldn’t be surprised if Bell gets sexy with it and we see the Tour launch at $199.95 or maaaaaybe even a little lower. Hit the jump for all the details.

Thanks, KEUSS!

Effective date  July 17, 2009

Offer description

Go places with the newest global BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry Tour 9630, features not only 3G technology, but also a 3.2MP camera, high resolution screen, GPS capability, and support for popular applications such as Facebook®. This next generation global smartphone gives you the power to do more of the things that matter to you.

The feature highlights and available services of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 are:

• Global smartphone: Get voice coverage in over 200 countries and data functionality in over 150 countries.
• High resolution screen: The HVGA (480×360) screen along with an integrated lens design offers a clear, brilliant view that stays bright and vivid over time.
• View & edit attachments: Enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
• Organizer: Integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list – Email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book. Set up meetings using the calendar and easily add attendees through the address book.
• GPS Nav & BlackBerry Maps: Access Turn by Turn Navigation and 3D moving maps. Locate nearby businesses and services using the Local Search feature.
• Rich Multimedia: 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus & image stabilization. Surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 box includes:

• 3G BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 global smartphone.
• Travel charger.
• Micro USB cable.
• Removable battery.
• Stereo headset.
• Quick Start guide.
• BlackBerry desktop software CD.
• User guide.
• SIM card.
• BlackBerry holster.

The table below outlines the pricing and agreement rebates for the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

BlackBerry Tour 9630    36 Month / 24 Month / 12 Month / 30 Day
Suggested Retail Price     $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95
Agreement Rebate ISPR   $200.00 / $150.00 / $50.00 / $0.00
Client Price    $499.95 / $549.95 / $649.95 / $699.95

Always refer to the latest Pricing Grid for complete and most up to date pricing information.

The table below shows the English and French description and the SKU of the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

Description     SKU
English French
RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, Black -HL  RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, noir -HL   68194

Key Dates:

• SKU opening: ready for ordering on Product Zone on June 30, 2009.
• Shipping date: will begin shipping to all stores week of July 13, 2009.
• Dealer launch kits:  begin shipping the week of July 6, 2009.  If you have not received your launch kit by July 17, 2009, please contact your Regional Manager. Please ensure that mock mobile phones are displayed in time for July 17, 2009.

• Stay connected almost anywhere in the world.
• Communicate quickly and easily with a full QWERTY keyboard.
• The Tour’s evolved form factor is sleek & equipped with the latest BlackBerry features and most recent software (4.7).
  • Enhanced browsing (improved web page rendering).
  • Faster attachment downloading.
  • Improved multimedia capabilities (more media formats supported).
  • Geo-tagging functionality (attach location to photos taken).

Reasons to buy the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

• The BlackBerry Tour is a global smartphone allowing clients to bring the full power of the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution in over 150 countries.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s view & edit capabilities of attachments lets clients enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
• The BlackBerry Tour allows clients to surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

Reasons to sell the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

• The high-resolution screen makes video playback sharp and smooth. These features make it easy to wow prospective clients by playing a video clip or by browsing through pictures.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s rich multimedia including a 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus and image stabilization allows clients to take the perfect picture anywhere.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s organizer allows clients to stay organized with an integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list. Clients can email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book.

Despite the fact that BES admins can put IT policies into effect that physically prohibit their use, many companies, organizations and governments (and gym locker rooms) flat our refuse to give their employees a BlackBerry that is equipped with a camera. With the 88xx series devices being the only camera-less BlackBerrys still on the market and no new camera-less devices having been announced by RIM, it looks like those who work in extremely security-conscious environments will have to hang onto their antediluvian devices for the long haul, right? Wrong. Having shown up as available for pre-order on Verizon’s website without any sort of official announcement from either Verizon or RIM, a camera-less BlackBerry Tour 9630 has now been confirmed to exist and it will go for the same $199.99 as the camera-equipped model. Just in case you’re wondering — yes, we too think President Obama needs one of these ASAP. Hit the jump for a pic of the camera-less Tour’s backside.

Thanks, Ben!

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Huh, what’s this? Bell has begun shipping out dummy units of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Tour 9630? Yes indeed it has, alongside the typical promotional materials which, as per Bell’s general practice, which means the launch is likely just a few weeks away. Does this mean we could see the Tour hit Bell the same week it drops on Verizon? It’s looking that way, folks — in fact our ninjas pin the date as Friday, July 17th. Excited? Yeah, we are too. Hit the jump for a few more pics.

Thanks, Carbs!

Just because Verizon and Sprint have been hogging all of attention when it comes to the newly announced BlackBerry Tour 9630 doesn’t mean those who live in the home country of the smartphone itself have been forgotten by your pals at BGR. The latest rumor regarding the TELUS Tour has it launching on July 15th, much later than the previously rumored launch date of June 22nd. Delays (assuming that the first rumored launch date was even real) are never fun, but perhaps an included 1GB microSD card will be a good enough consolation prize for the extra 23 days of waiting. Ok, probably not — and definitely not if the rumored $249.99 3-year promotional price becomes a reality.

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BlackBerry users on Sprint have long griped that everything comes to them by the time it’s old and dated on Verizon, but this won’t be the case with the Tour 9630. Sprint has just announced that it will be carrying the device “later this summer” for $199.99 on a 2-year contract after a $50 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. The pain that rebates cause in all of our rears aside, the price is good and by God the phone is, so what are you waiting for? Go and sign up to be notified when it’s available, already.

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Well, our tipster was indeed correct. And let’s be honest here for a sec; we’ve nailed this puppy to the wall. Verizon faithful will be overjoyed to find out that the BlackBerry Tour has gone official (albeit without an official announce just yet). There isn’t a whole lot of information available on their product page at the moment, but hey, you’ve waited this long…

Thanks, Ben!

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We all know that Bell is prepping to launch the BlackBerry Tour 9630 sometime in the near future, and now for the first time a document detailing the full specs of the hotly anticipated smartphone has leaked out. While the majority of the specs have been known for quite some time, there are a still few things that can be learned from the document. So take a peek because this is the real deal, people:

Size (L x W x D): 112 x 62 x 14.2 mm
Weight: 130 grams
Memory: 256 MB internal Flash memory
Expandable Memory: microSD located under the battery door cover
Battery: 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Battery Life: TBD
Keyboard: 35 key backlit QWERTY
Display: High resolution HVGA 480×360 pixel
Camera: 3.2 MP camera, flash auto focus
GPS: Assisted, autonomous and simultaneous GPS enabled with preloaded BlackBerry Application for e911 capabilities
Media Player: Video format support MPEG4; Audio format support MP3, AAC AAC+ etc
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, PBAP
Headset: 3.5mm stereo headset capable
USB Port: Enables charging and high-spead data synchronization via USB “A” to micro USB “B” cable
Network Support:
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
Single-band: 2100 MHz
UMTS/HSPA networks
Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz
CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks

Excited? Well you should be (remember how much we love it?), especially with a mid-July launch on the Bell network in the works. Now hit the jump to check out the rest of the document.

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And there we have it, folks. One of our ninjas just dropped off this shot of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 in Bell’s inventory with an MSRP of $599.95 CDN ($510 USD). So what does this mean for those who are hoping to pick up a Tour on contract from Bell? As of now we don’t have a confirmed contract price but if Bell follows its normal pricing scheme including a data plan discount, the 9630 could be in the hands of many a Canadian for about $199.95 on a three-year contract with some wiggle room for promotions and price adjustments based on project sales volumes. Not bad at all, Bell, not bad at all. Let’s just hope that it launches the Tour on or around the same time as Verizon. We’re getting antsy up here.