Verizon Wireless to announce BlackBerry 9630 Tour (Niagara) at WES?
By Will Park on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 PM PST In BlackBerry, Devices, RIM (Research in Motion), Rumors, Verizon
Devoted BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) users on the Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless network have been waiting eagerly for the 3G-capable BlackBerry 9630 Niagara, also known as the BlackBerry Tour. With a dual-mode GSM/CDMA radio that supports 3G on EVDO Rev. A and UMTS networks, the BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) is the world-roaming counterpart to the GSM BlackBerry Bold. And, for Verizon customers, the BlackBerry 9630 Tour offers an arguably more appealing alternative to the BlackBerry Storm. New rumors are now indicating that RIM will announce the BlackBerry Tour for Verizon Wireless at Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES), which kicks off on May 5.
For all its strengths (quad-band GSM radio, 3G support on EVDO and UMTS networks, dual-band CDMA radio), the BlackBerry Tour lacks a WiFi radio. The BlackBerry Storm took flak for not having integrated WiFi hardware, so it’s surprising that RIM wouldn’t include WiFi on their latest CDMA handset. Still, at an expected $199 on-contract price-point, the BlackBerry Tour (Niagara) offers a compelling deal.
In related news, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is rumored to be unveiled as the BlackBerry Apex for Verizon Wireless. As expected, the BlackBerry Apex will sport the same 3G goodness that T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Pearl Flip enjoys, so that’s a plus. The wonky flip form-factor and squished keyboard, not so much.
Stay tuned, IntoMobile will be bringing you live coverage of WES!
[TheStreet via: MobileCrunch]
The whole reason that there is no wifi is because Verizon doesn’t want it – it takes away from their profits selling their own add-ons. I asked about this at a VZW store and was told that VZW would never carry a Blackberry that had wifi because it “valued it’s customers’ privacy too much to risk having their phones hacked.” Yeah, okay… sounds like an excuse to me.
Notice they only have a couple phones with wifi compared to other carriers? And these only after they put that new rule in effect that you need to buy their data package to buy a smartphone… hmmmm….
Verizon wont release a phone with Wi-Fi. It is not in their long term strategy in rolling out LTE. LTE will kill WiMax and possible WiFi.