To buy or not to buy...

[Melsker]

...a Blackberry Tour.  I have been due for my "new-every-two" for about a year.  Currently, I just have a basic cell phone that still works great.  I'm hesitating on purchasing the BB Tour because I am worried that I would not use the data part of it enough to make it worth while.  If 3 months down the road I decide that I don't like the phone or that I don't utilize the data portion enough, can I go back to my old phone without a monetary penalty or am I required to stick with the BB for the full 2 years of the contract?

I also use my current phone as my alarm clock.  It actually has 3 separate alarms that you can individually set.  Does the BB Tour have a similar type alarm?

Please also share what you like and dislike about the BB Tour if you have one.  Any information that you can give is greatly appreciated!  Thank you!

[StreetDocRN]

Hi,

My advice would be that if what you have is working well enough for you now, don't rush out and change.  It sounds like you would not be happy with a Blackberry.  The Blackberry is built around using data.  Perhaps you might be intrested in a 3G Multimedia phone?  Check those out at Verizon's link above.

Doc

[Melsker]

Thanks for the reply.  I've actually looked at both the LG Env Touch and the Samsung Rogue and like both of them also but I always seem to spend more time playing with the BB Tour.  Whenever I bring getting one up around my husband, he seems to think that since I have access to internet, both at home and at work, that I would not use it on my phone enough to make it worthwhile but I actually think I would.  LOL  I posted a question on another forum about it also and most of the people who responded said that BB's take a little bit to get used to at first but that they could never go back to a regular cell phone...

[SydneyK]

Doc brings up a great point, and that is if you're happy with your phone, just know that if you get a BlackBerry, there's no going back. I mean that in a good way. I didn't think I'd use it enough either, and now I cannot go back to a regular phone. But

if you keep going back to a Tour, you may not be happy settling for less. There's so much more included with data than just web browsing. You can download apps and games (a lot of them are free), email, BlackBerry Messenger (chat), stream Internet radio. I don't have the Tour, but people who do say it's a phenomenal device. And the Tour 2 is supposed to be released any time now.

Anyway, you'll have 30 days to try it; if you return it, your plan will be reset and you can get something else later. And as far as I understand it--and you will want to verify this when you order--you can downgrade your plan and use your old phone down the road if you really want to. Plus, at the cost of your BB plan, you'll be eligible for an annual upgrade, if you change your mind in a year. But I doubt you will!!!!!   

Just my 2 cents. Re: the learning curve, I went from an LG flip phone to my BB two years ago, and it didn't take long at all! Good luck!

[SydneyK]

And another thing, tell your husband that he can watch whatever he wants on TV, because you will always be on your BlackBerry. And if you don't get one, you'll have a lot of free time for deep, meaningful conversations instead.  

[MyTwoCents]

I've been using the Tour for the last 7-8 months, and love it.  I've carried a cell phone in some form or another since the late 80's.  As a matter of fact my first cell phone was attached to a bag that was half the size of a brief case and I've had countless ones since.  A few years back I entered the smartphone arena with a PanTech phone that ran Windows Mobile, OMG was that a piece of junk. Then I purchased my first BlackBerry, a Storm, and have not looked back since.  As you know if you've done any research, the Storm has it's issues, so when I was eligible for an upgrade I went with the Tour.  Even though the Tour has a reputation for having trackball issues, I have not had any problems.  Now to try and answer your question.  I do not sit on my Tour all day searching the web, it's much too slow for that, especially if I have my home or work desktop close at hand, but that's not to say I don't use the data plan a lot.  As mentioned in previous posts there is a lot of great apps out there.  If you check AppWorld, CrackBerry, BlackBerryOS, or PocketBerry to name a few, you'll be amazed.  I work for two different agencies in two different Counties and I love the fact that all my emails seem to hit my BB (which is my constant companion) before they hit the desktop.   As a mater of fact, as I type this 3 emails have shown up on the BB but only 1 is in the computer.  Personally I'd rather avoid any issues at work by not spending my day with my browser open watching 7 email inboxes, I have a job to do.  I also have Twitter and FaceBook on my Tour.  If an email or a hit on Twitter comes in that I need to look closer at, I just click the link and there it is, no fuss, no muss, no bother.  I can check my personal stuff at lunch or on break without feeling like I'm cheating my employer.  Oh yah, it is worth the $30 a month to me....  As far as multiple alarms, I can't remember if the 4.7 O/S has it, but when Verizon upgrades to 5.0 someday, multiple alarms will be there.  In the mean time, there is an app for that, several actually.  I've purchased a couple over the years, Mobihand is pretty good about changing up an app from one type of BB to another.  I have a ton of information from both jobs available on my BB and at my fingertips if I need it. But, I also have an app called SmrtGuard that not only backs up my personal data, it allows me to wipe the phone remotely should I ever lose it or if it gets misappropriated.  My advice, try the Tour for a month, you won't go back, trust me.  On that note also, check with Verizon, but I think the 2 year contract says that you'll maintain service with them but not the level of that service.  Meaning that if in 6 months you went back to your old phone and your old plan and kept it for the balance of the 2 years, they would not wack you for an early termination but again check before you sign on the dotted line.