[playmaker898]

I'm a former BB user who got sucked in to the world of Android because of the 'cool factor'. I have four phones on my family's plan and as time has gone by all of the phones are now 'smart phones' (all Android). My phone is two years old and is slowly dying. I've played the contract game and let everyone else in my family get new phones and in doing so I've got myself in the situation that the only way to get a new phone is to lay out $500 - $600 or wait until December for a line to become eligible. I love my android phone but from the first time I tried typing on the touch screen until now, every time I type I think to myself 'I wish I had never stopped using a BB'. I just found, bid on, and won an auction for a 9630 Tour at ebay. I'll have it in a week or so. I probably paid too much ($45) but I wanted to give BB another try in preparation of my December replacement. I'm with US Cellular and currently they only offer two BB's, the 9350 Curve and 9850 Torch (which is a touch screen so it's not in the equation).

Am I crazy for trying the 9630? Does anyone know much about the 9350? I know by December the BB10 should be out and I got the impression from the US Cellular folks that they will have it. Sorry for rambling on, I guess I'm looking for a vote of confidence LOL.

Thanks in advance!

[Tõnis]

The Tour is a fine BlackBerry. From what I understand, it's primarily a CDMA phone with world (SIM card) capabilities. I know it doesn't have wifi, but I think it's a fine choice, especially at that price, so long as you can get it to work on the network you're on. My 9650 is basically a Tour with wifi and a trackpad.

[SwitchBeach]

Make sure that the Tour is US Cellular branded or it won't work for you.

You really would have been better off seeing if you could get a 9650 even if it was a little bit more. It's a far superior device than the 9630 but can be found at lower prices than the current devices.

[kbz1960]

You might be crazy lol. I still have my tour as a backup if needed and yes it will need to be uscellular branded. I never had any trouble with my tour though and got the 9850 for my upgrade as I wanted the better specs over the curve. I do miss the keyboard somewhat but think I would miss it much more if I didn't have a playbook. No my phone is only used as a phone and for texting but when the pb will do texting in the up coming update it will only be used as a phone and portal for the pb.

[Chrisy]

Nope! I traded my HTC Thunderbolt for a BlackBerry 9650 and I couldn't be happier! Love the BB!

[Mr.Monty]

I think you would have been better off in finding a 9650 for the trackpad and WiFi, BUT you will have a nice BlackBerry keyboard in hand again and for under $50, not a bad deal

(I still occasionally boot up my Tour and mess with it a bit, so it can't be That bad! )

[playmaker898]

Thanks for all the comments! Yes it is for sure a US Cellular phone, at least that's what the auction stated and it's not a good idea to falsify an auction on ebay. I do wish it had wifi but quite honestly I rarely use the wifi on my android so it's not such a big deal. When at home I use my Asus tablet (or laptop or desktop...lol). I'd be tempted to go with the 9850 but my biggest draw to the BB is the keyboard. I'll just have to see what's available when my time comes.

Thanks again for all the input!

[john_v]

Naw, not too crazy...just another testimony of the power of the Crack(Berry) I too am on us cellular so I feel your pain regarding device selection, and I too have allowed others on my family plan to use my upgrade, but fortunately I should have one available around November...here's hoping USCC has BB10 ready by then.
Personally I would have gone with the Bol over the tour. I was just recently able to trade one of my android devices for a 9850 on craigslist to replace my 9650 which finally bit the dust. I do miss the physical kb somewhat but love the faster processor and Os7. I'd tried the curve 9350 before and size was a factor. So for now, just waiting on BB10 like everyone else.
Come join us over in the us cellular section, or at www.teamuscellular.com ...we need more BB users over there!


Sent from my BlackBerry Torch 9850/PlayBook combo

[playmaker898]

What is the most current os that the 9630 is capable of handling? And the 9630 is just a band aid to get me to the fall as well but it looks like I'll have too wait until early 2013 if I want BB10 and a keyboard

[john_v]

What is the most current os that the 9630 is capable of handling? And the 9630 is just a band aid to get me to the fall as well but it looks like I'll have too wait until early 2013 if I want BB10 and a keyboard

Sorry "Bol" was supposed to be Bold...touchscreen kb I wish I wish I wish us cellular had carried the 9930 >




Sent from my BlackBerry Torch 9850/PlayBook combo

[Mr.Monty]

what is the most current os that the 9630 is capable of handling? and the 9630 is just a band aid to get me to the fall as well but it looks like i'll have too wait until early 2013 if i want bb10 and a keyboard

os 5.0.0.1062 and is an official release (if that makes a difference to you).
Link in case it isn't already installed: http://crackberry.com/blackberry-os

[Houshinto]

The 9630 is a good phone as long as you can live with the terrible trackball and no Wifi.
If you are one of the lucky ones that still has a Grandfathered unlimited CDMA data plan then you are golden.

But again it was a fine phone to use and it kept me connected and productive for the last three years.

$45 is very good. That's pretty much the price offered from RIM trade in program!

[southlander]

I had a Tour. Loved it. No WiFi irked me a bit. But it messages as good as any BlackBerry. Same great keyboard -- not quite as great as the new Bolds, but great nonetheless.

Put Opera Mini on it and you can browse the web fairly well too. The native browser in OS 5 was not all that good. Opera's nice though.

[soxfan04]

I still have my 9630. It has served me well. With the Seidio 2400 mah battery it lasts for 3 days before I need to charge it.