RIM Taking BlackBerry On World 'Tour'RIM Taking BlackBerry On World 'Tour'

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BlackBerry 'Tour'

Research In Motion introduced Tuesday a feature-packed BlackBerry that's aimed at globetrotting mobile professionals.

The BlackBerry 9630, or "Tour," has a similar keyboard to the BlackBerry Bold, but is smaller, sleeker, and nearly as thin as a BlackBerry Curve 8900. The Tour is an ideal device for international travelers because it can work on CDMA networks in the United States, as well as EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad.

The handset will be able to use EV-DO Rev. A 3G networks to surf the Web with the full HTML browser, as well as access sites like Facebook, and RIM's App World. The handset will have the messaging prowess BlackBerry smartphones are known for, and users will be able to get corporate and personal e-mails pushed to the handset wirelessly.

"BlackBerry continues to be the top-selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio," RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said in a statement. "With its striking design and exceptional performance, the new BlackBerry Tour will offer a compelling choice for the growing number of wireless customers looking to upgrade their existing cell phone to a smartphone."

Like most of RIM's modern BlackBerry smartphones, the Tour will be a solid multimedia device, and customers can use iTunes to transfer music with the preloaded BlackBerry Media Sync. The smartphone also will have Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and auto-focus capabilities.

Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel said the Tour will be available later this summer, and Sprint's version will cost $199 after rebates and a new two-year contract. Verizon has not given pricing details as of press time.

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