Messaging

The Tour supports text and short messaging and multimedia messaging, as well as Internet-based services like email and instant messaging. One limitation to every BlackBerry when it comes to those Internet-based services is that they're BlackBerry-centric.

Instant messaging comes through BlackBerry messenger instead of messengers more common to computer users, like AIM, Yahoo and MSN Messenger.

Its email account can also come through BlackBerry, but that isn't a necessity. The phone is equipped with push delivery technology that will instantly alert a Tour owner when a message is sent to a personal or business-based email address. Up to 10 personal and work accounts can deliver email instantly to the Tour.

Images and documents can be viewed on the phone, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF and WordPerfect files, plus JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG and TIFF files. Word to Go, Sheet to Go and Slideshow to Go applications allow users to create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. The phone also helpfully comes with a spell check feature.

While instant message services may be limited, the Tour has a plethora of options for keeping track of multiple email accounts and sending text, video or photo messages. With speedy 3G service, emails come in and go out quickly, and a wide variety of files can be read on the phone.

Entertainment

This is where the Curve's influences are best seen. The Tour has great audio, comes with a headset, has plenty of memory and a microSD card built-in, plus it has music player features like shuffle and listing songs by artist, album, genre or playlist.

These factors, combines with easy access to VCAST with Rhapsody song downloads and the ability to sync a music library with your PC make the Tour a great place to store and listen to songs.

Both the headset and the booming speaker on the handset's left side help the little Tour play big sound.

With the best screen resolution of any BlackBerry, the Tour would be incomplete without video streaming capabilities. Unfortunately, there aren't many available to stream on VCAST Video aside from news, entertainment, weather and sports clips. Luckily, the phone allows users to upload iTunes and Windows Media files, which expand to movies and TV shows.

It also allows for video messaging and recording, but really shines with videos either uploaded from iTunes or synced from Windows Media Player files.

Videos appear with the resolution of any Blu-Ray player and users can also stream news and sports clips, so anyone with existing files should upload them to take advantage of arguably the best screen available from BlackBerry.

There's also five built-in games: BrickBreaker, Word Mole, Texas Hold'Em King 2, Sudoku and Klondike.

The Tour has plenty of standard smartphone entertainment methods, including media file sync, a song player and games. But the addition of video clips shown on a high-resolution screen and great speaker quality, the Tour has an edge over some of its counterparts in the BlackBerry family. Still, it doesn't have quite the edge on Verizon as the Tour has when provided by Sprint -- Sprint has channels that provide TV and movie files that can really take advantage of the Tour's screen.

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