I’ve been avoiding writing this review. After all, once the review is written, I have to give the phone back, and I rather like it. In fact, there is only one thing about this phone that has kept me from running out to purchase it: the lack of WiFi.

In this phone challenge, I’m trying to review phones to see how they fit in with my own lifestyle. Because I’m a freelancer, I’m the only one in my office. I need to be connected all the time, so the phone needs to survive my personal daily grind:

• The phone needs to be an actual quality telephone and quality texting device.
• I need to be able to check my email periodically without losing things between the mobile and the laptop or constantly charging the phone.
• I need access to all my contacts and all my calendars. On top of that, I need to be able to update and change these on the fly, preferably through the cloud and not through desktop syncing. In general, this means either some mystical cloud communication or the ability to use Google Cal / Contacts.
• I need access to a speedy, easy to use browser.

The Blackberry fit well into my lifestyle. I found the Tour very intuitive. I didn’t need to pull out the manual to get started and I had the entire thing set up before I even opened a book. Making it work just made sense. The BlackBerry Tour is a 3G world phone, with the option to make phone calls in 220 countries and to access e-mail and Internet in any of the 175 countries where Verizon Wireless provides data roaming services. It had a nice 3.2 megapixel camera with geo-tagging and video recording and a flash and built-in GPS.  The Tour has 256 MB built-in memory, but comes with an upgradable 2 GB mini SD card. The keyboard is easy to use, and I didn’t have any trouble hitting the wrong keys – the keyboard seems well spaced. One of my girlfriends didn’t like the plastic battery cover. I wasn’t bothered by it at all, and actually found it easy to manage. The phone is small and flat enough that it didn’t bother me when I slipped it into my front pocket or into my purse. In fact, I lost it in my purse a few times.

One thing I love about Blackberry phones is the ability to view all my mail within one Inbox instead of having to separate each account. I had no trouble adding all of my Google and IMAP accounts to the phone. I’ve read that the browser leaves something to be desired. I found it easy to use and quick. I think the process of adding a URL is a little cumbersome, but that was my only complaint. Getting used to the smaller 480×360 pixel screen after the full screen, accelerometer based iPhone was a little hard, but a relatively quick adjustment.

I had service wherever I went, which was useful. I even found myself at a winery in the middle-of-nowhere Kentucky last week and I still was able to make and receive calls on the Blackberry. The battery life was about a day and half with one caveat. Using the built-in GPS with Google Maps worked beautifully, but it sucked up the battery life like a sponge. If you’re going to be on the road with your Tour as your GPS, get a car charger. Verizon phones also include access to the VZW Navigator, which I did not use. VZW Navigator is an extra per-month or per-use charge but includes turn-by-turn voice directions.

The Tour worked flawlessly with my various Google apps. I installed Google Sync and easily synced all my contacts and calendars with the phone. Whenever I made an update either on Google or on the phone, the change was transferred to all my devices quickly. I also installed the Google Voice app for Blackberry. This app, developed by Google, is well integrated with Google Voice. I was able to call and text using my Google Voice number. I also downloaded Pocket Blackberry for Mac. Pocket Blackberry is a free program that synced my Tour with my Mac. It was able to sync my Contacts, Calendar, Mail, and even my non-DRM items in iTunes.

I wasn’t overly impressed by the Blackberry App store, although it was easy enough to navigate and access from the phone. I had better luck finding apps by Googling. I particularly liked UberTwitter for the Blackberry, which allowed me to tweet from multiple accounts.  The sleek Blackberry Facebook app integrated nicely with my Mail and I used it far more than I use Facebook on my laptop. I used Slacker Radio for music, which was nice.

While the Blackberry speakers aren’t loud, they were passable, and my Senheiser headphones fit nicely into the headphone jack. I didn’t like the headphone jack location – on the right side. I prefer it on the top of the phone.  Under that plastic battery cover, you’ll find an included 2GB mini SD card that I upgraded to a 16 GB mini SD card (provided to me by Verizon) and loaded up with videos. I watched True Blood and several other videos on the phone and the video player worked great. I also took several photos and videos. While the videos aren’t the greatest, the photos (mostly of food in dark restaurants) came out fairly well.

In the end, I took to the Blackberry Tour like it should have been my phone all along and I was impressed by the amount of apps available – even if they weren’t all through the official App Store. I really don’t want to give the phone back. But the lack of wi-fi is a serious detriment for me. While the Verizon 3G network is fast, wifi is faster, and there are times when it’s easier.

The Blackberry Tour is currently $149.99 at Verizon.

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Cheers!

Tweet Michelle @writetechnology, send her technology news at michelle[at]writetech[dot]net, visit her wine blog when you’re thirsty, and drop by her day job.

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