Blackberry Tour’s success was unprecedented, and because of this, Research In Motion is preparing for the release of a worthy successor, the Blackberry Tour 9650. The device will work on the CDMA frequency is expected to be another testament to Research In Motion’s penchant for quality and excellence when it comes to smart phones. The Blackberry Tour was named the best for businesses and was available to all customers of Sprint and Verizon Wireless the previous year; not wanting to rest on their laurels, Research In Motion has done its best for Blackberry Tour 9650 to upstage its predecessor. Blackberry Bold 9700 already has its share of loyal followers among GSM users, and it is hoped that the 9650 would be the new favorit of those who use CDMA.

Research In Motion has been very kind for providing us with an evaluation unit, hence this quick hands on review of this wonderful device. The 9650 is identical to Blackberry Tour in terms of size and weight, to give you that familiar feel on your hand. This is more of a boon because many people remark that the Tour was an excellent fit, not to big, not too bulky, but not too small either. This must be the reason why the designers opted to give it the same dimensions; if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Furthermore, Blackberry Bold 9700 also has the same size and feel of the 9650.

The differences, however, make 9650 quite better than its predecessor. For one, it makes use of a trackpad rather than a trackball. Get used to it people, the trackball may be all but obsolete because of the issues it created like dirt accumulation. The trackpad of the 9650 exceeds all our expectations, and is easy to use too.

The speed and the power of the processor just make it superior to the Blackberry Tour, which many complained as being underpowered. The speed of its processor makes it look like the response is snappy and the usual slowdowns that persisted in the original Tour is no longer present.

Many people liked the keyboard of the original Tour, and customers and aficionados will be happy to note that the designers have not replaced the keyboard. It is just the same as the original Tour’s keyboard – close to perfect.

Perhaps the best thing about Tour 9650 is that the WiFi works beyond expectations. Research In Motion is at the top of their game as far as I am concerned. Don’t expect the 9650 to stay too long on the shelves once this is released. As good as the original Tour was, Tour 9650 is just excellent.