Images of and technical specifications for the BlackBerry 9630, codenamed Niagara, have been bouncing around the Interwebz for more than a month, and though Research In Motion hasn’t even acknowledged the device yet, one more juicy piece of information may have been uncovered yesterday, it’s official name: The BlackBerry “Tour” 9630. And the device will likely be promoted alongside another tour: U2’s 360 Tour. Is this the BlackBerry 9630 Tour?? The alleged name for the BlackBerry 9630 comes from a BoyGeniusReport.com tipster who claims to have firsthand knowledge of the device. The same tipster claims the “Tour” will be released in “early summer.” Additionally, one of the site’s readers discovered that the Web addresses BlackBerry9630.com and BlackBerryTour.com are not only tied to the same IP address, they were both registered on the same day. This last bit of data is convincing as RIM typically buys up all related and possibly-related Web addresses before releasing new devices. For example, BlackBerry9000.com and BlackBerryBold.com were purchased shortly before that device’s launch and both now point to the same BlackBerry Bold page of RIM’s site. By no means is the Tour name 100 percent concrete; RIM could’ve toyed around with it at one point and decided to register the associated Web addresses just in case. But it does seem to fit in with the BlackBerry-maker’s recent naming conventions. It’s short and to the point. It makes sense considering the device will reportedly be a World Edition BlackBerry—World Tour, get it? And, well…I don’t like it at all. In fact, I dislike it just as much as I disliked “Bold” when I learned the 9000 would assume that title. Maybe even more so than when the flip BlackBerry “Kickstart” was branded as a revamped “Pearl.” Then there’s the whole U2 thing. We know U2 and RIM have joined forces to cross-promote each other’s respective offerings; RIM is sponsoring the band’s 360 Tour and U2 is working with RIM in various capacities, including the filming of promotional materials for RIM events, such as the company’s recent BlackBerry App World announcement at CTIA. So why not call the BlackBerry 9630 something cool like the BlackBerry Edge, in reference to the band’s lead guitarist? I suppose a name like that could easily be confused with the GSM radio technology EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), but you get my point. And you can bet U2, or at least some recorded version of the band, will make an appearance at RIM’s upcoming Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) event, which is being held May 5 through May 8 in Orlando. In fact WES seems to be a likely place for the 9630’s official announcement…. What’s your take? I realize it’s just a name, and in the grandiose scheme of thangs, it really doesn’t much matter. And I’ll admit it: my affection for the name Bold has grown over time, so maybe Tour will too. I just think RIM could be more inventive. AS FREE CIO BlackBerry NewsletterGet better use out of your BlackBerry and keep up-to-date on the latest developments. Sign-up ť Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe