Report: U.S. Cellular may carry BlackBerry Tour

Regional operator U.S. Cellular may be launching Research In Motion's BlackBerry Tour smartphone, according a company product page detailing the phone's features. The move is significant as operators such as U.S. Cellular have long complained that they don't have the marketing clout of their Tier 1 counterparts to offer these popular devices.

Both Sprint and Verizon Wireless launched the Tour in July, and have been promoting it as one of the key smartphones in their lineups.

Although U.S. Cellular has not yet made any official announcements about the Tour, the action would dovetail with the carrier's previous smartphone movements. Cellular South recently said that it would launch its first Android-powered phone, the HTC Hero, for $99, significantly less than Sprint's asking price. The Hero also is Sprint's first Android phone; the carrier began selling it yesterday for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

A U.S. Cellular spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FierceWireless.

Recently, analyst Gerard Hallaren, director of research at Town Hall Investment Research, said the BlackBerry Tour had abnormally high return rates at Sprint because of trackball problems.

For more:
- take a look at this U.S. Cellular product page
- see BlackBerry Tour videos, pictures and specs
- read this FierceWireless article

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