BlackBerry Tour Update 4.7.1.53 Released by RIM

RIM has  released a new operating system update for the BlackBerry Tour, version 4.7.1.53. There were previous reports of sticky trackball problems with the BlackBerry Tour smartphone and a high return rate.

Other problems reported with the BlackBerry Tour were muffled voices with Bluetooth use as well as GPS and nav software appearing when not activated by the user.

There are three ways to get the update.  You can wait for an Over-the-Air notice email and accept the update, which rolls out over time. Or you can check directly from the the BlackBerry Tour, from the options menu, advanced options and then wireless upgrade.

Make sure the battery is fully charged, because it can take thirty minutes to two hours for the update. The OTA update from Verizon has not been offered yet and there is now word if the BlackBerry Tour menu works, yet.
 
Currently as of today, you can use BlackBerry Device Manager. Before you update your software from BlackBerry Device Manager be sure to backup your data first.

Update of Update 9/20/09: It appears the 4.7.1.53. update is no longer available from BlackBerry Desktop Manger.  Hopfeully, it will appear again soon.

To Back Up Data:

Open up the
Blackberry Desktop Manager Program and click on Backup and Restore .

How to Update BlackBerry Tour From Your Computer:

• Open up
  Blackberry Desktop Manager Program (available for download from your service provider or RIM.)
• Click on
  Application Loader.
• Click on Update
  software and follow the prompts.
• Make
  sure the USB cable is connected to your computer and your BlackBerry Tour.

Here are some features that have been reported in the BlackBerry Tour Update 4.7.1.53:

• Better battery life.
• It’s slightly faster.
• Better Bluetooth and voice quality.
• More responsive trackball.
• Better MMS notifications.
• Enhanced Visual Voice Mail app.
• The geo-tagging error in the camera application is fixed.
• Error with DRM music skipping fixed.
• Better video player.
• You can now check for new BBM updates automatically or manually.
• The BlackBerry Tour no longer restarts after activating the morning alarm.
• Memory cleaning is better and its less sluggish.
• The first character is no longer duplicated when dialing from the
  home screen.
• Glitch where the BlackBerry Tour may not have detected headset removal, causing it
  to remain connected to a disabled headset.
• When prompted to add an email account in the Setup Wizard, user’s BlackBerry Tour
  may have jumped to “Bluetooth® Setup,” leaving them unable to navigate back to email setup.
• Users who tried to save changes to a contact that only contained a
  company name, could have received the error message “Contact
  updated externally. Changes will be lost and the view closed.”

Another way to check for updates if you don’t use BlackBerry Enterprise Edition is to go the BlackBerry Device Update page with Internet Explorer.