RIM BlackBerry Tour: Big return rate

It has been reported that the BlackBerry Tour is suffering from a major defect, which has led to Sprint having to recall 50 percent of the handsets to solve the problem.

According to this article from Electronista, the problem is due to the trackball featured on the Tour, which often gets ‘clogged up’. This then means that owners have to clean it often just to get it working again. Verizon are also said to be unhappy with RIM over the issue, as 80 percent of their smartphone revenue come from BlackBerry handsets like the Tour And Storm.

RIM have yet to make an official statement on the situation, but we expect they will if the recalls keep flooding in. We’ll keep you updated on this.

Have you had any problems with the trackball on your Tour?