BlackBerry Torch 9850 officially coming to Verizon September 8th for $200

After over a month of speculation and rumors, Verizon is ready to get the BlackBerry Torch 9850 into the hands of eager customers. At a cost $50 higher than its arch CDMA nemesis (not to mention a couple weeks behind), Big Red has jumped aboard to offer the touch-only smartphone for $200 with a two-year agreement. The devices will begin selling online September 8th, with units showing up in stores a week later. If you're looking for the full scoop on Verizon's new OS 7-powered digs, continue below to check out the full press release.

Press Release:

BlackBerry Torch 9850 to be Available on the Nation's Most Reliable Network

09x06x2011 BASKING RIDGE, NJ - Verizon Wireless today announced the new BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone will be available online at www.verizonwireless.comon Sept. 8, and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Sept. 15.

Watch videos, play games and stay productive on the largest display and highest resolution on a BlackBerry smartphone to date. Powered by the new BlackBerry® 7 operating system, customers can enjoy the next generation BlackBerry browser with optimized zooming, panning and HTML 5 performance. BlackBerry® Balance is now integrated, allowing secure access to business information while preventing it from being copied into, sent from or used by personal applications. Customers can stay connected to their personal and business lives while in or out of the office.

Key features:

3G coverage on the nation's most reliable network

3.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen display (800 x 480) with trackpad navigation

1.2 GHz processor

Global Ready™ - Quad band with support for UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, including more than 95 with 3G speeds

5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD video recording capabilities

Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth® 2.1

16 GB microSD™ card pre-installed, with support for up to 32 GB microSD card

BlackBerry 7:

Liquid Graphics™ technology combines a dedicated high-performance graphics processor with a blazingly fast CPU and stunning high-resolution display to deliver a responsive touch interface with incredibly fast and smooth graphics.

Premium version of Documents To Go is now included at no additional cost, offering customers enhanced document editing features, as well as a native PDF document viewer.

The newest release of BBM™ (BlackBerry Messenger) now extends the real-time BBM experience together with a range of apps including gaming and social networking.

Updated Social Feeds app has been extended to capture updates from media, podcasts and more, all in one consolidated view.

Universal search capability now supports voice-activated search, allowing customers to simply say what they want to find on their device or the Web.

BlackBerry Balance administrator can remotely wipe business information from the device while leaving personal information intact.

Pricing and availability:

BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone will be available for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

Customers that purchase a BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.

source:Engadget