Verizon Wireless announced on Tuesday that it will offer the BlackBerry Torch 9850 on September 8th for $199.99 with a new two-year contract. The Torch 9850 offers a full 3.7-inch touchscreen display with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution, a 1.2GHz processor, support for global roaming in more than 200 countries, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video and 16GB of storage. The Torch 9850 was first unveiled during a RIM event in Toronto on August 3rd where we published hands-on impressions of the phone. It is the best full-touchscreen smartphone RIM has sold and its browser is much improved, but the BlackBerry 7 operating still feels stale in comparison to Android, Windows Phone and iOS. Read on for the full press release from Verizon Wireless.
BlackBerry Torch 9850 to be Available on the Nation’s Most Reliable Network
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless today announced the new BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone will be available online at http://www.verizonwireless.com on 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 microSDâ„¢ card pre-installed, with support for up to 32 GB microSD card
BlackBerry 7:
- Liquid Graphicsâ„¢ 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 BBMâ„¢ (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.
For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
