Report: BlackBerry Bold Touch to Hit UK in August

This Berry might be arriving a whole month early.

Announced at BlackBerry World earlier this year, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is a phone that RIM fans are awaiting with eager anticipation. If it can pull off what it promises, the device will marry touchscreen functionality with the oh-so-important BlackBerry keyboard and turn one of RIM's most popular phones (the BlackBerry Bold) into something that offers users the best of both worlds. However, fans will have to wait, because the 9900 isn't scheduled to launch until September. Or is it?

Last week 3UK revealed that it would be getting the BlackBerry 9900 (also known as the BlackBerry Bold Touch) on September 15. However, it seems it may arrive earlier than that. CNet reports highlights a Clove listing for the 9900 spotted by Know Your Mobile that points to a 'late August' release date. Carphone Warehouse is also planning a late 'August 2011' arrival.

The Bold 9900 is RIM’s thinnest phone yet. It boasts a high resolution, 2.8-inch capacitive touch screen; a 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU; 768MB of RAM; up to 32GB of storage via MicroSD (8GB as standard); a 5-megapixel camera with flash and HD video capture; microUSB; NFC; Bluetooth; 802.11a/b/g/n; and compass, accelerometer and proximity sensors. It also offers the physical keyboard avid BlackBerry users are so attached to.

So far we've heard nothing on pricing, but we'll let you know when we do. Expect the usual carrier subsidies as O2 3UK and Vodafone have all confirmed plans to carry the phone.