Torch 9800 Available at Bell for $179.95, Online Orders Only

Canadian wireless carrier Bell has just added a new mobile phone to its offering, none other than the highly-anticipated BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone from Research In Motion.

Even if now available for purchase at Bell, the new device won't ship until September 29th, while the in-store availability for the device is expected only for September 30th.

“Guarantee your BlackBerry Torch now. Order online and your Torch will ship on September 29th. Available in store on September 30th,” the wireless carrier notes on its website.

The news comes amid various reports of Torch's release on the Canadian market, originally slated for today, September 24th, being delayed to September 30th or October 1st at various carriers in the country, including Bell, Virgin, or Rogers.

Those interested in purchasing the new smartphone from Bell can have it for $179.95, upon the signing of a three-year contract agreement with the wireless carrier.

However, other options have been also put in place for the new BlackBerry slider, including a price tag of $449.95 on a 2-year agreement, or a $549.95 cost upon the inking of a one-year contract.

In case there are some who would not want to commit to a monthly agreement at Bell, they can have the new device for $599.95, contract free.

“The Torch combines the best of both worlds: a touch screen and slide-out keyboard coupled with an optical trackpad. Plus, the Torch features the new BlackBerry 6 operating system which offers richer web browsing and social networking integration,” Bell states on its website.

The new smartphone is the first BlackBerry device to put together a touchscreen display and a QWERTY keyboard on the same form factor, while also being the first sliding handset from RIM.

Running under BlackBerry 6 OS, the smartphone comes with appealing features, including 5 megapixels with flash, GPS, Wi-Fi, support for HSPA networks, 4 GB of internal memory space (up to 36GB via MicroSD cards), and more.

Additional info on the offerings Bell put in place for the new BlackBerry Torch 9800 can be found on the wireless carrier's website here.