Optus unveils BlackBerry Torch, Bold prices

Optus has today announced pricing for the new BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Bold 9900, which it will make available from 1 September starting at AU$49 and AU$79 per month respectively.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900
(Credit: RIM)

The full details of the available plans for both models are published on Optus' website.

For RIM's new touchscreen BlackBerry Torch 9860, plans range from AU$19 per month with a handset repayment of AU$15 for 24 months, up to AU$129 per month with $0 handset repayments on Optus' Timeless Extreme plan. Optus recommends its AU$49 per month plan with $0 handset repayment, which includes AU$550 worth of calls and texts per month and 500MB of data.

For the "thinnest" new BlackBerry, the Bold 9900, plans range from AU$19 per month with a AU$19 handset repayment, up to AU$129 per month with $0 handset repayments on Optus' Timeless Extreme plan. The best value plan, according to Optus, is the AU$79 per month plan with no handset repayment, which includes unlimited calls and texts and 750MB of data per month.

The BlackBerry Torch 9860
(Credit: RIM)

The phones, available exclusively on Optus' network, are two of the five new BlackBerry Torch and Bold models announced by Research In Motion (RIM) earlier this month, which utilise the new BlackBerry 7 operating system, with 1.2GHz processors. The phones each have 5-megapixel cameras, voice-activated search, as well as BlackBerry Messenger 6, BlackBerry App World, BlackBerry Balance and BlackBerry Protect all pre-installed.

The new Bold is being touted as the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet, at 10.5mm. It'll also have in-built near-field communications (NFC) support. The Torch 9860 introduces an all-touch design with what BlackBerry said was the largest display on a BlackBerry smartphone to date, at 3.7 inches instead of the 9810's 3.2 inches.