Vodafone first to announce BlackBerry Torch in UK

Vodafone has announced that it will carry RIM’s recently revealed new smartphone, the keyboard and touchscreen combination that is the BlackBerry Torch 9800.

The carrier, which also offers the iPhone 4 and most of the BlackBerry’s back catalogue, has chucked up a page on its website, extolling the virtues of the OS 6, five megapixel camera, pinch and zoom device, and allowing customers to register for more info.

What we don’t know is when the phone will hit European shores. The gadget has an August 12th release date in North America, on the AT&T network, but RIM did not reveal a worldwide ship date.

Will other networks follow Vodafone’s lead? O2 tweeted that “we haven't announced anything about the Blackberry Torch yet - we'll let you know more as soon as we can”. We’ll let you know what other networks have to say, when they reveal all.