Research in Motion is planning to debut the new BlackBerry Bold handset in the US on 4 November.

AT &T will be the first carrier to offer the handset, which will cost $299. The two companies had originally planned a summer release, but had faced delays reportedly due to problems the phone was experiencing with AT&T's 3G network.

The BlackBerry Bold has been available in the UK since August through Orange and since September through T-Mobile.

Carrier specific features include a special AT&T GPS system as well as access to the company's streaming video and music download services. The handset will also be able to take advantage of AT&T's Wi-Fi network of 17,000 hotspots nationwide.

The handset will be the second high-profile smartphone launched by AT&T in the US this year. In July, the company delivered the iPhone 3G in a bumpy although ultimately successful release.

Both devices are set to be challenged further by the Android G1 phone, which was launched on Wednesday by T-Mobile.