The 3G device costs $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. If you buy one before July 15, Verizon will throw in a free Xbox 360 game: either Halo: Reach, Kinect Sports, or Lode Runner.
The media-centric device features a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, surround sound through SRS WOW HD, 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and 720p HD video capture, 16 GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/n). It's also quad-band and will work in more than 200 countries, Verizon said in a press release.
Verizon's first WP7 device has been whispered about since last November, when Engadget saw a leaked pamphlet revealing the HTC Trophy was coming in "early" 2011; a week later, a Verizon spokeswoman denied that the carrier was unveiling a WP7 phone in the near future, despite a (since deleted) tweet from the @windowsphone Twitter account saying the phones would be in stores by December 2010.
Verizon has made it clear in previous earnings reports that its priorities lie in iOS and Android devices.
On Thursday a Gartner report showed that consumers were continuing to snap up Android and Apple iOS mobile operating systems, but Windows Phone 7 sales were still weak, estimating 1.6 million units sold in the first quarter. Even though Nokia's deal with Microsoft could help boost WP7 sales, Gartner said, the first WP7-based Nokia phone probably won't hit stores until next year.