New BlackBerry coming to the U.S. on March 22

TORONTO — BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will launch its new touchscreen smartphone in the U.S. with AT&T on March 22. The release will come several weeks after RIM launched the much-delayed devices elsewhere.

AT&T said Monday said the Z10 will be available for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Sales of the device began in the U.K. and Canada shortly after RIM unveiled the phone in late January.

RIM has said U.S. carriers needed more time to test the devices.

The redesigned BlackBerry is RIM’s attempt at a comeback after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple’s 2007 release of the iPhone, which reset expectations for what a smartphone should do.

Shares jumped $1.32, or 10.1 percent, to $14.38 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.