Yes, the day has come: Sprint has released the first Windows Phone 7 handset and the first ever CDMA Windows Phone 7 handset, the HTC Arrive, also known as the HTC 7 Pro in Europe in the GSM variant.

The handset will go on sale starting March 20 — after the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update which will bring CDMA support as announced, alongside Copy/Paste and other performance improvements — and it will cost $199.99 with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers will be able to pre-order HTC Arrive and thus secure a unit at any participating Sprint Store with the purchase of a $50 Sprint gift card, starting today.

Purchasing an HTC Arrive implies signing up for one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans, and also a the $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones.

Just as a reminder, the HTC Arrive sports a 1GHz processor, 3.6-inch WVGA screen, five-megapixel camera, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, SRS WOW HD surround sound, 16GB Internal Memory, Bluetooth 2.1 as well as 1500 mAh Lithium-ion. It will come with Sprint Zone (one-stop wireless account access, phone tips, news), Sprint TV and Movies and NASCAR Sprint Cup MobileSM.

On a side note, the official page has now gone live so you can check it out for more details by pointing your browser to this link.