I'd love to see Nokia pull an Apple and release a WP8 device 1 week after their conference. I'd gladly buy a Verizon WP8 device while the rest of the world tunes in to Apple's event.
Announcement the first week of September. Certainly no release before Win8 on 10/26/12. Might be that day or shortly thereafter, but definitely before Black Friday (11/23/12) at least in the US.