14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia is gearing up for the release of its Windows Phone devices in various markets around the world in the near future, and the UK will be one of the countries to receive it, though it seems that only wireless carriers will launch it this year.
According to the online retailer Clove, the handset vendor will not have the SIM-free flavor of their new Nokia Lumia 800 available in the UK before the end of this year.
The handset should go up for sale on the local market on November 16th, but available only on the airwaves of wireless carriers in the country.
“We can now confirm that the Nokia Lumia 800 will not be available SIM-free in the UK until January 2012, although it will still be launched in the UK on November 16th with a contract and will be available from selected stores,” Clove notes in a recent blog post.
Nokia did not make an official announcement on the matter, and it comes as a surprise that they actually considered making this move, since interest in the handset has been quite high, it seems.
According to Clove, they were expecting the mobile phone to prove successful, based on the amount of users that were interested in it.
“This is a real shame as we’re seeing massive interest in the first baby from the Nokia/Windows Phone marriage and we’re expecting it to be well received when it does launch. We will be contacting customers that have pre-ordered by email shortly,” the retailer notes. Nokia Lumia 800 is the first Windows Phone that Nokia has announced to the world, featuring the same design as the company's Nokia N9 handset that runs under the MeeGo OS.
Nokia also announced the release of Nokia Lumia 710, a handset that sports a bit lower specs, and which is also lower priced.
Update: Nokia says that the release of the SIM-free Nokia Lumia 800 will take place on November 16th, just as initially announced, and that any news on possible delays are merely rumors, at least this is what a recent article on Pocket-lint states.
The company provided the following official statement on the matter:
The Nokia Lumia 800 goes on sale on the 16th of November as we stated during the launch at Nokia World. There are some rather odd stories circulating at present, it’s rather flattering as it proves that there are a lot of people who believe the Lumia 800 will be a major sales item and are now trying to get it onto their shelves.
However for the rollout of our first Lumia products, we have chosen to work with the UK operator and retail partners who shared our enthusiasm and commitment to bring these first products to market with a major focus on bringing alive the Nokia with Windows Phone experience for consumers.
Therefore we are making sure that by using these channels the Lumia 800 will be available to our customers in the widest variety of outlets from SIM free to contract.