Available at The Carphone Warehouse both unlocked and on contract

Nov 22, 2012 08:18 GMT  ·  By

A new Windows Phone 8-powered handset is now nearing its official availability in the UK, namely the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, which is now available for pre-order in the country.

The handset was initially expected to hit shelves in the UK on November 23 via Clove UK, yet it seems that the retailer will have it on shelves at a later date, one unknown for the time being.

However, users who are interested in grabbing the mobile phone will be happy to learn that it has been put up for reservations over at The Carphone Warehouse.

The retailer lists the Windows Phone 8S by HTC with a price tag of £229.95 ($367 / €285) attached to it, SIM-free and unlocked.

Moreover, users can also pre-order the mobile phone with a Vodafone plan, for free on £21 per month deals.

Only the blue version of the handset is available for reservations at the moment. The phone is expected to ship to users in the first week of December.

Soon, Windows Phone 8S by HTC will become available for purchase at O2, Orange and Three but, as UnwiredView notes, these carriers do not take pre-orders for it right now.

HTC unveiled this smartphone along with the flagship Windows Phone 8X, and packed it with a 4-inch WVGA S-LCD display, a 1GHz dual-core S4 Snapdragon processor, and 512MB of RAM.

Moreover, Windows Phone 8S arrives on shelves with 4GB of internal memory, microSD card to expand it, a 5-megapixel photo snapper on the back, and integrated Beats Audio technology.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities were also included in this device, along with a 1,700mAh battery that should offer great usage time.

The smartphone also offers support for all the features and capabilities that Windows Phone 8 was announced with, including Microsoft Office document editing and Xbox Live gaming.