Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has declared its N8 smartphone the starting point in its “fightback”. Well, that fightback is on hold again…
“In some markets, we had planned to start delivering the N8s to our pre-order customers by the end of September. To ensure a great user experience, we have decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends,” Nokia says in a statement via Reuters.
There’s no reason given for the delay but, if it’s hardware, it’s probably too late to do much significant about it; a software fix to the new Symbian^3 could be prepped, however. UPDATE: In a revised statement today, Nokia downplays the delay. In it’s blog, it clarified today: “We have received a record number of online pre-orders for the Nokia N8. We had targeted our online pre-order customers to receive their N8s by the end of September. As it can take time from the beginning of shipment to arriving at their doorstep, in full transparency, we have advised our pre-order customers that they should expect their new Nokia N8 in October.”
No wonder Nokia was refusing to give journalists N8s at its big Nokia World show last week. N8s had been due to ship around September 23.
They pack an updated Symbian OS that is an improvement on previous versions and which includes admirable home screen widgets, but which still feels like only an iteration on the legacy mobile system, rather than the necessary overhaul.
The N8’s 12Mp camera is its stand-out feature.