Nokia N8 available from October 15

Keen to get the message out, Finnish handset giant Nokia said Wednesday that its forthcoming flagship device – the N8 – will be available to purchase in stores on October 22.

The unit will also be available for online order and immediate delivery from October 15. In the UK the handset will be available from the Carphone Warehouse, O2, Orange, Phones4u, T-Mobile, Tesco Phone Shops, Three Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone for £429 SIM free or on contract from £30 per month.

Based on the Symbian ^3 platform, the N8 is spearheading the company’s renewed assault on the smartphone sector, with the highest number of online pre-orders in the company’s history. But Nokia has been hit by news of delays – the N8 was supposed to be out a month earlier – and shaken by recent management changes.

Newly installed Nokia chief Stephen Elop took the reins at the firm at the end of September amid news of delays to shipments of the N8, following the departure of Olli Pekka Kallasvuo and the resignation of Anssi Vanjoki, head of the handsets division.