Nokia N8 shipments pushed back to October

Firm denies any technical hiccups and blames 'record pre-orders'

Nokia has confirmed that customers who pre-ordered the N8 smartphone will now have to wait until October to have the device delivered.

The company had promised to fulfil orders by the end of September, and has been quick to quash any rumours of technical problems.

A statement on the Nokia Conversations blog said that shipments have been pushed back following a record number of pre-orders.

"We still expect to start the shipments by the end of the third quarter. As with every global launch, the device reaching the hands of the customer will vary by market and operator," the firm said.

"We had targeted our online pre-order customers to receive their N8 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."

Interestingly, Play.com has given 8 October as the release date, while Amazon.co.uk has said 18 October.

The N8 will face stiff competition from the HTC Desire HD and Desire Z handsets which feature Android 2.2 and the updated HTC Sense interface.