Nokia Lumia 900 UK Launch Delayed Until 14 May

The UK launch of the Nokia Lumia 900 has been put back by over two weeks, according to retailer Phones 4U.

The new flagship Nokia smartphone was due to be released tomorrow, but Phones4U has said that due to “overwhelming demand” in the US following its American launch, prospective owners will not be able to get their hands on the device for another two weeks.

Overwhelming demand

Phones4u told TechWeekEurope it was originally working to the pre-order planning and delivery dates arranged with the Finnish manufacturer, but will no longer be able to meet its launch date of 27 April. The smartphone will now be available in store and online from 14 May.

“As the overwhelming demand and success of the Lumia 900 in the US has had a small knock-on effect on product availability in the UK, the Lumia 900 is now expected to be available from Phones 4u on 14 May and we’re pleased to be able to confirm that we will be the first European retailer to stock the device,” a spokesperson said.

As compensation, those who pre-ordered the Lumia 900 will receive a pair of Nokia Purity by Monster in-ear headphones, in addition to their free Nokia Play 360 speaker.

The Lumia 900 was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and features a 4.3-inch AMOLED Clearback display, a front-facing one megapixel high definition camera and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity, if such a network is available.

Its US launch was marred by a software glitch that prevented some users from connecting to networks. By way of apology, Nokia offered users a $100 credit to their phone bill and promised a fix to the bug.

The Lumia 900 is the successor to the Lumia 800, which was unveiled along with the Lumia 710 last October. These were the first products of a strategic partnership signed between Nokia and Microsoft for the Finnish manufacturer to use the Windows Phone OS on its smartphones.

In January, Nokia reported that it had sold one million Windows Phones, but still reported fourth quarter losses and has failed to instil confidence in European mobile operators.

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