Nokia Delays N8 Again

Nokia N8 (Nokia.com)

Nokia Corp., the world’s top cellphone maker, said this week that it is once again delaying its new top-of-the-line smartphone the N8, by a “few weeks.”

The ship date of the highly anticipated smartphone will be in October, not mid-September as originally expected. “To ensure a great user experience, we have decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends,” Nokia said in a statement.

The N8 is seen by analysts as being critical to the success of Nokia, which has struggled to compete in the lucrative smartphone market with the likes of Apple Inc., Research In Motion Ltd., and a slew of manufacturers marketing Google Android-based devices. The N8, based on Nokia’s new Symbian operating system, was originally slated to ship in June, but the company delayed shipment due to quality control issues.

Nokia recently replaced its chief executive officer by hiring former Microsoft executive Stephen Elop. The N8 has a 12-megapixel camera, which is more advanced than its rivals’ offerings currently on the market.