Samsung may have been the first to announce the world's first Windows Phone 8-powered smartphone, the ATIV S, but it seems that the company will be the last to push out the device. UK retailer Clove has updated it order page and mentions that the smartphone will not start shipping until mid-December.

The ATIV S was unveiled on Aug. 29 at the Samsung Unpacked event in Berlin, and had the distinction of being the first WP8 smartphone, ahead of Nokia and HTC.  

Both Nokia and HTC are offering two devices vis-à-vis Samsung's one; however, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer recently let on that the Samsung-made ATIV Odyssey is in the pipeline and will be available on U.S. carrier Verizon in December.  The ATIV S was earlier slated to hit the shelves in November.

Judging by the Clove update, it now seems that consumers will now only be able two choose from four WP8 devices: Nokia's Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 and HTC 8X and HTC 8S.

"First stock delayed until week commencing December 10th," notes the Clove UK pre-order page for Samsung ATIV S. 

However, buyers still have the option of placing a pre-order for the smartphone, which will set them back by £369.00 (£442.80 including VAT)

The ATIV S sports a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. A 2300mAh battery fuels the NFC-enabled smartphone, which has 16GB of on-board storage as well as the option to expand the memory via a microSD card. It also features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.

The ATIV S was expected to hit the shelves in November, in time for the holiday season. However, judging by the update, it now seems that consumers will only be able to choose from four WP8 devices: Nokia's Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 and HTC 8X and HTC 8S.

The reason behind the delay is not known and if true does not augur well for the Samsung ATIV S. Delay in shipments will affect the smartphone's sales with potential buyers who do not want to wait opting for the Nokia or HTC WP8 offerings.