Word's on the street that the world's first Windows Phone 8 (WP8) powered smartphone, the Samsung ATIV S, is now available for pre-order and will ship from Dec. 21.

Samsung was the first to announce the smartphone in partnership with Microsoft; however, the Korean company has lagged behind competing WP8 makers Nokia and HTC when it came to the device's launch.

Follow us

Earlier in November this year, it was reported that the ATIV S was delayed till December and retailer Clove UK's pre-order page cited stock holdups until "week commencing December 10^th." Initially, Samsung's ATIV S was expected to hit the shelves in November in time for the holiday season.

However, consumers in the UK will welcome the news that the ATIV S is now available for pre-order on the Vodafone mobile network thanks to retailer Phones4U.

Interested buyers can pick up the ATIV S for free from the retailer's Web site for £33 on a two-year contract from Vodafone. The contract is inclusive of 600 free minutes, unlimited texts, and 500MB of monthly data. Alternately, a £34 per month plan with a £29.99 upfront cost (two-year contract) will give users unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 2GB of data.

Phones4U will ship the smartphone from Dec. 21, which confirms that Samsung has delayed the ATIV S' release by a month. Clove UK still shows the shipment date as "week commencing" Dec. 10, which is two weeks earlier than Phone4U's estimate, and is offering the unlocked handset for £442.80. Samsung is yet to confirm which of the two dates is accurate.

The INQUIRER reported that Samsung told them last week that "The launch of Samsung Ativ S in the UK is scheduled in December. We will be bringing our customers a unique and best-in-class Windows Phone 8 experience."

With the ATIV S delayed to December and varying shipment dates, it doesn't seem promising for buyers who would have wanted the smartphone before Christmas.

Would you be pre-ordering the ATIV S or prefer the HTC and Nokia offerings?

Join Our Conversation

Smartphones

ZTE Grand S Release Date In U.S. Put On Hold Until 2014

Nokia Yet Again Sues HTC Over Patent Infringement

Nexus 4 Rocking Android 4.3 Version Stars In New Photos, Video

HTC Desire 600 Now Official: Quad-Core Mid-Range Smartphone With Beats Audio, BlinkFeed

Tablet / Laptop / PC

Apple Drops Prices On Refurbished iPad Mini, iPad 4 Tablets

Hisense Introduces Sero 7 Tablets With $99 Starting Price To Challenge Nexus 7

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Gets Dunked In A Fishtank, Survives

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Stars In New Video

Gadgets

Google Glass Is Creepy, Says Early Glass User

Xbox One And PlayStation 4: On The Matter Of Shared And Used Games

Recharge Your Phone In 20 Seconds With This Revolutionary Device

Ouya Will Be At E3 2013, But Not Where You Think

OS / Software

Nexus 4 Rocking Android 4.3 Version Stars In New Photos, Video

Former Nokia Team Jolla, Announces First Sailfish Powered Smartphone For Asia

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Update For Samsung Galaxy S3 Transform It Into Galaxy S4 (To Some Extent)

iOS 7 To Come With Flickr, Vimeo Integration

Internet / Social Media

AT&T Promises Cellular Video Calls, Mobile Video Chat For All Customers

Flickr Boasts 'Spectacular' Redesign, Offers A Whopping 1TB Of FREE Storage

Download 40 GB In A Second: Researchers Set Up World's Fastest Wi-Fi Network In Germany

YouTube Shoppable Videos - Will Google Hit A New Jackpot?

What's App

Tiger Woods 12 and NBA Jam Are The Latest EA Sports Games To Come Exclusive To Nokia Lumia

Microsoft YouTube App For Windows Phone Still Up And Running Despite Google Takedown Notice

Pandora Updates Web And Mobile Apps With Easier Facebook Sharing

Nokia Launched LiveSight For HERE Maps On Windows Phone 8