Nokia N8 Shipping Forecast: CloudyNokia N8 Shipping Forecast: Cloudy

Even though those who've played with the N8 -- myself included -- are lukewarm about its chances, there are still plenty of people excited about Nokia's first Symbian^3-based handset. A lot of people, it turns out.

Nokia said in a statement on Monday, "The amount of preorders has exceeded our expectations and we are working hard to deliver the Nokia N8 to the market. In some markets [including the U.S.], we had planned to start delivering the Nokia N8s to our pre-order customers by the end of September. To ensure a great user experience, we have decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends. We're thrilled with the response that we've had to the Nokia N8 and assure everyone who've pre-ordered it already that it'll be worth the wait! We expect consumers to get their Nokia N8s during October."

That resulted in a number of doom and gloom-laden reports about how Nokia can't get its act together. By this morning, Nokia decided it was time for some damage control.

Today, Nokia said, "There have been a few stories this morning about the N8 availability which we feel need clarification. As we have previously said, we still expect to start the shipments by the end of the third quarter. As with every global launch, when the device reaches the hand of the customer will vary by market and operator."

"We have received a record number of online pre-orders for the Nokia N8. We had targeted our online pre-order customers to receive their N8s 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.

In other words, Nokia says it is going to ship the N8 as promised by the end of the third quarter (September 30). However, due to reasons beyond its control, some N8s might not actually arrive during the third quarter. Instead, they'll arrive some time in October, which is the fourth quarter.

Long story short: the N8 is coming soon, but perhaps not as soon as some hoped.