Nokia website flogging N8 now, one week before general release

If you've bitten your fingernails to the quick waiting for the Nokia N8 to be released, then cut your digits some slack -- the phone is now available to buy on the Finnish company's website.

The N8 goes on general release in the UK on 22 October, but you can buy it now from Nokia's website SIM-free for £429. The website is also offering the phone for free on £30-per-month, two-year contracts with Vodafone, T-Mobile or O2. If you buy the phone from Nokia, you'll benefit from free, next-day delivery.

You can find the phone for cheaper if you shop around and are prepared to wait longer for your handset to arrive, though. For instance, Tesco is offering the phone on pre-order, for free on a £25-per-month, 24-month contract with either Vodafone or O2. Tesco's also selling the phone SIM-free for £330. We previously reported that Phones4u had £25-per-month deals too, but it seems to have taken those offline.

As well as free delivery, Nokia will also throw in an HDMI cable, which is crucial for exploiting one of the most heavily promoted features of the device: the ability to connect the N8 to a big screen via an HDMI port. At the moment, you can buy the N8 from Nokia in green, grey, orange and silver versions, but you'll have to wait until November if you want the blue version.

For your dosh, you'll get a handsome and sleek smart phone that packs some great hardware, including a 12-megapixel snapper that can rival a compact camera for picture quality, and a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen.

But you'll also get the Symbian 3 operating system. Symbian 3 is an improvement on previous versions of the software, but it's no match for the rival Android, Windows Phone 7 and iOS operating systems. There's a reason why Samsung and Sony Ericsson have dumped Symbian in favour of supporting other platforms.

Are you gagging for an N8? Let us know in the comments section below.