Nokia has confirmed that it has finally, after a series of well-publicised delays, has begun shipping its Nokia N8 device to customers that pre-ordered the device.

The initial release date for the device was April, but April came and went and more delays followed. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop a hell of a lot of people pre-ordering the device and now, after months of waiting, their patience has been rewarded.

We got a Nokia N8 in last month and we really liked it – you can read the review here.

As we said, the device uses Symbian^3 (Nokia’s latest attempt at keeping up with Android and iOS), features a 12-megapixel processor, rapid processor and GPU and an absolute shed-load of storage.

But, the question still remains: is it good enough sway people away from Android, iOS and now, Windows Phone 7?

We don't know, but the initial sales figures will speak volumes about the success of the device and, more importantly, the new Symbian^3 OS.

The Nokia N8 will be available to customers in the UK at the end of October and is priced at around £419 depending on the retailer.