Nokia"s flagship Windows Phone 8 handset, the Lumia 920, has proven to be pretty popular with consumers. In the US, buyers on AT&T have seen widespread stock shortages; Walmart too reported "overwhelming demand" for the device back in November, with limited availability of stock. Australia"s Telstra ran out of stock within hours of launching the device last month too, describing demand as "beyond amazing", while in the UK, online retailer Clove quickly sold out of its SIM-free stock as well.
But for those wanting to get their hands on a 920, stock availability hasn"t been the only hurdle to overcome. In some markets, the handset has been launched exclusively on certain networks; in the US, AT&T has had all the fun, while in the UK, anyone wanting to get a 920 on contract has been limited solely to EE (on its 4G network, and its two 3G brands, T-Mobile and Orange).
That exclusivity arrangement in the UK will soon come to an end. Vodafone has confirmed in a blog post that, from early next year, it will begin to offer the Lumia 920 to its customers. The device is pictured in red, yellow and grey variants on the Vodafone site, but it"s unclear if this is just a standard promotional image or if this represents the actual colour selection that will be available on the network.
At the Windows Phone 8 London launch event in October, Vodafone committed to offering the Nokia Lumia 820, as well as the Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S by HTC, but unlike other operators, no information was given about how soon those devices would be made available. Despite adding the Lumia 920 to that list, Vodafone is still only "saying that all four of [the] Windows Phone 8 phones will arrive in the early stages of next year", so for now, your guess is as good as ours when it comes to dates.
Nokia confirmed to Neowin at the beginning of November that it would "review the [EE] exclusivity arrangement later this quarter". While Vodafone"s announcement confirms that that arrangement is indeed drawing to a close, buyers will surely be hoping that it paves the way for availability of the Lumia 920 on other UK networks in the not-too-distant future.
Source: Vodafone
> Check out our Nokia Lumia 920 review
> Don"t miss our review and video review of the Windows Phone 8X by HTC