Windows 8 Phone Release Date: Pre-Orders Available Oct. 21; Expected to Benefit Samsung and Will Include HTC 8X, Nokia's Lumia 920

Microsoft's Windows 8 devices are rumored to be available for pre-order Oct. 21 with an official launch Oct. 26.

The launch will include HTC 8X and Nokia's Lumia 920, along with the Samsung Ativ Smart PC and Asus Vivo Tab RT tablets.

Although Microsoft's secrecy about the devices, NASDAQ reports consumer interest is high and the phone's release may yield significant results.

"Considering marketing has yet to begin, these findings show Windows Phone 8 will likely have a substantial impact on the smartphone industry," Dr. Paul Carton, ChangeWave's VP of Research, said in an e-mail.

The study, conducted by ChangeWave Research, showed that nine percent of consumers are "Likely" to buy a Windows Phone 8 device; two percent said they are "Very Likely;" while seven percent said they are "Somewhat Likely." The article said 36 percent of those polled are "most interested in the way the platform integrates with Windows apps and other Windows devices."

ChangeWave said that 45 percent of those consumers said as of yet, they are unsure of which manufacturer they will choose, but 51 percent decided on a Samsung device, the article said. Nokia came in second place with 35 percent of votes, while HTC had 7 percent and "other" 6 percent.

This means that Samsung will benefit the most from the much-anticipated release.

When it came to "level of satisfaction among smartphone users, Apple ranked highest with 71 percent of users saying they were "very satisfied" and Research in Motion ranked lowest with 23 percent.

Samsung came in second on this poll, with 49 percent, followed by Motorola with 43 percent.

An article by Extreme Tech said the future of Windows 8 may be in jeopardy becaue app developers have failed get a software development kit (SDK) to build apps for the new OS.

"Microsoft has opened up limited access to the Windows Phone 8 Preview SDK, leaving most devs out in the cold," the article said. "Only a few top developers have access to the development environment. In case you're not keeping track, the Windows Phone 8 launch event is on October 29, less than three weeks away. If you were expecting Windows Phone 8′s app ecosystem to be one of its main selling points, think again."

The article called the company's goal of keeping the final Windows Phone 8 features a secret will generate excitement "bizarre," stating this means they'll be very few native Windows Phone 8 apps to launch.