Although it was the first commercial Windows Phone 8 smartphone announced, the Samsung ATIV S has been noticeable by its absence since the launch of Microsoft's latest mobile operating system. Looks like that wait is coming to an end, as T-Mobile in Austria have the phone available for purchase.

Along with details on the website, WPCentral have received images of the phone on that old time-travelling stand-by, a copy of that day's newspaper. T-Mobile Austria have the device marked as an exclusive handset, and is priced at 149 Euros with a 16 Euro per month contract. Sign up for the 56 Euro per month contract and the subsidised handset will be free.

We previewed the ATIV S earlier in November, and found it to be a solid entry into the WP8 line-up, with the 2300mAh battery and MicroSD card support as stand-out features:

On first impressions, the Samsung ATIV S is not going to be the Windows Phone 8 handset that everybody will be fighting for, but it will be one that will not disappoint you, if your office IT manager hands you one as your work phone. It may be the least-talked-about Windows Phone 8 device at the moment, but it has an important place in the ecosystem. We've not had as long with the ATIV S, but we're looking forward to reviewing the handset in the next few weeks to find out just how much of a contender it actually is.

Where next for the ATIV S? We'll let you know when we do!