Asus Delays Eee Pad Transformer UK Launch

Asus has delayed its UK launch of the Eee Pad Transformer to the end of April or early May, after quickly selling out of initial stocks of the product delivered in time for the original launch date of 6 April.

“Initial demand for the Eee Pad Transformer has been far beyond our expectations, and following the on-sale date (6th April 2011) the first batches delivered to the UK have entirely sold out,” Asus UK stated.

Delays

While some buyers who pre-ordered the Transformer reported having received the product – on Asus’ UK Facebook page, for instance – others will have to wait.

Amazon UK reportedly emailed those who had pre-ordered the Transformer setting a new launch date of 1 June, and that date is listed on the site’s Transformer page.

Asus UK itself said the availability of the Transformer in the UK will depend partly on how long shipments take to pass through customs.

“We are now due to receive a significant quantity of both Eee Pad Transformers and keyboard docks at the end of April/early May (exact date will depend on customs clearance and freight forwarding to our retailers),” Asus UK stated.

“We are working hard to increase both the number of demonstration models on display and also general stock availability within retailers throughout the UK.”

The UK is Asus’ global launch partner for the Transformer and will see the largest volumes of stock globally, the company said.

Asus said it anticipates the additional stock being distributed amongst Comet, PC World, Currys and Carphone Warehouse stores in late April or early May.

Additional testing

The delay was due to Asus’ underestimating demand for the Transformer and to stock delays caused by additional testing, Asus said.

Unveiled on 25 March, the Transformer is the computer maker’s first slate based on Google’s Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” operating system.

The Eee Pad Transformer will compete with Motorola Mobility’s Xoom and other Honeycomb tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, which will launch in June.

Like the Xoom, the Transformer is powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and has a 10.1-inch touch-screen with a 1280 by 800 resolution, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

However, Asus is touting the expandable QWERTY keyboard docking station, which effectively turns the tablet into a laptop.

The optional dock includes Android function buttons, but also boosts the Transformer’s average 9.5 hours of battery life up to 16 hours. The idea is that users will be able to use the Eee Pad for work.

In concept if not in form factor, the Eee Pad and its dock resemble the pairing of the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone and Motorola Laptop Dock. When connected to the Laptop Dock, the Atrix 4G’s content is ported to a larger computer display, and rendered accessible via a webtop application and Mozilla Firefox browser.