Asus Padfone Reportedly Delayed Due to Snapdragon S4 Shortage

Asus Padfone has just become one of those illusive devices that only appear showcased at trade fairs or demo sessions. 

The smartphone was initially slated to be released last year, but due to the rapid advancement of mobile technology, Asus decided to push the launch of the device a few months back, and use the time to improve the Padfone’s hardware configuration.

Unfortunately, the device has been delayed again, but this seems to have nothing to do with Asus. According to Asus Indonesia, the Padfone will be delayed due to a Snapdragon S4 shortage.

The problem seems to be real as the guys over at The Verge have reached out to Asus for an official confirmation and were met with an affirmative response. Moreover, Asus mentioned that the shortage was likely to affect all Qualcomm’s customers.

There are speculations running in the wild that claim the reason behind this shortage of Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processors is the fact that Samsung will be launching a US variant of the upcoming Galaxy S III device, which is said to be equipped with this chipset that has LTE support integrated.

Even if Samsung’s own Exynos chipset were to integrate LTE support, the company would probably never be able to produce so many in order to meet the huge market demands for the Galaxy S III.

All in all, those who were expecting to purchase the Asus Padfone this month will probably be disappointed by the postponing of the device. 

Unfortunately, the company wasn’t able to specify exactly when the Padfone is expected to hit shelves after the recent delay.

There’s no telling if Asus is really hurt by this Snapdragon S4 shortage or is just simply searching for a plausible reason to postpone the Padfone again. Hopefully, other Qualcomm customers affected by this shortage will come forward with official confirmations.

Posted in: Mobile Phone, News