This shows one of the dangers that Asus has faced in the past and will continue to see if they cannot establish proper supply lines with the companies that are supposed to provide the hardware that is inside their devices. The design and concept can be the most amazing there is, but if you cannot get them to the stores it is all a waste of time. Of course Asus is relatively new to the tablet and smart phone market so they are still building the relationships that companies like HTC, Samsung, and Apple have with the people that supply everything that goes into their products.

The supply chain for these pieces and parts is very different from what Asus is used to in the PC, netbook and notebook market. Do hope that their supply situation will improve especially with the success of products like the Transformer series of tablets, but until it does Asus might not be taken seriously by the rest of the manufacturing world. The delay of the Padfone and other devices that rely on the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC will certainly make Apple happy as Asus and their new range of mobile products stand the chance of eating into Apple’s sales (if Asus can sort out the supply issues).

We do see a bright spot for consumer confidence though. If Asus makes the plunge into another x86 tablet for Windows 8 they can pick up more market share and with larger market share in the same space that could help get them more supply leverage (meaning they can get commitments on parts).

We will see how this delay will impact the sales of the Padfone especially if the delay is a long one we might see interest wane as other devices show up in the shops first.

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