ASUS rep says tablets stall to Q3 with Android 2.3

ASUS' Eee Pads and Eee Slates using Android have not only been delayed but might ship without Android 3.0, company marketing specialist John Swatton said Wednesday. The announcements, which mentioned a spring shipping window and the new OS across the board, were a "mistake," he told the Inquirer. They would instead ship in summer and would be limited to Android 2.3, Google's most recent phone OS.

It may also be that the MeMo, Slider and Transformer might have to drop Android Market and use an ASUS-run store. While removal of Android Market was "to be confirmed," according to Swatton, Android 2.x devices without phone functionality reportedly can't use the official store. It's not clear how accurate this would be, as the Galaxy Tab has Android Market even in versions that can't make calls while Archos and Toshiba have both had to make their own portals.

Any significant delay could hurt ASUS' chances at getting significant share in the tablet market and offsetting stalling netbook sales in the face of the iPad and Galaxy Tab. It has Windows-based tablets that are expected to expand Microsoft's platform beyond its niche, but the majority of its lineup and most of its success revolves around Google's OS.

By Electronista Staff