ASUS Eee Pad Transformer in US but sells out

ASUS on Tuesday managed to claim the title of the first Android 3.0 tablet maker to witness a sellout through the US launch of the Eee Pad Transformer. Its first device is now listed at Amazon but is already out of stock. Its sellout isn't complete as Best Buy still claims to have some of the Transformer in supply.

The blitz may not necessarily pose any immediate challenge to Apple. Unofficial sources have suggested that ASUS may only ship 100,000 Eee Pads this month, only some of which will have gone to the US. Apple sold about 4.69 million iPads in its winter quarter, or over 52,000 per day.

Its performance may still be better than Motorola. An estimate put the Xoom's sales at 100,000 in five weeks despite wider distribution and heavy marketing, with some analysts suggesting fewer still. Verizon, Best Buy, and observers haven't reported sellouts during the tablet's history in the US.

ASUS' slate has received more positive reviews overall than the Xoom through a mixture of factors. The Transformer uses an iPad-level IPS screen versus Motorola's cheaper display and yet still costs $400, $100 less than an iPad 2 with similar storage and a full $200 less than the cheapest available model from Motorola. Its namesake keyboard dock has also been championed as giving the tablet some of the better features from netbooks. [via SlickDeals]

By Electronista Staff