By 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you were planning on picking up an ASUS Transformer Prime in time for the holidays, you may want to listen up. We received a Phantip from one of our readers who pre-ordered the supertab through NCIX, an online retailer and according to them, the Transformer Prime has been delayed until next year. The email NCIX sent out to their pre-orders says the following:
“Unfortunately, we just received word that the ASUS Transformer Prime has been delayed worldwide and will most likely not be available before Christmas. ASUS feels the WiFi range does not currently meet their standards and has delayed all shipments worldwide. At the moment there is no ETA and no information on available quantities on the first batch.”
Ouch. If it holds true, this no doubt comes as terrible news for those of you looking to get your quad-core gaming on this holiday season. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. If you have already reserved or were looking on picking one up, where does this leave you now? Xyboard? Okay, maybe that was too far…
Thanks, Dave!
Oh god! There is going to be a mass suicide of android nerds based on nexus delays and now the prime.
At least the whining posts will stop.
Dude that was some funny shit!!!
lol worst nerdtastrophy ever!
nerdtastrophy.. hahahahahahaha
Funny, but what would be even more funny is if one of those nerds hacks Apple, sends out a message to jump off the tallest building in their area, and 95% due because Apple said so.
You spelled “due” wrong.
you spelled your name wrong.
I was really looking forward for this tablet.
Haven’t heard of any suicides due to delays, but I have heard of workers that make Apple products jumping off buildings because they are so miserable
Noooooooooo!
you know i wouldn’t mind the delay(I have to save up for it anyway) if they were going to stick that 128GB of storage in it, and dup in the dock.. 256 of storage + SD would be nice.
Is the memory on these Solid state
Nope, it’s Flash memory.
http://eee.asus.com/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/
flash is solid state
Solid state is flash.
this is what I was referring to.
http://www.intomobile.com/2011/12/06/intel-and-micron-announce-128-gigabit-nand-flash-expect-128-gb-iphone-2013/
Doesn’t it have a microSDXC card slot (can take up to 2TB cards)?
I have never even heard of a 2TB card, and given how expensive 32GB cards are I really don’t think it would be worth it. i was referring to the new memory technology that phandroid stuffed in a recent android overload. though to be honest, I think news like this deserves it’s own article.
http://www.intomobile.com/2011/12/06/intel-and-micron-announce-128-gigabit-nand-flash-expect-128-gb-iphone-2013/
Yes 2TB http://www.google.com/m?hl=en&gl=us&client=ms-android-hms-tmobile-us&source=android-unknown&action=devloc&q=microSDXC+2tb
2t CARD IS BS
couldnt they just release an update to fix the wifi problem? i cant wait for this any longer!!!
Not if it’s a hardware issue…unless you really expect users to send their tablets away and wait for them to be fixed and sent back.
Noooooooooooooooooo!
I swear, is Motorola really that stupid that they don’t know the XYBoard is going to fail?
Unfortunate news about the Prime but better in the long run. First impressions mean everything in such a competitive, cutthroat industry.
Even the Xoom was a failure. Yet they charge premium prices.
Amazing
i actually went on verizon and compared the xyboard to its samsung and apple counterpart,just to see how they match up,and it wasnt even close. if i was actually going to buy one,without question,it would either be the galaxy tab 10.1 or the ipad.i found myself looking at the xyboard and thinking “who would be stupid enough to buy this?”
the xoom might have been overpriced,but at least spec wise it was a good tablet
damn…i just came here to say i got this email…
this sucks
Thatz FUCKED UP!
Why does everything i want get delayed. sheesh o will good thing i have the touchpad with android on it to keep me busy
If you are fucking with us, you will be on my shit list! I have two on order and have already been charged!
Check your bank. They are in all likelihood holds on your card.
This story is completely false, I assume engineered by an apple fanboy. I unlike most other posters here, simply picked up a phone and called asus. Asus had no clue what I was talking about, no delays, no wifi issues. When the costumer service rep looked it up on her pc, it said Q4 as the release date, as it always had.
Poor, poor reporting that starts a chain reaction of chaos. I’m sure the jelous apple fanboy is reveling in his mischief.
I sure hope the customer service rep. was competent and there are no delays…i’d be devastated lol….But honestly, never heard of NCIX before today and no word of delay seems to be coming from other retailers, whole thing sounds fishy to me. would be nice if asus could make some kind of simple statement through twitter or something at least
ncix are listed on asus’s own asustablets.us site as a vendor when you click on their pre-order button.
Ok, i’ve already replied to your crap. Now I’m getting annoyed. You’re kind of a twat, aren’t you?
It’s not false. I did receive that email, then I sent it here. You can keep telling people it’s false, but then you’re then being false… because you actually have no clue and are just making assumptions.
Are they f&%$ing serious? After all this waiting many of us have lasted through…now we have to wait AT LEAST another month? Especially for those of us that already paid in full for our preorders. I’d cancel the order, but I paid in Amazon Gift Cards that I picked up at a local grocery store, so I can get a preorder before they were out. (Didn’t have time to go to the bank before class when I read the announcement, so I bought a stack of gift cards and put them in on my phone during class. Ha) So yeah, my “refund” would only be in Amazon credit then. Ugh
Ok, before I have a stroke, let me cross my fingers and wait for an official announcement. Ugh.
OMG! People need to STOP announcing stuff if they can’t release it!
It can’t be that bad, I’ve seen no complaint about WiFi in the reviews.
Anyway, if it’s an hardware issue, they probably can’t fix it because thousands of tablets are (hopefully) already boxed and ready for shipping. If it’s a software issue, just put the fix in the ICS update and give us the tablet we are all waiting for, we can live with “slightly below standard” WiFi reception for a few days/weeks.
I read some reviewers had issues with the WiFi range and performance. They will get this fixed then all will be well. Patience is always needed in situations like this.
I swear, I’m bad luck. Any device that I show even remote interest in, gets delayed indefinitely.
same here buddy
between the 3 of us we f*** over everyone else
The report appears to be true, I just called Asus tech support as I have a T101 and I could hear the phones ringing off the hook! I asked the guy if it was true about the delay and he said “Sir we are doing our best to get them out before Christmas” He did use the word delayed in our conversation…
This really sucks!
This story is completely false, I assume engineered by an apple fanboy. I unlike most other posters here, simply picked up a phone and called asus. Asus had no clue what I was talking about, no delays, no wifi issues. When the costumer service rep looked it up on her pc, it said Q4 as the release date, as it always had.
Poor, poor reporting that starts a chain reaction of chaos. I’m sure the jelous apple fanboy is reveling in their mischief.
Obviously you didnt call chaztech
Not false, and definitely not an apple fanboy.
That is part of the email I received from NCIX which I then sent to phandroid. I’ve posted the full email as a response above.
I noticed today that my Amazon pre-orders for the 64GB models and a keyboard, although still not showing a date, now have an asterisk saying this item will not arrive before December 25th. Shipment 1 of 1: The following item will arrive after December 25, 2011.
Well that sucks, but at least they aren’t sending out something sub-par
This will give the garbage employees at gamestop some extra time to educate themselves about the product they will be carrying……..
Was just playing with one at my local Gamestop earlier today, seemed fine to me…
With WiFi working?
Anandtech listed this as a major issue with their unit and was told by Asus it was a unique situation. I tend to disagree because Anand is one thorough SOB and local. I put a lot of faith into what he does and reports. If this is the case and they have to make a hardware change to the Wifi chip, then this is delayed several months.
Delayed since August! Wtf
It’s ok. iphone5 has been delayed until next year.
Ah, the sounds of pre-orders canceling all over the world.. :| Was gonna be my first tablet.. prob only gift I was going to get from my wife (that I pre-ordered) .. bleh.
samsung will be happy…less competition for gtab pre-xmas
guy1: sir!, we have not finish assembling the prime yet.
guy2: oh no, quick! make up an excuse.
guy1: how about wifi not good enough?
guy1: PERFECT!
they make meds so you don’t have to wear a tinfoil hat
should guy 2 be saying PERFECT?
guy1…
wait… people don’t do that crap anymore. find a new shtick.
Doesnt everyone remember a few months ago when this was delayed until Dec, back then it was said by ASUS that it was being delayed because they wanted it to ship with ICS hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….
that would be pretty sweet!
but why not just come out and say that’s why it’s delayed?
seems strange that by now they wouldn’t have known about this wifi issue but maybe it was the reviewers who were noting it which prompted Asus to fix it
not to be a country basher…but NCIX is Canada right. could it be only delayed in Canada and us in the USA are still gonna get it by the 18th…fingers crossed to the max
Fortunately for us who can read the message includes the following pertinent statement…..”and has delayed all shipments worldwide” ….and that means your country too. No problem, glad to be of help.
:( was just hoping upon hope and having faith… been saving up since its been announced and really want to start using it for our worship team so i don’t have to keep killing trees to print music.
Yup, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Killing trees to print music? Not serious!?! They are there to be used so use them in good faith. Patience is a part of the journey WM. I have faith that it will all work out fine and everyone who ordered one will be impressed particularly if ICS is on board but that may be more wishful thinking than likely. As for worship, if you spend the time between now and the time this tablet comes in worship you won’t care about any piddly tablet you’ll be in another realm entirely. Have a great holiday.
So they built it……..and then tested the wifi? LOL
It’s also quite possible they had a bad batch of primes, bad wifi lets say, and they are supplying major retailers before smaller ones. I didn’t read Anand’s review but if he mentioned its the only review ive heard of mentioning it. Not to say it isnt true but I will wait a little more confirmation.
Anandtech and cnet both had wifi issues. cnet said it worked when everything else was turned off… the guess was the none plastic back… seems they did not copy the ipad well enough, apple stuck the radio behind the plastic not the metal. So it’s not a software fix, it’s a hardware problem, and I had one on pre-order, but don;t want it if the WIFI was bad.
Thing is now the WIFI will need to be perfect as everyone will be looking closely at it after this
i just died a little inside ;(
According to Best Buy, my keyboard dock is still shipping on the 19th, so at least I can pretend I have a Transformer Prime. Neener neener neener :P
T_T
/firstworldproblems
not sure if its already been mentioned but when anandtech did their review of the TP, their review model also had wifi issues, although ASUS did claim it to be an isolated issue……
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5163/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-nvidia-tegra-3-review
I received the very same email message this morning Dec 10. Disappointing yes but then again I would rather Asus take measures to ensure a good quality build than pump inferior quality products out the door. This is why companies send out demos for the geeks to try and find problems so they can get it right. This is encouraging to me as a customer. I wonder if maybe they will also upgrade the firmware and install Android 4 due to this delay. That would be great. I recall Apple sending out inferior iphones only to have to make a silly patch later. Asus has my support on this move. Unfortunately for those who wanted this as a gift it won’t happen before Christmas and in NCIX’s case they are offering a $25 discount on other tablets if used before the end of the year.
Here is the email:
Unfortunately, we just received word that the ASUS
Transformer Prime has been delayed worldwide and will most likely not be
available before Christmas. ASUS feels the WiFi range does not currently meet
their standards and has delayed all shipments worldwide. At the moment there is
no ETA and no information on available quantities on the first
batch.
If this was intended as a gift, we would like to
recommend changing to a different tablet to ensure on time delivery for the
holidays. Otherwise, we recommend keeping your order in place to hold your
position in the queue for a tablet once they are available. If you decide you
would like to have your order cancelled, please contact our customer care
department here:
http://secure1.ncix.com/message/?dept=2
In the meantime, we would like to offer you a $25 off
coupon on any other in stock tablet.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?minorcatid=1384&in=1
Please find a tablet that suits your needs and add to
your shopping cart. Then add the coupon code “Tablet??-???????” to the coupon
code field on the top right of the Shopping Cart page to receive $25 off your
purchase. This coupon code will expire December
31st.
Sincerely,
NCIX Customer Care Team
FWIW my best buy order says it is still shipping on the 18.
According to Gamestop, I can still pick 1 up on the 19th when they open. Confirmed it with them yesterday afternoon. So until i see an official release from ASUS, I will ASSume this is an issue for NCIX customers. At least i hope it is.
I dont know how true this is. I looked at my credit card yesterday and it showed Best Buy just charged me for the tablets (ordered 3 for xmas), nearly 17 days after ordering. Normally they charge the credit card when they are getting ready to ship. I also called them yesterday and they said to expect it between 18th and 23rd (as originally planned). So from Best Buy’s end everything is still good. Amazon still has not cancelled my order either. I ordered 2 from BB and 1 from Amazon. Both orders are still solid and valid.
Couple possibilities:
1) Asus created first few batches that were good and are processing those shipments.
2) Asus is like oh well, the first few batches will just do a warranty repair and they’ll take care of it then.
3) Best buy and amazon both havent heard the news yet, which I doubt because they both are probably on Asus’s top 5 list.
Excuse my poor English.
I’m an user from ASUS’s hometown-Taiwan.
There was a 3C exhibit next to the famous 101 last week,
and I got my 1st tablet-Transfomer Prime in that morning.
I was like
“Wow, I must be the earliest geek who got the newest quad-core
Tablet in the world ”
The sales said there will be only around 30 pieces Prime available.
“If you don’t buy it now, you gonna have it in the end of the world -2012.”
He totally got me.
I bought 2 Prime, and now it turned out to be my Problems, 2.
Wi-fi works, but in a very weak way.
I can play 3DS SF4 online on my toilet with door lock, but the Prime’s wi-fi signal
is zero on the same toilet with door open.
That how they feedback to their hometown folks who always support their
products.
ASUS even uses “human trial” on their folks.
You guys are lucky, don’t need to endure this experiments.
Here is the dilemma.
Shall I return it,or wait and see whether they recall Prime or not…
I am glad to hear you lock the door while on the toilet!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH FML!!!!!!!!! This was my only xmas gift, now i have nothing under the tree
Ya you do!! BAGS OF CASH!
I am not surprised because ASUS is terrible with wifi. Their new Zenbook UX31 has wifi issues and I returned that thing 3x. Sexy but doesn’t work well.
This story is completely false, I assume engineered by an apple fanboy. I unlike most other posters here, simply picked up a phone and called asus. Asus had no clue what I was talking about, no delays, no wifi issues. When the costumer service rep looked it up on her pc, it said Q4 as the release date, as it always had.
Poor, poor reporting that starts a chain reaction of chaos. I’m sure the jelous apple fanboy is reveling in his mischief.
Don’t get me wrong. I wish with all my heart what you got from the rep is true. But people have been getting tons of information from CSRs that turned out to be false.
Guess I was right
LOL!!!! you think all of this was started by an apple fanboy?
you are truly delusional
Or Someone who missed the preorders
says the apple fanboy defending another fanboy. cultists gotta stick together.. AMIRITE!?!?!?!??!!
This is the problem with internet “journalism”
Everyone hurries and tries to be the first out with a story and NO ONE even bothers anymore to cross reference their sources!
cross referencing are for girlies and MacRumors sites.
It was me who sent in this tip. This is not a fake report. That is part of an email I received from NCIX.
I’ve removed a couple of URLs and a coupon code in case those are tied to my order. They’ve been kind enough to offer vouchers to users, no point having that abused.
Here are the full contents:
—
Unfortunately, we just received word that the ASUS Transformer Prime has been delayed worldwide and will most likely not be available before Christmas. ASUS feels the WiFi range does not currently meet their standards and has delayed all shipments worldwide. At the moment there is no ETA and no information on available quantities on the first batch.
If this was intended as a gift, we would like to recommend changing to a different tablet to ensure on time delivery for the holidays. Otherwise, we recommend keeping your order in place to hold your position in the queue for a tablet once they are available. If you decide you would like to have your order cancelled, please contact our customer care department here:
REMOVED URL
In the meantime, we would like to offer you a $25 off coupon on any other in stock tablet.
REMOVED URL
Please find a tablet that suits your needs and add to your shopping cart. Then add the coupon code “REMOVED” to the coupon code field on the top right of the Shopping Cart page to receive $25 off your purchase. This coupon code will expire December 31st.
Sincerely,
NCIX Customer Care Team
I’m not really sure if this one is real.
If this what is real? The email? It is real.
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-puts-delay-rumors-to-rest-confirms-transformer-prime-is-on-schedule-10201473/
Slashgear is wrong. NCIX hasn’t cancelled my order and they sent this email without my contacting them. It seems like even the person they contacted wasn’t entirely sure and just looked it up on a database.. “we still show”…
If it turns out that they gave a false reason for the delay then I’ll be cancelling my order but that’s the reason they gave, and it was entirely unprompted.
I never said you didnt get the email, i believe you did but I trust ASUS over NCIX when it comes to release dates. If it was official that all models would be delayed you can bet their rep would know and it would almost certainly be entered into the system at that point. All the info is pointing to the contrary at this point so noffense but I think NCIX IS wrong.
Anandtech ran into issues with Wifi when they reviewed the tablet. They had problems with range and speed, exactly what the email says. I’d say this email probably has a good chance of being true.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5163/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-nvidia-tegra-3-review
Further Proof:
http://forums.ncix.com/forums/?mode=showthread&msg_id=2437319&threadid=2437319&forum=113&product_id=65768&msgcount=23&overclockid=0#msg2437319
NCIX’s own staff confirming that’s what they’ve been told. Scroll to the bottom of the thread.
So because a guy named “Dave” and someone else named “Guest” posts this email we are supposed to believe that ASUS is going to recall the million+ units they have built 17 days before release?
Well “John” thinks its strange how Best Buy has verified shipment today at the latest before Dec. 24th on his ASUS prime. Can we write a whole article on how “John” is not entirely sure on “Dave” ‘s claim.
Well there has been a surge of customers receiving these “emails” before Phandroid or other news sites even picked it up. Right now nothing can be trusted other than official word for a high ranked at Asus. And it sure doesn’t help than we have never heard ANYTHING from Asus other than how reviewers praise their stupid thing.
I am “Dave”. It’s not faked. I’ve posted the full contents in a response above and if Phandroid ask me to forward on the email (headers included) I’ll happily do that.
I hope it’s not true, I *really* want one of these, but that is the email I received.
Or how about this from FutureShop?
Some of you must not have a lot of responsibilities or much going on in your life
if a fucking tablet delay upsets you this much.
you android nerds are funny
LOL!!!!! and people think an apple. fanboy started all of this.
is there like LSD in that android kool aid?
LOL that is funny because the last time I checked, Apple fanboys did way more than just be “upset” about delays/not getting their device ASAP.
And it is not “just a delay”. Some people want to get this for Xmas, some want it for the Winter Break when they’re traveling (like me), some are worried that they won’t be there to receive it when they’re on vacation. If this was in the middle of February then people won’t be so fidgety about delays.
I always thought christmas was about giving and not about wanting and crying because you didn’t get something.
do you seriously plan out your christmas and know exactly what you’re gonna get?
maybe you should come back to earth and go volunteer at a homeless shelter for the holidays. maybe you can complain to them that you can’t get your tablet.
send a card to an iraqi war veteran who just lost both his legs and tell him hey I didn’t get my damn tablet. and after all this tell him that well hey the apple fanboys cry 2. by the way the apple fanboys can go pound sand as well
ok hypocrite. Have you volunteered at all? I didn’t think so. Quit pretending you’re not an apple sheep. All your posts reek of cheap Old Spice cologne, oozing from your turtle neck collar.
I see you are following me around Phandroid.
thank you for being a fan
And wanted for the classes they’re taking during their “Winter Break”…like me. Ugh.
LOL!O!L!OL!OLO! ZOMG!!! LOL!!!!!
Is there any chance that the initial push back on release date( in the US) was due to this issue? & now it is getting pushed back in the Canadian market.
Read
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5163/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-nvidia-tegra-3-review
This certainly lends credence to the rumor …
Im just wondering, all these “news” sites. Do you guys ever actually try and contact the officials for some official information? Cause all I see from news sites are always the same info from the same source copy and pasted from one another. One news site is wrong, every other site who copied becomes wrong as well. I would think that a big site like Phandroid would have some closer connections to Asus or atleast reviewers like Engadget or Anandtech and could get some accurate information other than rumours. But I guess your “information” is as reliable as the “information” people post on the forums.
YOU GEEKS, I guess I can count myself in on that crowd. The crowd looking for any info on the thing we all want and I mean PRIME…
Someone gleaned some info from Taiwan as a girl was asking for help hooking up here WiFi when they were first released there… They were first released there and no other word of WiFi problems.
Some apple agent provocateur picked up on it and now all the geeks tighty whiteys are in a bunch reading all the blogs.
No word from suppliers or Asus makes me believe this is much ado about NOTHING!
And you wieners saying “I’m going to buy a ipad at the same price” BULL SHIT, 16 G and no micro sd slot 9 inch screen dual core is the same price?
Oh and apple has better apps, I looked and they have the same shitty apps as android!
Act like you have a pair!
Yay!! Now I don’t feel so bad about buying my Transformer at Best Buy for $250 was such a bad thing.
:D
I have tym to play with it a little more before I envy all Quad-core-ers.
Asus denies rumors of Transformer Prime delay
By Paul Miller on December 10, 2011 11:04 pm2COMMENTS0inShareLast night some rumors were swirling of a Transformer Prime delay. Amazon ran out of stock a week ago, and now a Phandroid reader apparently received received a statement from NCIX, a Canadian retailer, that the Transformer Prime wouldn’t be available this year due to some Wi-Fi issues. We reached out to Asus about this supposed delay, and received this response from a spokesperson:I am trying to confirm who released this statement and for what purpose right now. At this point, we still show to be on schedule to start shipments the week of 12/19. I will provide an update once I have additional information.There’s still some wiggle room there, obviously, but hopefully if Asus had “delayed all shipments worldwide,” due to Wi-Fi range issues, as the NCIX statement claimed, there would be a little more clarity on the issue. For now, we’re going to hope the Prime lands right on schedule.
Well, the official statement from Asus is that there are no delays as of now and the prime will be released on 19th:
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/10/2627270/asus-denies-rumors-of-transformer-prime-delay
Perhaps Asus did fix these issues reported by a few Taiwanese users (google translate):
goo.gl/HDxon
Wobbly goblin stop making stuff up man hah just kidding but seriously calm down :)
it sucks that this story (from one source, i might add) has had the internets all a-tither. mass fucking hysteria = more page hits
When can we expect to see this tablet on the shelves of retailers?
They should be fulfilling most preorders first before hitting stores. Seeing that the first batch isn’t even enough to fill all the preorders, I would say Mid-January to early February
Dont get it. Someone explain me, please!
If there is a problem with the wifi it can be only a hardware or could be software too?
If this is a hardware problem, they cant just say okay we will just build another 300 000 tablets and its done in 2-3 days. Shipping is 2-3 days. We will be all right.
How do they know what cause this problem. I mean they have to figure it out, then find a solution, and maybe recreate the good part and change the wrong part. This cant be done in a few days or 1-2 weeks with shipping etc.
Dont get it why do people thinking such a problem wont cause a month delay at least.
I an really not happy to hear these news, because I frickin want the prime, but I think if this problem is real, then we wont have the tablet before end of january,
Anyone who has real experience how goes such a process, like this wifi issue?
Asus (sorta) confirms on schedule:
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-puts-delay-rumor-to-rest-confirms-transformer-prime-is-on-schedule-10201473/
Also, read review of no Wi-Fi issues for SlashGear:
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-transformer-prime-review-02199429/
Wobbly Goblin, either go away or order your Prime from a credible source
I received my Asus Transformer Prime yesterday from GameStop. It’s a beautiful machine, but I definitely have the WiFi issues. I called their support and told them about the issues and I’ll have to pay for shipping to have it fixed.. What a joke! I’ve had it less than 24 hours and the burden to fix it should not be on me! I spoke with a supervisor and they agreed that it’s “crappy” that I have to pay for shipping but they must follow their policies. They knew they had released a faulty product (the earlier ones) Asus needs to take responsibility and make this right!
Dude, I thought you said you’d update us. It’s the 22nd. Whatup? Need my Asus.