The Asus Padfone is a device that really made people sit up and take notice when it was first shown and many people have been waiting for this clever innovation to hit the shelves ever since. Today we have news that shortages of the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip may slow the Asus Padfone launch.

For those of you who’ve missed news on the Asus Padfone so far it’s basically a clever hybrid package involving a smartphone that you can insert into a screen that then gives you a tablet PC, which you can then use with a laptop dock and some have even mentioned that devices such as this could see off the notebook. Recently we told how this much-awaited device had gone up for pre-order in Taiwan but there was still no news on when it would become available in other regions apart from speculation about a release in Italy in late May.

Now The Verge reports that Asus Indonesia has issued a tweet and a translation of it tells how Snapdragon S4 shortages from Qualcomm means a delay in the launch of the Padfone in some markets. It’s a real shame that a delay in availability of the dual-core processor has affected the Asus Padfone launch as so many people have been waiting eagerly. The Verge says that they have contacted Asus further for more details on the Padfone delay and that the shortage of the Snapdragon S4 was acknowledged by a company spokesman who said that the shortage was affecting other Qualcomm customers too.

There was no firm word from the spokesman that the Asus Padfone was actually being delayed because of this but that is certainly inferred by the statement and the original tweet from the company in the Indonesia market. Let’s hope that the Asus Padfone, which will run on the latest Android OS, 4.0 ICS, won’t be delayed too much further and that more will be revealed about specific release dates for various countries. You can be sure we’ll be following developments and will bring you more on this as we hear it.

If you want to see more on the Asus Padfone then head to the video that we have for you below this story that shows a hands-on experience with this innovative device. Are you one of the many waiting for release details on the Asus Padfone in your region? Have you already made up your mind that you want this device? Let us know by sending your comments.