Three ASUS PDA-phones officially "postponed"

Earlier this month, there were rumors that ASUS would be canning its Lamborghini-branded ZX1 handheld to ensure that other key products would not be delayed. With the success of the Eee PC, that seemed very likely.

Today, we have the official word from ASUS and it's not just the ZX1 that has been canceled--both the upcoming P560 and M536 will not be launched, too. In response to our queries, the company revealed that the project has been "postponed" because of the "technical immaturity of a key component from one of our suppliers". According to the same statement, the driving force behind the decision was because a collaboration between ASUS and Lamborghini meant they had to provide "the best-quality and most innovative products to our customers", something they were not able to achieve in the immediate term.

So were the rumors inaccurate? No, we suspect the truth is a combination of both reasons. In any case, we noticed that ASUS said postponed and not canceled. Though the company may bring back the ZX1, it's unlikely that this will be similar to the one we have already seen. High-end handhelds have moved beyond the QVGA display barrier. If the ZX1 is to be revived, it will have to be much more technically impressive.

ASUS assured us it is not exiting the PDA-phone business and that it is targeting to launch a new device in this category come September. So long, ZX1, we never got a chance to love you.