Asus has confirmed that the Tegra 3-powered Android-based Transformer Prime 64GB tablet will be delayed until Q2 2012 as it misses the key Christmas sales period.

Although retailers had initially indicated that all Transformer Prime models would be available before the end of the year, updated pre-order statuses suggest that the device won't be available until January 2012 at the earliest.

Those who have ordered the 64GB version, however, are being warned of a further delay to the second quarter of 2012. Those who aren't willing to wait are being offered the chance to cancel their orders and choose the January-scheduled 32GB version instead, SlashGear reports.

The Transformer Prime, which builds on Asus' original Transformer tablet, adds a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor to the mix while slimming the original design down and including a revised keyboard dock with a battery capable of pushing the tablet to eighteen hours of continuous use per charge.

Thus far, there has been no indication from Asus as to the cause of the delay. While rumours had pointed to a problem with the Wi-Fi radio on the device, the fact that only the 64GB model is affected by this latest delay suggests that Asus is struggling with component supply - specifically, the high-capacity NAND flash storage chips, for which it competes with Apple and other tablet manufacturers.