Source: Phandroid, Verizon

The Verizon LG Ally is nothing special, but it’s a so-so okay Android 2.1 slider with a 3.2-inch multitouch screen, but for a very special price of $99. Availability was labeled as May 20th by Verizon and LG, but guess what? It’s been delayed. By a week, as seen in the LG Ally Forums:

Dear Valued Customer,

This notification is to inform you that Verizon Wireless has received your pre-order of the LG Ally. We have extended the pre-order period for the LG Ally until May 26th.

Since you have pre-ordered, you will be the first to receive the phone upon initial availability on or after May 27th.

We appreciate your business, and we will send you another confirmation email as soon as your LG Ally ships.

Sincerely,

Verizon Wireless

Like I said, the LG Ally isn’t a major Android phone, but it’s been delayed, which is still annoying. Darn you Iron Man 2!

According to a message posted on the Sprint Community Forums, all hope for th erumored May 7th Android 2.1 firmware rollout has been well, crushed:

“We wanted to let you know that Sprint continues to work closely with Samsung and HTC to deliver the highly anticipated Android 2.1 upgrade for Samsung Moment and HTC Hero.  We are on track for the upgrade to be available in Q2.  Sprint had hoped to have this resolved by now – we thank our customers for their patience as we work to bring them a positive experience with this upgrade.“

So while this is very unacceptable, there are benefits of the doubt for Sprint. For example, there could be some bugs that need thinning out (an excuse I made for them, yeah). But still, there remains the fact that for another month or so, since we’re in Q2 2010 now (April-June), users will be left with rusty 1.x versions of Android. Another sign that if there’s only one thing that will kill the platform as a whole: it’s fragmentation.

Via: PhoneDog

Aww, come on Microsoft! First the Courier gets the good ‘ol boot, and now the HP Slate gets the slapping as well? According to my not-so-well-acquainted colleague Mike Arrington over at TechCrunch, the HP Slate is dead, much like the Courier and was confirmed by sources also in the know about the project. Not only this would be the biggest flop I’ve seen with my eyes in the mobile industry, but would be an enormous disappointment by HP as a company.  I’ve reached out to HP for comment, and will update this post if I hear from them.

In wake of the recent European launch delay, the iPad 3G (you know, with AT&T’s shoddy service, even though the iPad’s is prepaid) the iPad 3G U.S version was due for release “at the end of April”. Well, guess what friends? It’s delayed! Fortunately, the May 7th launch date only seems to be for those of you who didn’t pre-order your 3G iPad; those that did should still get their devices at the end of April.

Source: Apple

Magic. It’s a word Apple is over-using right now and a word we tech journalists use too much out in the field, and on our couches blogging for our respective media outlets. Anyways, on to the news: the international iPad launch is delayed till the end of May, like magic I suppose. Hope that brightens your day! In fact, a large chunk of this site’s traffic comes from foreign countries, mainly the UK (after the U.S that is), meaning that a lot of you are screaming your heads off right now.

According to the Big Apple, the main reason for the delay is that they “delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week” in the U.S, with pre-orders and store sales  being “far higher than we predicted”. So you’ll have to wait a bit longer for your iPad Europeans, like our friend, Chris Davies.

Source: Apple PR

Hold it right there partner! I did say that the Nook is finally shipping due to numerous delays, and that you can go to a local B&N to try one out for yourself, but I didn’t say all of them have it. And that’s where Barnes & Noble comes in. Using their Nook Locator, you can find out where the nearest Nook is to take a Look (no pun intended). As for those of  you who were smart and pre-ordered early, your Nook should arrive in 1 to 2 days, and the second shipment will come in on December 16th, so things are finally moving around in the Nook world.

[Barnes & Noble Nook Locator]

Once again the Nook is delayed. This time the shipping date for the nook is (supposedly) January 15th,  and according to an anonymous tipster at Engadget, Nooks will not be available at Barnes & Noble stores till after Christmas.

[Via Engadget]

Oh this is great for Barnes & Noble, and terrible for Nook fans. The Nook is so popular (even though no one has it yet) that it’s sold out for the holidays.  To calm down the angry consumer who expected a Nook for Christmas,  B&N is offering placeholder certificates  to help with the tremendous loss. So now your Nook should start shipping on January 4th. Just. Great.

Via: New York Times