Since the launch of the iPad, any other tablet device has pretty much run aground upon release or just been scrapped altogether (come back Microsoft Courier, we thought you looked awesome), however there was high hopes for HP’s upcoming Android tablet device.

I’m using the past tense there as it appears that this particular slate won’t be coming to stores near you, me, or anyone else for that matter for some time, if indeed at all.

Some great digging from Digital Daily revealed the HP Android device was supposed to arrive at market in the fourth quarter of 2010, but that is no longer the case. “Sources in position to know tell me that HP’s Android slate has been delayed and won’t ship before the end of the year as planned,” adds the report.

Those writing the obituaries for the HP Android tablet are basing that opinion around HP’s recent acquisition of Palm. As SlashGear notes, “With the purchase of Palm HP is keen to use its new WebOS in all the products it can”. They add there will be little surprise should HP opt to not compete with its own webOS tablet ambitions by putting an Android tablet on the market.

At this stage, it would be great if someone would get their finger out and produce a tablet to take on Apple. By the signs of it, there may not be any major releases to seriously rival the iPad for consumer affections until early next year, by which time the second edition of the Apple device shouldn’t be long in coming.