17-Inch Pros allegedly delayed because of hardware shortages

Feb 6, 2009 11:38 GMT  ·  By
17-Inch MacBook Pro, touted as the world's thinnest and lightest in its class
   17-Inch MacBook Pro, touted as the world's thinnest and lightest in its class

Softpedia has recently reported that Apple started sending out e-mails to buyers of its newly introduced MacBook Pro (17-inch). The letter sent out to those who pre-ordered the system claims that Apple is doing the best it can to ship the notebooks out to them as fast as possible, mentioning February 19 as the arrival date.

In the letter, Apple does not explain what exactly the hold up is. The Mac maker simply tries to reassure its customers that they'll be getting their notebooks, and that they can also opt to renounce the purchase in the meantime. Fragments of the letter “To Our Valued Apple Customer” reveal that “Wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected,” Apple says. “As a result, we will be unable to ship your 17-inch MacBook Pro until February 19, 2009.”

Informing the customer of their options, Apple says, “If you don’t want to wait, you may cancel your order and receive a prompt refund by calling our toll-free customer service number at 800-676-2775 or by visiting our online order status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus. If we do not hear from you before we ship the 17-inch MacBook Pro to you, we will assume that you have agreed to this shipment delay. In that event, a shipment notification with tracking information will be emailed to you as soon as your order is shipped.”

Apple asks customers to note that “there is no need to contact us unless you wish to cancel your order,” also expressing their deepest apologies for the hold up.

However, AppleInsider has recently posted an update to the story, revealing that “Apple has told at least one customer that it is waiting on certain components specific to the 17-inch MacBook Pro from its supply chain before it can begin shipping the notebooks.”

While the report seems reliable (as is the source itself in general), no additional details are included, such as

· who that customer is - a commenter, a simple Apple customer posting their conversation with Apple online, or what? · what parts are we talking about exactly? · why was only one person able to confirm that Apple is waiting on certain components / why did only one customer report receiving these details from Apple?

Has anyone here ordered a 17-inch Pro? Did you get an answer from Apple on the delay?