MacBook Pro 17-Inch Shipping as of Friday, Sources Say

Last week, those who ordered their 17-inch MacBook Pro allegedly received an e-mail from Apple, being reassured that their powerful notebooks were on their way. Apple noted that a few parts were being waited on, hence the delay. Now, those who ordered the newest member of the unibody family claim they've received word that the Macs are moving.

Softpedia reported last week that Apple started sending out e-mails to buyers of its newly introduced MacBook Pro. The letter sent out to those who pre-ordered the system claimed that Apple was doing the best it could to ship the notebooks out to them as fast as possible, mentioning February 19 as the arrival date.

In the letter, Apple did not explain what exactly the hold up was. The Mac maker simply tried to assure its customers that they would be getting their notebooks, eventually. Fragments of the letter “To Our Valued Apple Customer” revealed that “Wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected. As a result, we will be unable to ship your 17-inch MacBook Pro until February 19, 2009,” Apple said.

Days after Apple's e-mail had been published, AppleInsider 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.”

The same source can now confirm that readers have been told their new Macs are on their way to them. Allegedly, the first units started being shipped out to customers as early as Friday.

Apple undoubtedly chose to confirm February 19 as the day the new notebooks would start shipping as a method of precaution. The company must have received those missing parts in the meanwhile, should we trust AppleInsider's sources.