14 DAY TRIAL // Apple customers commenting over at SlashGear have revealed that the Mac maker is having some trouble shipping its newest MacBook model on time. It is not known whether or not the hold up is hardware-related.
The people in question posted an e-mail from Apple's Online Store. In the e-mail, Apple doesn't explain the reasons for the hold up, but reminds the customer of his / her options to cancel or keep the order. Customers not having any problem waiting for the shipping to occur don't have to move a muscle, according to the e-mail, whose contents are available below.
To Our Valued Apple Customer:
Thank you again for your order!
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.
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.
Again, there is no need to contact us unless you wish to cancel your order.
We appreciate your business and apologize for any inconvenience this delay may have caused you.
Thank you for shopping at the Apple Online Store!
Sincerely,
The Apple Online Store
Softpedia take
Apple was actually supposed to introduce the latest member of the unibody family even earlier than Macworld 2009. It was speculated back then that the company was having trouble with some of the notebook's components, or that they weren't arriving on time. Also, the 17-inch Pro, advertised by Apple as being able to deliver up to eight hours of battery life, houses a few very different components compared to the ones found in its unibody siblings.
One of those differences is the huge battery that the user cannot replace on their own. Instead, the customer must arrive at an Apple Store with the notebook in hand, and have Apple do the battery swapping. The closed shell also prevents users from doing other hardware replacements by themselves (such as RAM or hard drive). If Apple's perfectionism is any indication, the company may simply want to “get it right” on the 17-inch Pro, since the user will have his / her hands tied with any hardware-related issues possibly occurring.
Has anyone here pre-ordered the new 17-inch Pro? Did you receive this e-mail?