Apple Confirms Delay of 17-inch Unibody MBP

By Jane McEntegart
published

Apple today confirmed that the shipping of the company’s MacBook Pro had been delayed and those waiting to get their hands on their preordered 17-inch MacBook Pro would have to stick it out for a couple more weeks.

When Apple launched the unibody version of the 17-inch MacBook Pro at Macworld last month, the company said that the product would start shipping at the end of January. However, a couple of weeks back some AppleInsider readers who ordered the fancy new machine said their orders had been pushed back and they would only receive them in the first week of March.

Apple yesterday admitted to customers that “wrapping up” the updated machine is “taking a little longer than expected” and that it’ll now ship, presumably worldwide, from the middle of the month.

It’s still not clear what’s causing the delays. When users first started complaining that their orders had been pushed back, it seemed as though those selecting customized options, like specifying they wanted an anti-glare display, were being given shipping estimates of up to 4-6 weeks while those ordering stock versions were being told 2-4 weeks. A few of you who ordered the 17-inch unibody MBP told us that your shipping dates are listed as approximately four weeks and that has not changed.

Check out the full memo to customers below. Thanks to Bag_Race for the tip! :)

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

Jane McEntegart
5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Tindytim
    You couldn't get away with this with any other system. Just proof that rabid Apple slaves are truly brainwashed.
    Reply
  • waffle911
    OK, how about Vista? They kept pushing it back, and pushing it back, and pushing it back... same with Sony PS3. And AMD's Phenom.
    Truth is, few people actually care when Sony or HP or Dell announce a new system. They just cycle through with unintelligible and forgettable product names that rarely have any sort of cult following. Nobody would even blink if any of the major PC makers pushed back availability of their new product by 2-3 weeks. Everyone would just sort of accept that it would happen. Except that there are more likely to be delays on orders from the PC makers for custom configurations that in the end don't really have anything slowing them down - in the middle of the product's cycle. Apple is supposedly having trouble with one of its suppliers not being able to meet the deadline. Not to mention, I don't think many PCs fill the air with anticipation of its arrival as anything from Apple. One such device would be the Asus EEE PC. Quite a bit of buzz, partly because it had a memorable name, it was innovative, and it had a market niche that it could satisfy, and others followed in its footsteps. As far as I can tell, the only ones who are brainwashed are the idiots who buy Sony laptops and expect them to last as long as an Apple product just because they're comparatively priced for their spec. (I've seen this happen. It isn't pretty.) Then you've got the audience of people who are frustrated with Windows' complexity and can't figure out how to get things done, can't be bothered to run regular virus/spyware sweeps (or pay for the obvious programs that do it - they don't know there are good, free alternatives), or just neglect their system in general to the point where they have no idea why its acting so slow after just 1.5 years and they get a new one; some even encounter a driver conflict and have no idea what to do when prompted with Windows' "cryptic" error message.
    Many think Macs are for dummies... well guess what. 95% of computer users fit into that category, and many don't even know it or can't afford a Mac.
    Having fixed many PC's over the last 10 years, I can tell you this: Many of the problems and difficulties average people experience would never have happened if they were using a Mac.
    "You did what to the inside of your computer!?" "I washed it. It was dusty."
    Not to mention, its pretty handy to be able to use Unix commands.
    Reply
  • Maybe they will sintall a cpu and not a pda atom intel somejoke cpu as they stated in the specs, while they are at it they might as well put in a mobile phone video card say 8800gtx or 8800gtx in sli like most 5 months old laptops, not to mention maybe the default toshiba quad core intel cpu would be nice but what do you expect from a joke like apple charging insane prices for $390 worth of hardware as $2000 Apple laptop ?
    Reply
  • frozenlead
    For the love of god, I wish people would stop calling macs "innovative". There's nothing innovative about them; from the mac world, the other end of the spectrum is just as innovative (and it does it at a fair price..). So stevie gave the macbook a glossy screen and made the entire touchpad a button. It doesn't save anything, really - I'm still astonished that a simple function like tapping the touchpad to click still can't be accomplished on a mac - even though every notebook I've used in the past ~6 years has this feature.
    Reply
  • Tindytim
    waffle911Nobody would even blink if any of the major PC makers pushed back availability of their new product by 2-3 weeks. Everyone would just sort of accept that it would happen.I don't think you understand. It's not that these people just can't order them. This delay effect that people that have already bought the product, and expected to show up in those 3-5 business days. I'd be pretty pissed with a company that tells me I have to wait another month.
    Reply