27in quad-core iMac in short supply to retailers?

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 03 December 2009 10:10

Opinion and Analysis

Hoping for a 27in Core i5 iMac for Christmas? Santa might be late this year.

Are 27in iMacs in short supply? It depends who you ask, which configuration you're talking about - and possibly where you plan to buy it.

Would-be 27in iMac purchasers have been telling me that delivery times are blowing out.

One such tale concerned an order placed with one of Apple's well-known retail partners. My correspondent said he ordered a quad core 27in iMac in mid November, and was quoted delivery in 7-10 days.

The expected delivery date rolled around, and he was contacted by the retailer and told that there was a delay until mid to late December due to parts shortages and a suspected freeze on shipments related to issues with the 27in model.

Among the issues being reported by owners are screens being damaged on delivery (which sounds more like a packaging issue or excessively rough handling) and screens that flicker or go completely blank for a few seconds at a time.

When I asked Apple Australia about customer reports of shipping delays affecting the 27in iMac and whether any such delays were related to supposed screen issues.

The reply was brief: "We have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the 27-inch iMac and shipping times are based on stock availability. The Apple online store is currently stating delivery as 7-10 business days."

There was no denial of any issues, but no admissions either. I pressed for clarification, but none came.

The Apple online store is indeed giving an estimated ship time of 7-10 business days for the Core i5 configuration (all the others are on 24 hour shipping) - but my correspondent has now been told not to expect his computer until mid January, and that the 'queue' for quad-core iMacs at that retailer is now 1000 deep.

So I rang an Apple Store (the one at Chadstone, in case you're interested) to find out the expected availability, and was amazed to hear that the Core i5 model was actually in stock.

There have been previous rumours that Apple favours its own stores when supplies of any model are short, but the difference between 'in stock today' and 'delivery in mid-January' seems extreme.

If you're planning to buy Core i5 iMac before Christmas, it seems especially important to let your fingers do the walking.