Briefly: MacBooks, iSights, iPod shuffle, AirPort Extreme

MacBook availability; HP readies Core 2 Duo notebooks

People with ties to Apple's European distribution channels report this week that Ingram Micro, a primary Apple hardware distributor, is reflecting absolutely no inventory MacBook Pro and MacBook notebook systems.

According to those same people, the distributor lists October 31st — an estimated date not based on privileged information — as the day it expects new shipments of the systems.

On a similar note, a source with ties to Hewlett-Packard said earlier this week that the PC maker has requested that its third-party resellers pack up their notebook demo units and ship them back to the company ahead of the company's own Core 2 Duo-based notebook launch.

While HP has announced Core 2 Duo-based notebooks, they have largely been available for "pre-order only" up until this time.

Apple, which has yet to make any Core 2 Duo notebook announcements, is expected to do so in the coming weeks. Both the company's MacBook Pro and MacBook lines should obtain Core 2 Duo processors before the holiday shopping season, people familiar with the matter have said.

iSights and iPod shuffle due soon

Meanwhile, Apple's latest product availability update to is retail partners indicated that both iSights and the new $79 clip-on iPod shuffle digital music player are due to begin shipping towards the end of October.

Specifically, the report said iSights may surface in "2 weeks" while the iPod shuffle remains penciled in for "late October."

AirPort Extreme pushed back

On the other hand, shipments of Apple's revised AirPort Extreme base stations have been pushed back from "October" to "December." No further information on this product was a available.