Apple ships first batch of liquid-cooled 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5s

In an email to Power Mac G5 purchasers this morning Apple said: "Recently, we notified you of a delay with your order. We are very pleased to report that we have revised the shipping estimate for your order. We now anticipate shipping your G5 by Monday, August 2. This shipping estimate is based on our very latest information and supersedes all previous communications regarding the status of your order." Several hours later, the company began shipping customers the Power Mac systems, as predicted by AppleInsider earlier in the week.

Yesterday afternoon, the very same group of customers were saddened when they received an email from the Apple Store, updating their July 30th Power Mac G5 ship estimates to August 20th. "The demand for this item has been incredible," Apple told customers. "We are shipping them as quickly as possible, but cannot meet the ship date we previously estimated for you."

It's unclear what exactly caused yesterday's false alarm, but several customers were told that the Apple Store accidently fired off "delay messages" to more customers than it originally intended. Apple Store reps also suggested that customers who received e-mails this morning ignore any conflicting delivery status messages currently reflected on the Apple Store web site.

Earlier this afternoon several AppleInsider Forums members began receiving confirmation from Apple that their 2.5 GHz Power Macs had shipped on July 30th, as originaly promised.

"I wonder why the fire-drill yesterday," asked one reader. Apple Store representatives, admittedly, "didn't have all the answers."

Apple first introduced the dual processor 2.5 GHz liquid-cooled Power Mac G5 on June 9th, promising availability in July.