Ordered a 17" studio for my wife for Christmas on 11/21. Estimated delivery was set for 12/14. On 12/13 @ midnight the delivery estimate jumped to 1/06. I cancelled the order and ordered an HP with matching specs, and tracking information shows it will be delivered on the 18th.

Sorry, Dell. I'm not waiting 1.5 months for you to get your supply chain problems under control, especially when you competitor can get a computer out to me the same week I ordered it.

Ordered a Studio 17 with a P8700 on Oct 22 with an estimated ship date of Nov 18. Cancelled without notice on Nov 8. Rebooked on Nov 9, with an estimated ship date of Dec 4. Dec 4 came and went, again without any notice. Called Dell, and they gave new ship date of Dec 22 (or 23... depends on who you talk to). Still hasn't be updated in the on-line system. ESD still says "N/A". Called back and tried to cancel. Told that machine has been built and is in test, and could ship at any time. Therefore can't cancel.

What do you think my chances are of getting this thing before Christmas?

Dell business seems to be logistics, not technology. Btw, my HP DV8t is sitting right here looking at me (altho something tells me that HP business is not technology as well, but ink).

If it wasn't for how nice the Studio XPS systems were I would have bailed on Dell a long time ago.

I placed my first order on October 10th. I've had 3 orders canceled without contact or explanation and I've filed a complaint with the BBB over it.

My 4th order is currently pending and is set to ship by 12/2... We'll see. Luckily I have a working computer still. I really feel bad for the people who were ordering replacements, or school systems. Dell really would have interrupted their productivity.

Whats worse is that Dell is still lieing to customers about the issue. They have the reps telling people there is no problem.

The problem is apparently orders placed before Nov 2nd having a incompatible wifi part (Intel 5300 AGN) according to my rep, whom finally admitted the problem to me after 8 hours on the phone and me e-mailing complaints and the BBB filing.

To the previous post, Dell's web site won't let you cancel an order that is 'In Production', but if it has been delayed you can call on the phone to cancel. I had to do this the last 2 times I attempted to order from Dell: Get initial 30 day estimated ship, and repeated 30 day delays until I gave up. These were for stock, unmodified items. I no longer order from Dell knowing that they simply can't or won't deliver. I wonder what business they are in these days since they no longer seem to sell computers or consumer electronics. They are happy to take your order, but never are able to deliver. How sad.

Dell appears to be having fairly widespread problems judging by its forums. My Dell Studio 17 order of 23rd October now has an estimated delivery date of 23rd Dec.

Dell will not let me cancel the order because it is "In Production", a state it changed to at the same time as the delivery estimate updating to 23rd December. I wonder what they are producing which takes up to five weeks? If parts are missing then why can't I choose to cancel, since waiting two months is far far longer than my expectation. I never would have ordered in the first place if the estimate had been that lengthy.

It's most likely due to high demand keeping the chips out of Dells hands. I'm betting that Apple iOverpaid pretty all-in-ones of the new variety have something to do with it.

"Apparently there is a design problem and Dell is holding back shipping them. However no problems have turned up in review machines..."

So wouldn't this mean that the review machines are different from the ones being built for the public? And therefore the reviews being published are for a product that doesn't exist?

If it were a mass production manufacturing problem, then I think our author (Ed) would have said "manufacturing" instead of "design".