So I order my first MBP late last night (Tuesday night, May 4, 2010) directly from Apple. A base model 13" MBP. I just take the standard shipping. I get a notice today that the scheduled delivery date is tomorrow. Wow!
Same for me....but mine was just an extra 85w MagSafe power supply. lol I ordered Tuesday night and latest update from FedEx is that it's in my city and will be delivered. The local Apple Store, Best Buy, Amazon, etc only had the older 85w power supply without the right angle in the connector. Apple online had it but I was bummed because I wanted to use my Amazon Prime to get it in 2 days. Looks like that's happening anyway. I'm diggin' the fast shipping.
Base models = Ship from stock = 1-2 days delivery. CTO models = Built in China = 4-5 days delivery. CTO + extras = Merge in transit = 2-4 weeks delivery. (At this present time this seems to be the case, especially in Europe) If you want your goods fast, order them separately, the extra postage will pay off
My shipping is insanely slow... or at least the tracking is. It's been in Shanghai for the last 6 days.
Got my new MBP from China in about 4 days to Southern Cal It was ridiculous how fast it went from Anchorage-->my door
I'm in England. I ordered my custom 15" 2.66ghz i7 with an iPod touch (because of the student rebate). The whole thing was shipped from China last Thursday and still no sign. *sigh*. Hope it doesn't take another week
Apple is the best in the laptop sector when it comes to the order / build / ship / deliver process. I know from experience, as I am not married to any one brand, but rather enjoy having choices. While my preference is OS X for personal use, I also use Windows and Linux at work. Each year I upgrade my laptops, no one comes close to the speed and efficiency of Apple. This year my i7 CTO MBP took just four days from time of order online to arriving at my doorstep. It just doesn't get any better than that.