Apple expected to have strong Q1 2011 shipments despite Intel's glitch

Intel recently had a kerfuffle with its upcoming chipset lines, finding a defect in the 6 series and causing production of certain models to be delayed by as much as a few months. But if you're waiting to buy a brand new MacBook Pro, don't worry -- because Apple is careful about when it upgrades its hardware, Digitimes says that shipments of new laptops designed in Cupertino won't be delayed at all. The delay may affect other brands, simply because they play their profit margins a little closer to the bottom line, but because Apple's prices already have so much profit built into them, it won't have a problem even if it is affected by delays.

According to reports, shipments are up yet again anyway. Sources in the supply chain say that targets from January of this year were met according to expectations, and orders may be even higher than expected for the rest of the quarter. So there's no shortage of good news along the supply chains for Apple.