If all the gathered reports are correct, then people who have placed early orders for the second-gen iPod Shuffle can start looking forward to getting their hands on the tiny player soon. The "goods" are already beginning to be shipped from their factories in China.

Earlier, there was a tinge of disappointment among consumers as the ship date for the new Shuffle was pushed back to the second half of November instead of the original expected date of October. In the meantime, retailers have already adjusted their shipping estimates from November 25 to December 9, in order to give lee-way for the goods to arrive.

Some are speculating that the whole delay may have been caused by an overwhelming demand for the device which prompted the company to produce more that what they expected. However, some people have already indicated that they have been receiving notices from Apple that their orders will be reaching them sometime next week. Maybe Apple is just being polite by moving the target date instead of letting it pass by without anything to show for. It might be a good idea, too, since they wouldn't want to upset anyone else, not after the whole infected iPods hullabaloo.

The new 1GB iPod Shuffle units are expected to retail for US$ 79.