But once things ARE shipping, shouldn’t a company selling $600 hardware be expected to give an estimate of when yours is going out, especially after they’ve missed that “estimate?”

Not that I ordered one. But typically when you pay for something your entitled to have an idea of when it will arrive.

If that started moments after they went live, doesn’t that that prove they weren’t ready for the demand?

In all fairness, when the people complaining about not receiving one are people who ordered within the first ten minutes, it’s hard to believe that shipping is going according to plan.