Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said his latest round of supply chain and distribution checks reveal weaker sell-through of the company's clip-on iPod shuffle but strong sales of iPod nanos and iPod touches. The analyst lowered his December quarter iPod forecast to 19 million units from 21 million units, but raised his average selling price estimate by US$7 to $159 to account for stronger sales of the pricier iPod nano and iPod touch models.

Meanwhile, Wu said his sources indicate that demand for the iPhone 3G in the U.S. remains fairly strong. However, Europe is seeing surprisingly slower growth that may persists for the foreseeable future. His December quarter iPhone unit forecast to 5.5 million units from 6 million units, but raising his March quarter estimate to 4.7 million units from 4.5 million units to account for his expectation of late gift card redemptions.

Needham & Co., analyst Charles Wolf says Mac sales in the December quarter are modestly softer than he had previously estimated. The market research firm said Mac notebook sales rose approximately 22 percent year-over-year during November while desktops fell 38 percent, resulting in Mac sales being relatively flat for the month.

"The November sales number must be placed in perspective. It represents less than 5% of Apple’s December quarter sales," Wolf said in a note to clients. "Nonetheless, it signals that the current recession is probably more severe and pervasive than it appeared to be in October and thamost likely extend at least through the first half of calendar 2009."