MacRumors reports that customers who placed early orders for the new 27-inch iMac are beginning to see their credit cards charged and order statuses changing to "Preparing for Shipment".

Customers who have received updated order statuses are reporting that they are still seeing their originally quoted delivery times, which are typically in the range of December 21-31, but it seems that their orders may arrive slightly ahead of that window if they ship out in a timely fashion. So far it appears that only U.S. customers have reported seeing their orders being prepared for shipment, but there are still only a few data points available.

  Apple Begins Preparing First 27-Inch iMac Orders for Shipment