No shenanigans. iClarified noted that all NEW 27" iMac pre-orders from the date that they reported the January ship date would ship next month. All initial pre-orders (since 11/30 up to aforementioned date) had a 3-4 weeks window for shipping, which, as it turns out, effectively changed to 1-2 weeks for some of those lucky people, as this new report shows.
What a nicely configured one they're shipping to this customer. ;-)
P.S.: Is there ANY indication as to when we might see an updated 27" Thunderbolt/Cinema display from Apple?