By Prince McLean

Published: 12:35 PM EST

Estimated wait times for Apple Computer's white MacBook consumer notebooks rose sharply this week as the company began fielding large orders from educational customers while simultaneously attempting to root out some ongoing production issues.

On Thursday, wait times for the 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz white MacBooks models through the company's online store increased from 1 to 2 business days to 5 to 7 business days. The 2.0GHz black MacBook, however, still carries a lead time of 1 to 2 business days.

While some tipsters have suggested that Apple may have slowed production as it attempts to rectify some outstanding issues with the notebooks, this does not appear to be the case. Historically, July marks the core of Apple's educational buying season, in which the company handles a flurry of large orders for its consumer and educational computers.

In an attempt to fulfill its commitments to its educational buyers, Apple will often designate a significant percentage of its production to these customers, which restricts product flow to its own shops and authorized resellers. (Customers looking to pick up a MacBook in a hurry may still turn to Apple Authorized Reseller Amazon.com, which retains stock of all models and is offering a $100 rebate.)

In the meantime, Apple continues to battle some ongoing production issues with the new Intel notebooks, such as dysfunctional TrackPads and premature casing discoloration on the white-colored models. But these minor issues, which the company appears to be addressing on an individual basis, have done little to quell the outpour of rave MacBook reviews.

"Overall, the new MacBook is a well-priced laptop that could fit the needs of most consumers. After all, it comes with the simplicity and security of Mac OS X and has many features still in the works for Microsoft's next-generation OS, Windows Vista," Robert Weston wrote in his review of the notebook for the well-syndicated Associated Press.

"Combine the MacBook's ability to run Windows at native speed with Apple's renowned knack for elegant hardware and software, and it's a formula that should give other PC makers nightmares," Weston added.