The chaps over at The Inquirer have word that AMD told distributors and resellers they can expect "production quantities" of Barcelona chips as early as the middle of August. That's still a bit off the mid-year release time frame AMD has shouted from the rooftops for the past few months, but it's definitely better than the October time frame mentioned by analysts - at least if AMD can deliver on time and in volume as it is said to have promised. In other news, VR-Zone has AMD Phenom Launch Schedule & Roadmap:

- AMD targets Barcelona to launch in Summer 2007 and expects ramp in frequency and volume subsequently. We can expect low clocked Barcelona in August timeframe
- Phenom series to be launched in Nov-Dec with DVT samples in Sep/Oct timeframe
- Phenom FX AM2+ part called FX-80 in Q4 timeframe and TDP for the FX series are yet to be determined
- 45nm Deneb, Propus, Regor and Sargas STARS cores in H2 2008
- Single-core Lima has been removed from the roadmap so single-core Orleans will be replaced by dual-core Rana in Q1 next year. The mainstream segment will shift from single core to dual core by early next year
- AMD expects to provide next schedule update in July

Update: In this press release, AMD confirms that Barcelona processors will begin shipping to customers in August at clock speeds up to 2.0GHz. Systems featuring the new CPUs should ship in September 2007.