Remarking on Apple’s (AAPL) December quarter in a note to investors this morning, Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Doug Reid said iPhone and iMac sales for the period have been quite strong. “Our checks suggest December quarter sales of iPhones are tracking ahead of our prior estimates, driven by increased market penetration in the United States, additional carrier agreements in multiple countries, and first-time launches in Korea and China,” Reid wrote.

“Mid-December Apple Store and carrier checks indicate that the 2009 holiday shopping season has seen a sharp increase in the purchase of iPhone as a gift option,” the analyst continued. “We also estimate better than expected iMac sales in the quarter following a successful product refresh (announced on October 20). Our checks indicate strong demand throughout the holiday season for the new iMac line.”

Seems that the shipping delays associated with Apple’s new 27-inch iMacs haven’t undermined sales nearly as much as some feared. Reid says that demand and in-store availability of both 21.5-inch and 27-inch models remains strong, so much so that he’s raising his iMac unit estimate for the December quarter from 655 thousand to 721 thousand.

Demand for the iPhone has also been strong thanks to the end of carrier-exclusivity agreements in some markets.

“The ability to add iPhones to existing family service plans with carriers has been a key driver in C4Q09, our checks indicate. In addition, industry checks also suggest that AAPL is benefiting from the addition of second or third carriers in markets (e.g. UK, Canada) and from a strong initial sales ramp in Korea.”

How much of a benefit? A sizable one. Reid figures Apple will sell 8.21 million to 8.89 million iPhones during the December quarter. And he expects the company to sell 31.59 million to 32.27 million in fiscal 2010.

Five dollars and a ratty “Think Different” T-shirt says Apple shares will hit another new 52-week high today.

And if the OS should fail to meet that quality bar and its release date slips? Well, hey, Vista taught us that lunar new year is the new Christmas, right? As Brad Goldberg, general manager with Microsoft’s Windows Client Product Management team, said in 2006, when the company revealed that Windows Vista wouldn’t hit the consumer market in 2006, but in January 2007: “January has emerged as almost a second Christmas, with gift cards, sales, etc. It’s a new trend.”

And if the OS should fail to meet that quality bar and its release date slips? Well, hey, Vista taught us that lunar new year is the new Christmas, right? As Brad Goldberg, general manager with Microsoft’s Windows Client Product Management team, said in 2006, when the company revealed that Windows Vista wouldn’t hit the consumer market in 2006, but in January 2007: “January has emerged as almost a second Christmas, with gift cards, sales, etc. It’s a new trend.”

Though Wii manufacturer Nintendo posted a 21 percent gain in quarterly operating profit on brisk demand for the videogame console, it slashed its forecast for full-year sales of the device (it slashed its full-year profit forecasts as well–by 33 percent). Nintendo had expected to sell 27.5 million units during its fiscal year, which runs from April until March. Now it expects to sell only 26.5 million. “Wii sales in Japan during the year-end shopping season didn’t meet our forecast,” Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata said during an earnings briefing. “Still, I don’t think demand for the Wii has run out.”

No, of course not. But clearly the Wii isn’t as recession-proof as was once thought. And, despite its appeal to budget-conscious consumers, Nintendo doesn’t feel it’s immune to the general slowdown in consumer spending. Said KBC Financial Products analyst Hiroshi Kamide: “Today’s revision suggests that the roaring pace of Wii growth that we’ve seen until now may be over.”

Awful, ugly news. That said, there is a silk purse to be made from this particular sow’s ear. Store closing sales begin on Wednesday, so this is an auspicious time for the employed to get a jump on the annual holiday consumer binge. Those who aren’t put off by this near-funereal assessment of the economy from Circuit City’s acting chief executive James A. Marcum.

“Since late September, unprecedented events have occurred in the financial and consumer markets causing macroeconomic trends to worsen sharply,” said Marcum. “The weakened environment has resulted in a slowdown of consumer spending, further impacting our business as well as the business of our vendors. The combination of these trends has strained severely our working capital and liquidity, and so we are making a number of difficult, but necessary, decisions to address the company’s financial situation as quickly as possible.”

Happy holidays, huh?

Circuit City shares are currently trading at around 38 cents.