Doesn't surprise me at all. Think about it...every ATi fanboy will tell you NV30 is 6 months late, hell even nVidia will tell you that. Do you really think they've been sitting around while TSMC got their .13 yields up to acceptable levels? They know NV30 is/will never be the killer part to regain the performance crown, so they're gonna release it in a limited run so that they don't miss another product cycle, while pushing forward with the rest of their line based on the .13 micron process.
Chiz