I spoke with Mastiff's "head woof" tonight about an unrelated issue, but afterwards I asked him for my own curiosity what was going on with technic beat. He told me it is finished, and certainly IS shipping, next Moday (the 11th).
He didn't tell me who specifically was stocking it, but he said they've had a really hard time getting retailers to take the game. Said it would be much more available at Xmas time. Said budget games have a much longer shelf life.