Now that the iPhone 3G, the 2.0 software, the app store and MobileMe have had time get their kinks worked out, and had a chance to breathe a little easier, the spotlight now is being moved to Apple’s other big seller: Macs. The MacBook line in particular, will finally have it’s day in the spotlight, all by itself – for once.
The rumor mills have kicked into high gear since Apple’s third quarter 2008 conference call, when Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer repeatedly mentioned some new mysterious products in the pipeline that would impact 4th quarter gross margins.
“We are working to develop new products that contains technologies that our competition will not be able to match. I cannot discuss these new products, but we are very confident in our product pipeline.”- Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer
Many of the Apple forums and professional Apple tech sites such as Apple Insider, Venturebeat’s MG Siegler and MacDailyNews began to speculate about what Oppenheimer was hinting at. The possibility of the debut of the i-Tablet, a version of the now famously ugly older step-sister of the iPhone, the Newton. Others have drooled over the prospect of an iPhone Nano, which to me is really putting the cart before the horse. 
Why would Apple put out a cheaper, candy-bar size iPhone, so soon after the 3G launch? Makes you wonder what kind of kool-aid they’re drinking.
The better, more solid bet is the MacBook line getting a re-fresh. What kind of re-fresh? Try an entire line of MacBooks with an all aluminum case, possibly glass track-pad, and more curves, taking cues from the MacBook Air. What about the insides? Would you believe no Intel chips at all? That’s the rumor.
As such, people familiar with these plans say an upcoming generation of Macs, lead by a trio of redesigned notebooks, won’t adopt the Montevina chipset announced as part of Intel’s Centrino 2 mobile platform earlier this month. What’s more, those same people suggest the chipset employed by the new wave of Macs may have little or nothing to do with Intel at all. (This should not be confused with the primary CPU, which will continue to come from Intel.)
Whatever Apple decides, I’m sure it’ll be a smart one that gives a nice swift gut-kick to the competition. Some are also speculating that in order to move that gut-kick in motion, some MacBooks are going to be at a price point of $1,000.00. Mesh that with the new design, solid architecture, and of course the sharp, OS X and you have a nice razor belly rub.
So there you have it: Apple’s mystery products solved. I’ll bet all my chips on the MacBook line being refreshed please!