Good news on the Intel/Nvidia Optimus front. Supposedly Intel is happy with the tech - it makes them look good (you don't see Intel GPUs showing poorly in 3D benchmarks because you use the Nvidia one), and Nvidia gets to sell more chips.
I'd bet $100 to see this tech in the MBPs. The NDA should lift tonight or tomorrow AM. I would expect tonight at 9PM ET (usually thats the time the NDAs lift for ATI and Nvidia, Intel usually has odd times like 6AM PT or something).
I expect Optimus, but I wonder if Apple is waiting for an upcoming mobile chip from NVidia because their current mobile gfx are not DX11. Either that, or Apple goes ATI 5XXX. Their gfx choice in the upcoming revision will probably linger through 2011.
I don't think this update will be too interesting -- just processor updates. They will have to add a few other things...improved screen? better graphics? Blu Ray ? (I doubt it...)
I would not look for Blu Ray, and perhaps not much of a spec change either. Worse, while Apple may change architectures (C2D to i5/i7), the frequency of the chips will remain the same and be more limited in range, if not decrease in frequency.
C2D .............................i5/i7
2.26 GHz (MBP 13")........i5 2.26 GHz (Dual Core)
----- GHz (?) .................i5 2.40 GHz (Dual Core)
2.53 GHz (MBP 13/15")...i5 2.53 GHz (Dual Core)
2.66 GHz (MBP 15") .......i7 2.66 GHz (Dual Core)
2.80 GHz (MBP 15/17")...i7 up to 2.8 GHz (Quad Core)
It is questionable whether Apple can use the quad core in its current lineup due to the TDP of 45W and in light of the battery drain of quad cores whether Apple even wants to use a quad core. Moreover, the base clock for the i7 720QM is 1.60 GHz. Apple would have to change its advertising for the 17" MBP to "up to ... GHz." This seems unlikely.
I would expect quad cores across the lineup with Sandy Bridge next year, when the chips are scaled down to 32nm from their current 45nm. Apple could then announce a complete transition to quad core. Because of the differentiation between the base clock and the peak clock (wording?), I would think Apple might explain this at an event before making this transition. Otherwise, all of the non-techies would wonder why they should buy a lower clocked chip in a newer computer.
The must be stalling because they want to throw light peak in on the next revision
I would not expect light peak or USB 3.0 until the second half of 2010. If there is a revision before June, the best that can be hoped for is a better screen (but didn't Apple just boast about better color gamut with the most recent revision?) and better graphics (but as I pointed out above, unless Apple uses ATI, there are no DX11 mobile gfx from NVidia currently available and they may not be available for months). I would not hold my breath for a revision for now. I could see Apple waiting to revise the MBP lineup until May or June when they might have access to all of the features they want to add--IPS (but I am doubtful), light peak, USB 3, NVidia DX11, NVidia Optimus drivers that have been optimized for OS X. Perhaps the rumor that Apple would skip Arrandale is true.
