I think this is right. The problem is that Apple doesn't want to make this case to the consumers. They don't want to say "yeah, we don't always have the most up to date technology, because we think that sometimes it is a bad idea." So instead, every once in a while, when they happen to be ahead of the curve, they say "Hey look, we are on the bleeding edge! We are a company that is always on top of the current technology" The problem is that this only happens sometimes, but people expect it (fairly reasonably, given what Apple says) more often. I think that Apple should just try to make less of a big deal when they happen to be on the bleeding edge because too often they aren't. But that would probably be too hard to market: "Apple: it is worth waiting a few months."
I don't think being a couple months behind on releasing the latest tech qualifies as saying that "too often they aren't" on the bleeding edge. So far the only example we have of that is the introduction of Core 2 Duo chips, where Apple was a couple months behind (but honestly, so what............. Core 2 Duo chips didn't really make a practical difference to anyone yet anyway). Apple was one of the first companies to release laptops with the original Core Duo though.
If Apple gets Santa Rosa laptops out in June or July, they will not be really any later than many other companies, like Asus, etc. which aren't going to have some Santa Rosa models out on the market until then anyway.
-Zadillo