Let me guess, Sandy Bridge w/integrated graphics and nothing else, which would be their preferred architecture for a notebook slated for eventual mass adoption. They may skim the margin a little at the beginning to get them off to a good start, so maybe starting at a grand and working up. All models will be SSD only, perhaps, but hopefully not, be chips on the mobo. They may go with Corning's "gorilla" glass for the screen cover. I wouldn't be surprised to see 3g onboard, and maybe one extra port- perhaps a sd slot or ethernet?
Oh, and I think all models will only be available in limeberry polka dot style.
These are the facts.
I assume you were being ironic. You will never see Sandy Bridge with integrated graphics, SSD, and 3G in a Mac at a $1K starting price. You must be one of those expecting it to build you an island and fly you there.
I think if we are giving any credence to the rumors that have surfaced thus far, and this thread was started with that premise, it is reasonable to conclude the 11.6" MBA (they will probably market it as a 12" MBA, despite the controversy that will cause) will be stripped down to reach the mass-market pricing of the Macbook ($999-$1099). The 13" MBA and the Macbook will both be EOL'd. The '12" MBA' will have the cheapest processor with integrated graphics they can squeeze in there. It will have the least battery life that consumers will tolerate. It will have a traditional HDD. And, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get the 4GB RAM we have been asking for. It will be stripped down, so it can fill a dual roll as an entry level computer for students and as an ultraportable for road warriors. For power computer users, it will not suffice as a primary computer. For those of us in graphics, advertising, design, marketing, and video production, we will be bound to the MBP's, iMacs, and Mac Pros, possibly paired with an iPad or a 12" MBA for our portability needs. In other words, our hopes of an updated 13" MBA that could be our primary computer have been dashed. It will for all intents & purposes be Apple's answer to the netbook. Steve Jobs has routinely said the opposite of what he intended to do. It would be just like Apple to release a 'revolutionary' product to fill a market it had previously criticized. Steve Jobs says netbook manufacturers have sacrificed power and screen real estate (10"), so he releases the most powerful netbook ever with an 11.6" screen and a full-size keyboard.
I would expect Apple's goal for the MBP's to be released in Q1 2011 would be for them to be lighter (more Air-like). I would expect to see Apple-branded AMD chips. MBP's will become the testbed for Apple's latest and greatest technologies, as the Air has been downgraded.
Given Apple's stated ambition to be the mobile computing company and unstated ambition of vertical integration/monopoly, none of this would be surprising.
For me, this all translates to upgrading to a 2011 13" MBP and a Gen 2 or Gen 3 iPad with iSight/Face Time for my portability needs.
