Update?

I'm aware that this gets asked ALOT and I know nobody can predict with any certainty when and how Apple will update its line of Macbook Pro's but since I am about to make my purchase (and a substantial almost $3k one at that) I just wanted get a consensus of whether people thought we would be seeing a February refresh or not?

If so, what kind of upgrades do you anticipate would be baked into the new machines?

I know Apple has a 14 day return policy, are there any exceptions if they release a new update shortly outside that window?

 

Thanks Raptor for the response!

I have two last questions then before I make my purchase.

1) I noticed B&H offers Applecare for about $100 less than Apple. After searching here on the forum it sounded like it is legit. So my question is how does B&H offer such a deal?

2) I have an external monitor with both DVI and DisplayPort inputs. I'm a little confused on how the video output works on the 15-inch Macbook Pro. Is the Thunderbolt connector the same as a mini-DisplayPort? If so, do I need any special cable or can I use this one from MonoPrice:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6006&seq=1&format=2

I'll spring for the $30 Apple adapter if need be but it seems excessive when there are so many cheaper cables so any insight into how the connector works would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks all for the input, much appreciated!!!

Sorry, I have one final question. I was pricing out the 15-inch and was really going back and forth between the base model and the one with the discrete graphics card. I don't game or do any video work but I do use Photoshop and an external screen quite a bit.

While I am concerned about battery life, I am not sitting in a cafe all day so the difference in an hour or so isn't a huge deal breaker. So that aside, is there any other downside to getting the model with the nVida GPU? I ask because, I wanted to get a machine with 16GBs of RAM and a 512GB HD and if you bump the CPU to 2.3Ghz you are just under what the high-end base model with the Nvida chip retails for. I figure at that point what is another $100 or so.