Will Apple Launch a Quad-Core Macbook Pro at Macworld?

When Apple refreshed its MacBook family in October, it mysteriously left out the 17-inch MacBook Pro -- Apple's high-end notebook designed for creative professionals. Incidentally, APC noticed Intel quietly added a new quad-core mobile processor to its CPU line.

APC deduces that it's likely Apple stalled on upgrading the 17-inch MacBook Pro to await Intel's quad-core mobile processor, dubbed the Core 2 Extreme Q9000, which costs $350. That chip partners four 2GHz cores -- a pretty major bump from the current 2.5GHz, dual-core (Core 2 Duo) processor.

The idea of a quad-core MacBook Pro coming January is pure speculation, but it's a plausible theory. Apple wouldn't want to wait too long to release an upgrade for its seemingly neglected 17-inch MacBook Pro; January's Macworld Expo would be a good time to announce one. And a quad-core processor would justify the premium pricing of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. (The current model starts at $2,800.)

Also, it would make sense for a quad-core MacBook Pro to be introduced soon, since OS X Snow Leopard is expected for a 2009 release. Apple says its new operating system will optimize multi-core systems