Apple is getting ready to debut five upgraded versions of its MacBook Pro notebook line, according to various reports around the Web. And some of the rumors say the updated laptops will use Light Peak technology (http://macte.ch/lAfKn).

"PC World" (http://macte.ch/pxkeT) says the new MacBook Pros are thinner, lighter, have zippy new Intel processors (Core i5s and i7s) and better screens. Those "zippy" processors are expected to be Sandy Bridge chips.

"DigiTimes" (http://macte.ch/uhQ9B) says the revamped MacBook Pros will feature a slight change in chassis design and an upgrade to the new Lion operating system, which should help Apple's notebook shipments grow 30-40% on year in 2011. I beg to differ, but there's no way the new laptops will ship any time this spring with Mac OS X Lion, as that upgrade of the operating system isn't due to prowl until summer.

"AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) says placeholder SKUs [stock keeping units] for new Apple-branded computers discovered Sunday in the Best Buy inventory system appeared to further corroborate the pending upgrade. Five models were listed on the electronics reseller's Laptop Configuration tool ranging in price from $1,199 to $2,499.

And "The Boy Genius Report (http://macte.ch/IIQFO) says new laptops will contain glass trackpads that are even larger than the pads found on current-generation MacBook Pro models. And: "... we have been told the OS on the laptops will be loaded to a separate (internal) 8-16GB SSD while everything else will remain on the regular hard drive. There will be options for just SSD drives but the base models will feature regular hard disks with the SSD combo for the OS."

-- Dennis Sellers
dsellers@applecentral.com