Spanish site faq-mac.com reports [Google translation] that chipmaker Intel has sent an e-mail to members of its Intel Retail Edge program touting a chance for participants to win one of two MacBook Pro notebooks based on Intel's new Core i5 processors during the month of January. Apple's MacBook Pro line currently utilizes Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
Other sources have confirmed that similar promotional e-mails have gone out to program participants in the United States and United Kingdom. Intel's Retail Edge Program is targeted at employees of retail stores that offer Intel-based products for sale, and offers them training opportunities to increase their knowledge of Intel products as well as contests and special discounts.
Early benchmarks have shown the Core i5 processors to hold significant performance advantages over the Core 2 Duo line, with similar battery life for systems based on the two lines. As noted by our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook Pro is nearing the end of its typical lifecycle, having last been updated in June 2009.
Apple is reportedly scheduled to be holding a media event in San Francisco at the end of this month, where it is widely expected that the company will introduce its long-anticipated tablet device. It is unknown whether Apple would also take that opportunity to introduce revised notebook offerings or if it would do so at a separate time.
