Apple A4 to be featured in the new Macbook?

Will Apple stun the world and announce the A4 chip in yet another product.  Has Apple has been working on making the ultimate switch and placing their flagship processor in a new version of the Macbook?  Looking at the specifications of the A4 in the new Apple TV compared to the original Intel chip, it is clear to see the enormous advantages gained by using the Apple A4.

	Original Apple TV	New AppleTV
Release	Jan. 2007	Sept. 2010
Chipset maker	Intel	Samsung
Chipset	Pentium M	Apple A4
Speed	1 GHz	1 GHz
Chip count	3	1
Package area (mm2)	975	196
Die area (mm2)	242	53
Pins	2,344	531

For one, the A4 requires less chips to functional (chip set), runs at high clock frequencies, it uses less silicon meaning higher yields during fabrication making them cheaper and the A4 uses less power.  All of this adds up to an Intel killer.

If Apple is thinking about designing a new A4 chip (Apple A5) to revamp their Macbook line it will no doubt incorporate a massively multi-core design (six or more cores) and be able to deliver in excess of 12 hours of battery life for most common tasks. It would also incorporate an advance graphics chip probably from Nvidia that can delivery HD video and good game performance.  If, however, Apple doesn't abandon Intel for their custom designed in-house A4 chip, we will see a more advanced iPad/netbook like device reek havoc on the e-book and netbook market.  Apple will offer an all in one device in a sub $1,000 price range for Christmas would be my bet.

The "net appliance" has been talked about since the late 90's but is now only coming together in a usable consumer product because of Apple's attention to software design tightly mixed with hardware.  I look forward to purchasing my first A4 chip based product from Apple very soon.