Hasta La Gadget!

Along with its much anticipated tablet (still in the rumor stage), Apple could announce an upgrade for its MacBook Pro notebooks featuring new Intel chips in a late January event.

Intel has sent e-mails members of its Intel Retail Edge program, promoting a chance to win two MacBook Pros equipped with Intel’s new Core i5 processors during January, according to a report by MacRumors.

Multiple independent reports say these promotional e-mails have been sent to members in the United States, United Kingdom and Spain.

Intel offers its Retail Edge program to employees at retail stores where Intel-based products are for sale. It’s a training program to educate employees on Intel products. The program also offers promotions and discounts.

The MacBook Pros still feature Intel’s older Core 2 Duo processors. It’s reasonable to expect Apple to upgrade its MacBook Pro family with Core i5 chips soon. Intel’s newer chips have significantly outperformed its older Core 2 Duo processors in early benchmark testing. Also, several manufacturers at CES showcased notebooks with Intel’s latest chips, including the Core i7 processor found in the 27-inch iMac. That means Apple needs to catch up soon.

Apple will host a special event on Jan. 27, according to The Wall Street Journal, where the company is expected to launch a touchscreen tablet. Apple could use the event to promote new MacBook Pros, as well. The company has done similarly in the past: At 2009’s Worldwide Developers Conference, for example, Apple announced new MacBooks prior to the major announcement of the iPhone 3GS.

Updated: Intel has dismissed the promotion as a mistake and said it meant to promote new HP notebooks instead. (Though it’s possible the mention of MacBook Pros was an accidental slip, and Intel is playing cover-up for its partner, Apple.)

See Also:

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• Apple Debuts Aggressively Priced iPhone 3GS, MacBooks

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com