...with an 18.4" 1080p display would really impress me - and an external booster battery may surrogate any power issue - I've always viewed the large format design as more of a portable computer than a laptop myself...

Apple may reveal very little at MacWorld as it emphasises the desire to make product announcements according to it's own schedule rather than that of IDG or anyone else. I'm guessing that, in an effort to thwart stock manipulation by pundits and analysts alike, Apple will become increasingly unpredictable in both the timing and content of its' announcements until it is successfully proven that the analysts are "always" wrong!

No user-replaceable battery = EpicFAIL

ANOTHER bonehead move by Apple.

Yes, indeed, epicfail, just like the iPhone...

If the rumours are correct, and this battery ends up lasting more than 3 years without meaningful loss of capacity, AND it allows the computer to run 7-8 hours on a single charge (like clam-shell G3 iBooks used to), the non-replaceable battery will be a non-issue.

Come on Apple, I may have a reason to need to take my battery out. When I am doing processes that require a lot of cpu usage and it causes the fans to kick in (Such as playing some games), I usually remove the battery to help keep it cool (Without it, it says about 12 degrees cooler on average).

I guess this is just so that way when you battery stops holding its charge, you have to go in and get it replaced by a Apple Certified Serviceman/Technician (ie, $$$).

How many people actually ever remove their battery? For most people that do, they simply want extra juice on long hauls when they can't plug in. That's a simple request. There could also be a simple solution. Why does an external battery need to replace a battery? There have been many solutions for the iPod and iPhone that allow extended life through an external power pack.

I, for one, would welcome this change as it would have little impact to my daily routine. And, with a battery that isn't readily replaceable, the battery no longer has to be square. All the extra space saved from the unibody process could now be used for more battery capacity squeezed into all those little spaces.

How many people actually ever remove their battery?

Oh there's a set of users. How large, who knows.

However, I do know that if I didn't have a removable/replaceable battery in my MBP, when I took it to the Apple store to get the battery replaced, I just had to get it to swap out (after the genius was telling me what a great guy he was for doing it, even though it wasn't really covered). If I had this computer, I would've had to drop it off and be without it for who knows how long.

BTW, I had it replaced because it wasn't even at 200 cycles and couldn't hold a charge, let alone keep track of how much time was left - a known issue with batteries which caused a replacement plan.

And, how come the 17" MBP, which would have the most internal free space and more ability to create as big and oddly shaped battery would be the one computer which wouldn't have a replaceable battery? Then again, Apple was also the company that thought MacBooks needed easily replaceable HardDrives and MBPs didn't.

They won't save too much room with it, especially with the 17" size. Thus it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

They will not switch to a fixed in place battery, (especially not in a machine that has plenty of room in it) so don't worry about it. Apple makes a good amount of money on selling spare MacBook batteries now.

I can see having fixed batteries in your ipods... but a Mac Book Pro is supposed to be a professional-grade device, not a fluffy multimedia machine. I don't care if the battery lasts longer, I want to be able to switch it out when it dies.