claims that early part numbers for the new machines were leaked, and that the MacBooks could launch as early as this Thursday.

has also reported that resellers will receive sealed packages with the new MacBook models, but are prohibited from opening the packages until they receive further instructions.

Adding weight to the claims is the shipment estimates for current MacBook Pro models, which have increased from the regular 24 hours to 3-5 business days.

the new MacBook Pro models are rumoured to come with larger trackpads and an SSD which will house Mac OS X (with everything else remaining on a regular hard disk drive), and they will weigh less than current models.