There’s a new wave of MacBook notebooks en route.

And it may arrive sooner rather than later.

Per Canadian web site, Geekbench, a recent set of test appears to have show an unreleased Arrandale MacBook Pro notebook running at 2.66 GHz according to MacRumors.

The processor shown is listed as an Intel Core i7 M 620 running at 2.66GHz with a Turbo frequency up to 3.33 GHz. The Intel Core i7 M 620 functions as a high end dual core processor with Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading features.

The MacBook Pro model designation is listed as “6,1″ and has a non-shipping build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 (Build 10C3067).

The original article reports that supplies of MacBooks have been constrained according to international resellers, adding to the belief new Apple laptops are forthcoming.

Intel officially unveiled the Core i3, i5 and i7 processors at last month’s CES trade show in Las Vegas.

The new chips fall under the brands of Core i3 for low-end systems, Core i5 for midrange systems and Core i7 for the fastest systems.

The new processors include dual-core laptop chips under the three brands running between 1.06GHz and 2.66GHz, and desktop chips running between 2.93GHz and 3.46GHz.

According to Intel, the Intel Core i5 processor features: “4-way multi-task processing that allows each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time, delivering the performance you need for smart multitasking.”

Last month, Intel pulled an internal ad showing a MacBook running with the Core i5 processor. The MacBook was being offered as a prize as part of the Intel Retail Edge Program, and was sent out in promotional emails. The ad was later replaced with one offering an HP Envy laptop as a replacement.

It’s a conflict as old as time: Apple releases an iPhone OS update and the hacking/unlocking community releases an updated version of its software.

For those of you who are happy to use an unlocked version of the iPhone, the iPhone Dev Team has released PwnageTool 3.1.5 that handles Apple’s newly-released iPhone OS 3.1.1 while preserving your device’s ultrasn0w unlock and jailbroken state.

As usual, there are the customary precautions to take regarding the legality of this, what Apple has to say about this, etc. Still, in the end, you can see improvements such as the improved accuracy of your iPhone’s reported battery level.

If you’re up for this, take a stab at it and let us know how it goes.

In a recent update to its “News and Announcements for iPhone Developers” RSS feed, Apple both informed developers that they can use an upcoming framework in the iPhone OS SDK to determine the location of users, but cannot use this framework to craft location-aware ads to users of App Store software.

“If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store,” the update reads.

Per AppleInsider, Apple sought out mobile advertising firm AdMob, which was later purchased by rival Google. Apple later purchased mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless, and intends to allow developers to easily integrate its own advertising solutions into App Store software.

Apple’s newly publicized policy on GPS data usage has led to some speculation that the company could retain location-aware advertising for its own, giving the iPhone maker a significant advantage over competitors like AdMob and Google. However, Apple has yet to formally roll out its own integrated advertising solutions, so whether location-based targeted ads would be a part of the network is unknown.

Apple has shown interest in expanding location-based services on the iPhone. One recent patent application described a dynamic home screen that would display specific applications automatically populated based on factors like the current location of the phone. For example, when traveling in San Francisco, a specific “San Francisco” icon could appear on the screen, and give users easy access to local weather, time, maps and contacts.

In addition, this week a new Apple patent application described a system for easily sharing a user’s current location with a contact in-call. Such a system would use the GPS data from an iPhone to allow two parties to efficiently meet one another.

If you have any thoughts on this, please let us know in the comments.

There’s give and take with Steve Jobs. He gives a great presentation, then hunkers down in a town hall meeting with employees and assigns blame where he feels it should be placed. Following the most recent incident when Jobs cited a lack of Flash on the iPhone or iPad due to Flash’s buggy nature and Adobe’s “laziness”, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch responded with a blog post claiming Flash is “ready” for the iPhone and iPad.

In the post, Lynch dissected the arguments made against Flash, including one that claimed Flash had closed users off to a significant amount of content on the web:

“Some have been surprised at the lack of inclusion of Flash Player on a recent magical device. Flash has been incredibly successful in its adoption, with over 85% of the top web sites containing Flash content and Flash running on over 98% of computers on the Web… It is used for the majority of casual games, video, and animation on the Web and familiar brands like Nike, Hulu, BBC, Major League Baseball, and more rely on Flash to deliver the most compelling experiences to over a billion people.”

Lynch then went on to work to debunk the idea that Flash wasn’t ready for the iPhone or other mobile platforms:

“The Flash engineering team has taken this on with a major overhaul of the mainstream Flash Player for a variety of devices. We are now on the verge of delivering Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones with all but one of the top manufacturers. This includes Google’s Android, RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia, Palm Pre and many others across form factors including not only smartphones but also tablets, netbooks, and internet-connected TVs.”

Finally, Lynch stated that Adobe is “ready to enable Flash in the browser on [Apple’s] devices if and when Apple chooses to allow that for its users, but to date we have not had the required cooperation from Apple to make this happen.”

The saga continues.

Following up on reports of flickering 27″ iMac screens, recently released firmware fixes and the like, a number of users who have been plagued by screen flickering issues with the new 27″ iMac have reportedly been given a 15% refund on their purchase price.

Per Gizmodo, customers in the U.S. and U.K. are reporting that Apple is paying out cash to some who have been frustrated by a defective big-screen iMac. For a US$2,000 machine, the refund would amount to US$300.

“From the handful of reader anecdotes we’ve received thus far, it sounds like you need to be a repeat iMac returner who’s dealt with multiple 27″ iMacs that have been busted in some way (but they may accommodate first time buyers as well, we don’t know),” the report said. “One reader had multiple yellow screens, then received another new model with broken Bluetooth. He took the 15% and just returned it.”

On Monday evening, the Mac maker released a second potential software fix for the flickering issues that have affected some owners of the newly redesigned late 2009 model iMac. The update, entitled “27-inch iMac Display Firmware Update 1.0,” was preceded by first intended fix in December, entitled “27-inch iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0.”

Starting in late January, new iMac purchases were hit with a three-week wait time. This week, however, the shipment times improved to two weeks.

The iPad is en route, never forget that.

Per the mighty City AM, wireless carrier O2 is apparently negotiating with Apple for a U.K. 3G wireless data deal for the device. The 3G-compatible version of the iPad will ship as an unlocked device so users can pick their favorite carrier, although Apple is working with vendors to set up incentives and special deals.

Apple’s deal with AT&T offers tiers in which users receive 250MB of 3G data access per month for US$14.99, or unlimited 3G wireless data for US$29.99 a month. Both plans include unlimited Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots, and users can sign up for and cancel the service on a monthly basis without incurring extra fees.

Apple plans to start shipping the Wi-Fi version of the iPad in March, and the Wi-Fi plus 3G models should begin shipping about 30 days later.

Episode 124 of the PowerPage Podcast is now available. You can either download it from the iTunes Store or directly (33.4 MB, MP3). Update: the download link has been fixed.

Panel: Jason O’Grady, Rob Parker and Tom Hesser.

Topics: Is the iPad really all that? 27″ iMac problems, smartphone smackdown: Nexus One steps it up, Zune soon to phone home and we play “What’s on your Mac?”

Here’s what’s on our Macs this week:

Jason

• Crumpler 8 Million Dollar Home dSLR camera bag ($170) – The best SLR camera bag on the planet

Rob

• MotionX GPS Drive 3.0 for iPhone ($0.99) – The best iPhone GPS goin’

Tom

• GoodReader ($0.99) – Document file viewer, focused on PDFs
• Chromium Dev build of Google Chrome which has extension support
• TechCrunch’s Chromium Updater

Follow us on Twitter

• @JasonOGrady
• @ParkerDigital
• @Addicted2iPhone

Subscribe to the PowerPage Podcast in iTunes or add the Podcast RSS feed to your RSS client. Our theme music is generously provided by The Tragically Hip their new release “We Are The Same” is available on iTunes. Don’t forget to join the PowerPage Facebook group!

While many were surprised to see AT&T offer a pay-as-you-go option for the recently-released iPad, others were shocked to see a lack of a Verizon option.

Per FoxNews.com, AT&T apparently offered a better price on a no-contract plan that sealed the deal.

According to the article, reporter Clayton Morris stated that both companies are “still talking,” despite the fact that Apple went out of its way to defend AT&T last week, and also introduced the wireless carrier as the sole 3G partner for the iPad in the U.S.

Last week, when Apple introduced the iPad, it also announced no-contract data plans from AT&T, running US$15 per month for 250MB of data, or US$30 per month for unlimited access. The plans will also offer free access to AT&T’s nationwide hotspots. Typically, cell phone companies charge US$60 per month for their mobile data-only plans.

As a contract-free purchase, users can buy a 3G-enabled version of the iPad starting at US$629. The AT&T network access can be purchased and later canceled at any time directly from the iPad. Though the device ships unlocked, due to hardware limitations it will only have access to AT&T’s 3G data network in the U.S.

Prior to last week’s iPad unveiling, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook defended AT&T in his company’s quarterly earnings conference call. He called AT&T a “great partner,” and said most customers have had a positive experience with the carrier.

Wireless carrier AT&T has announced that the company will allow the SlingPlayer app for the iPhone to stream live TV over 3G network connections.

Per the New York Times, AT&T has worked with Sling to optimize the app in order to minimize network congestion. “Since mid-December 2009, AT&T has been testing the app and has recently notified Sling Media, as well as Apple, that the optimized app can run on its 3G network,” AT&T said in a press release.

Sling Media’s SlingPlayer Mobile app for iPhone and iPod touch was originally launched in May 2009 without the ability to stream over 3G, a limitation AT&T admitted to putting in place due to fears that the app “would use large amounts of wireless network capacity” and “could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network.”

Along with Apple’s long-standing partnership with manufacturer Foxconn, Asus subsidiary Pegatron Technology will reportedly manufacture Apple’s next-generation iPhone.

Per Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes, Pegatron Technology has been selected by Apple for OEM production of the next-gen iPhone, expected to debut this summer. Pegatron will join Foxconn in manufacturing the handsets, industry sources reportedly said.

Although Pegatron officially declined to comment, the report noted that the company expects its handset shipments to “grow substantially in 2010″. The company currently produces LCD TVs and handsets, and is due to produce Microsoft’s Project Natal motion controller sensor for the Xbox 360 this year.

Pegatron was previously connected to the iPhone last fall and a report alleged that the company would build a new hybrid, world mode handset that would allow calls on both CDMA and GSM networks, granting access to Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Apple’s current iPhone manufacturer is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known by its trade name of Foxconn.