cube said:
Celeron M 400 (a derivative of Core Solo) will launch in Q2.
Only the Celeron M line is at the prices needed for these Macs.
I kinda doubt that the low-end macs will use Celerons. You say that in terms of pricing, the Celeron is the only chip that makes sense.
I did a little research and got the following costs.
1. T1300 Core Solo (1.67 Ghz/667 mhz) - $209
2. T2300 Core Duo (1.67 Ghz/667 mhz) - $241
3. 380 Celeron M (1.6 Ghz/400 mhz) - $134
4. Freescale 7447A (1.42 Ghz/167 mhz) - $473
I'm guessing that Apple can get G4s at less than $473, but probably nowhere near the $134 price of the Celeron. So with the pricing disparity between the G4 and the Intel chips, I think Apple could afford to put the T2300 Duo chip in the new iBooks and Mac minis. Although, I'm betting that they go with the T1300 to maintain a spec gap between the "consumer" and "professional" Macs.
Here are the links where I got the pricing.
Intel Pricelist
G4 price - Arrow Electronics