Apple, Dell prepping ultraportables?

Raise your hand if you love a good ultraportable MacBook Pro rumor! It sure seems like rumors of a lightweight, souped-up MBP have come back with a vengeance and with El Jobso now officially confirmed to be giving the MacWorld keynote on January 15th, you really have to wonder if it might all be coming together.

Feeding more fuel to the fire, here's the latest news out of rumor island Taiwan: Apple is snapping up 13.3 inch LED-backlit LCD display panels like hotcakes--the same type of panel that's currently used in the 15" MacBook Pro. According to Digitimes, fabrication plants in Taiwan are currently pumping out the panels, which are designed for use in "high-end models," as fast as they can. Production should hit 90,000 units this month, with as many as 300,000 panels scheduled to be ready in Q1 2008. If I didn't know any better, I would think that someone was gearing up for a major product launch...

Finally, here's an interesting little tidbit for you Dell fans: in the same article, Digitimes reveals that Dell is purchasing similar 12.1 inch display panels in bulk. Could Dell be preparing an even more ultraportable response to whatever Cupertino is cooking?

For more on the rumors:
- see this Digitimes article