The Apple MacBook Air is a laptop that really dominates the market and it has been widely rumored that a refresh may come in early 2012 with the possible addition of a 15-inch model. We’ve been taking a look at some of the speculation and discussion and thought we’d give you a MacBook Air news and rumor roundup.

Not too long ago we passed on a leak about the current SSDs used in the MacBook Airs being replaced with a version that could give double the SSD speed. There has been plenty of further talk about the MacBook Air line since then and kicking off we can tell you that Apple sold 1.2 million MacBook Airs over the holiday season. That news came from Apple Insider, sourced from DigiTimes, who also told how the upcoming MacBook Air models are due in the next few months, in fact as soon as Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors are available, a step up from the current Sandy Bridge processors being used. It seems the Ivy Bridge processors are due out in the second quarter of 2012 so maybe that gives us some hint about when a new lineup will be revealed.

More recent news comes from The Verge who have informed about a MacBook Air dock, the LandingZone from InfiniWing. This is a new product due for the spring and suitable for 11 or 13-inch MacBook Air models, and presumably the new refreshed Airs. It will be priced at $199 and comes with an Ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort and power adapter. The Verge had a hands-on look at a prototype and found that once the latching arm is closed on the rear it can be locked down with a Kensington Lock for security. This is likely to be a useful device for many although the price tag was felt to be a little steep for a gadget that doesn’t feature Thunderbolt.

Further to this, reports talked about the possibility of an ARM-based (A5) processor for the MacBook Air. This is the same kind as used in the iPhone and iPad but if it came to the MacBook Air many queried whether it would then be an iOS device of OS X and queried the idea of this iPad-like Air. Talk of this began last year and the benefits would have been that an ARM processor would use less power although there would also be a drop in computer power, according to MacRumors. However, it now seems that an ARM-based processor for the MacBook Air seems unlikely. CNet tells of a discussion between Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer last week, leaving Gardner to say, “We have wondered whether Apple might offer an ARM-based version of MacBook Air at some point; we walked away from this meeting with the impression that Apple feels iPad satisfies–or will soon satisfy–the needs of those who might have been interested in such a product.” Whether the iPad will in fact evolve in such a way remains to be seen but CNet certainly seems to feel that an iPad-like MacBook Air is no longer in the picture, therefore the Intel Ivy Bridge processors are still probable as in our first talking point.

We will continue to pass on more information as we hear it but in the meantime we’d like to hear from readers about what they want to see included in the upcoming MacBook Air refresh. We certainly anticipate improved processors, better graphics and maybe a Retina Display but what is the feature that you most want to see?

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