It is believed that Apple wants to introduce Snow Leopard before rival Microsoft launches its much anticipated Windows 7. Also coming as a rumor (although it's pretty obvious) is the news that Apple's Phil Schiller will be showcasing the new OS at the company's last Macworld appearance next month.

UK newspaper The Guardian claims that Apple “and its partners” have been “dropping hints” to developers that Snow Leopard will ship earlier than expected. This should not be considered breaking news. In late November, Apple's director of Unix engineering, Jordan Hubbard, delivered a statement according to which Snow Leopard was penned in for a first-quarter 2009 release.

However, The Guardian does note that Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing and host of the Macworld 2009 Keynote, will give a demonstration of Snow Leopard.

The publication points out that Apple is feeling under pressure to release Snow Leopard as soon as possible, preferably ahead of Windows 7. It is being suggested that, while Microsoft hopes to release the hugely improved Windows 7 sometime around June, Apple is pushing for a Q1 release, to benefit from a competition-free time gap.

Details on the new technologies employed by Snow Leopard will deliver (Grand Central and OpenCL) are also being disclosed in the report. Earlier this month we reported that the OpenCL 1.0 Specification was ready for Snow Leopard, as the Khronos Group had announced the ratification and public release of the Apple-proposed standard. As far as Grand Central is concerned, Apple hopes to trademark the multi-core-focused technology, as revealed by reports saying that the company has filed an application with the US Patent & Trademark Office for “Grand Central.”

Still, Apple is believed to be unable to ship Snow Leopard before February, mostly because of OpenCL's recent ratification.