Will Apple Put 'Intel Inside' Badges on the New Mactels?

As the number of people expecting the new Mactels to be unveiled at the MacWorld expo grow exponentially, some are thinking about the more subtle aspects of the collaboration between Apple and Intel...

"To me, a more interesting question is one that goes straight to the heart of the relationship between Apple and its newest chip supplier," writes Arik Hesseldahl for BusinessWeek. "As Apple includes Intel's chips inside its machines, will it also point to the Intel brand on the outside? In particular, will Apple place an Intel medallion on computers, or mention Intel in the ads for computers that house Intel chips?"

As a company with some of the strongest branding in the world, and a cult like following, not to mention worldwide renown for design, Apple knows that its customers do not really care what is on the inside of their sleek looking cases. One of the most loved things about a Mac is that you do not need to know, or care, what goes on behind the scene, you just use it. If Mac users found out that Apple was putting gerbils inside the new computers, they might raise an eyebrow, but they would still buy them and use them, because Apple knows what it's doing.

"While Intel's name and its many brands are among the most recognizable in the world, the name doesn't inspire the same degree of loyalty that Apple's does. While millions know who Intel is and what a Pentium chip is, the names don't necessarily make hearts skip a beat the way they do at the mention of the iPod, or the Mac."

If the collaboration is fruitful, which no doubt it will be, Intel will have some of the Apple customer loyalty and cool factor rub off on it, giving the company a much bigger image boost than the 'Intel Inside' logo would. By working with Apple, Intel is also shedding off some of the "Wintel" taint as well as gaining the upper hand on its AMD competitor, who is stuck only with the PC market.

Will we see 'Apple Outside' on the Intel chips that will go into the new Macs? It is very unlikely, but, who knows... it would be a pretty good publicity stunt.