Although later than expected, Apple is due to release its new MacBook pros in early march according to AppleInsider.

The information began circulating last week when a Danish blogger, Kenneth Lund said he received an anonymous tip from a retail store that is one of “three major chains in the Danish market” that an updated version of the MacBook Pro would be available as soon as March 1. This day is a Tuesday, which is a known release date for new technologies such as games, DVDs and other hardware, but also used by Apple to announce updates.

The new MacBooks are expected to be powered by Sandy Bridge processors, and have new features such as instant-on, slimmer enclosures, and standard solid-state drives instead of traditional hard drives. The new model will serve as a basis for all future designs, says AppleInsider. There is also talk that the new MacBooks are to be thinner and lighter than their predecessors. They will resemble more MacBook Airs.

Techtree reports that the new MacBook  might remove the DVD drive all together since there is less use for it by consumers because of fast internet connection, cloud services and mass storage devices. There’s also talk that 3G radios might be included inside the MacBook, to replace USB dongles that hang out of laptops.

Analysts say that the timing of the rumored release makes sense since March 1 will be just under a year of the last MacBook refresh of April 2010. Intel will begin shipping new components to manufacturers on February 20. AppleInsider reports that Intel’s problematic Sandy Bridge chipsets won’t affect the new MacBooks. However, Apple resellers did say that the design error in the Intel chips did cause delays in the production of the new MacBook Pros, according to CRN.