Source: Apple

As always, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) gave only a teaser of what's to come: In this case, the press invites to an event at its Cupertino campus on Tuesday, Oct. 14, bore an image of a laptop with the words, "The spotlight turns to notebooks." And little else.

The rumor mill, though, is working overtime on what may be coming out.

A refresh of the line may be sorely needed. The last major revision of the MacBook Pro lineup, Apple's higher-end models, came out in 2006. There have been tweaks to the line, such as larger hard drives and newer-generation processors, but there have been more significant advances in mobility since then, such as Intel's Montevina platform.

However, one current rumor is that Apple, which uses nVidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) graphics, will use an nVidia chipset in its new notebooks, rather than Montevina.

The rumors are all over the place, and if history is any guide, at least some of them will be true. The Inquisitr blog reported that Apple will launch an $800 laptop, citing pricing sheets sent to the company's retail stores, describing models ranging from $800 up to $3,100.

Currently, Apple's cheapest notebook, the MacBook, sells for $1,099. If the rumor were true, it would make the new model Apple's first sub-$1,000 notebook, which will better position it to compete with the numerous laptops from Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), HP (NYSE: HPQ) and Acer, which all have laptops for as low as $599 in stores like Best Buy and Staples.

The new models, as the rumor goes, include a 13-inch MacBook and a MacBook Pro with 15- and 17-inch screens.

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AppleInsider.com and MacRumors.com each noted that allegedly leaked images of the new models seem to show their cases being all-aluminum, similar to the MacBook Air, Apple's ultra-thin notebook. Current-generation MacBooks' exteriors are a mix of plastic and aluminum.