Some more details...
... Laptop used for development ( Visual Studio, C#, SQL server, Excel VBA, GAE VMWare etc..). Im not a gamer so no need for fancy graphics cards, I just like to have the highest resolution possible so i can fit more code on the screen!
i dont want stupid Wide-screen, im not going to watch movies on it - why do all manufacturers think we want to watch movies on a laptop?? thats what my TV is for!!
I've upgraded my current machine with a Crucial M4 128GB SSD. i dont use much space apart from for Virtual Machines and i dual boot Windows/Ubuntu.
As for the reason for SSD - i think once you've had SSD i dont think you can go back without getting frustrated. Guess i could always take the SSD from my current machine and stick it into the new machine if it doesnt come with SDD already (would that void an apple warranty??)
Reason for i7 is that i like to buy top spec machines that are useable for a few years. The faster the CPU, the faster my code compiles, more VM's i can run, and longer it will be a usable dev machine. also (if im honest) for bragging rights over my mates :)
My Asus M50 is still a very good machine, its just geting old. the mouse buttons have lost all their silver paint where ive worn them out, the palm rests are getting very hot, and the fan is getting noisy. I guess i could do some surgery to fix it, but its a good excuse for an upgrade and i would really like some more pixels!
Cost not too much of an issue, i'm a contracor so it just reduces my company tax bill, but i do resent paying apple nearly 3k just for the brand name.
I find it really interesting that there isnt one default Developer focused laptop thats everyone uses. A gap in the market there surely??