Habitual component-stream eavesdropper Digitimes says that “a small volume of components” that fit the spec for a 15-inch ultra-thin notebook have shipped, and March of 2012 is their estimate for full-scale device shipping.We’ve talked about Macbook Air DNA being injected into the Pro line, and this is just more evidence of that. The latest update to the notebook line was minor and the design is getting a little long in the tooth.

The new notebooks would likely eliminate the optical drive and may have some kind of hybrid storage solution that combines a super-thin 2.5 HDD with an SSD or flash storage. This is an untenable feature proposition for the Air, which is subject to both space and price restrictions, but the Pro line would be more spacious and less cash-conscious.

Shipping in March would fall in line with existing Apple scheduling, putting the notebooks just about a year after the last significant MacBook Pro update. It’s impossible to say, however, how long Apple has been developing and testing the new notebooks, so to call the dates optimistic or otherwise would be fruitless.This first break of the supply line seal, however, might start a trickle of new information about the new gear.