It's a brief analysis at the end there, but I think you may have nailed it...
My gut feel was that openning the floodgates to tier one PC manufacturer's was somehow Apple's plan in the future, and this makes sense if the performance delta between legacy x86 Intel chips and the new technology chips is vast.
Additionally, a Virtual PC like app or process, could cover the concern over running legacy Windows on these machines if the performace is sufficient.
Never a dull moment on planet Apple.
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PowerMac on Intel, the Beast Cuts Loose