Apple's new LED Cinema Display packs Thunderbolt, shown off in leaked pics

Promotional images for Apple's new LED Cinema Display monitor have prematurely appeared on the company's website. MacRumours managed to nab a few screenshots before the pictures were taken down.

One image shows two Cinema Displays hooked up to a MacBook Pro, which means the latest version of the 27-inch LED display will pack Thunderbolt, the high-speed port that Apple's sticking on its new gadgetry.

Thunderbolt has already made an appearance on the latest iMac and MacBook Pro models, allowing data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps. But that won't be the primary function for the Cinema Display's spanking new port -- Thunderbolt functions as a DisplayPort too, so it can output your Mac's video display.

The photos of the new Cinema Display are also noteworthy because they show the Mac OS X Lion default wallpaper -- an orange-tinted galaxy type... thing.

We're expecting Lion to break cover before the end of July, and possibly before the end of this week, making its debut on a new set of MacBook Air laptops, which, in turn, are tipped to feature backlit keyboards, Thunderbolt ports and faster components.

Other snaps of the new Cinema Display show the fancy-pants monitor next to a Mac mini and Mac Pro, which suggests refreshed versions of those products could launch soon as well.

The Cinema Display currently costs £918, so prepare to spend all your money on the new version, which we imagine will sport a similar price tag.

Are you amenable to spending the best part of a grand on a monitor? Do you love your Cinema Display more than the smell of freshly mown grass? Let us know in the comments, or spill your guts all over our Facebook wall.