as an advantage for Apple?

If it's going to be available to all ultrabooks and other form-factors, then it's not an advantage for anyone.

So what if Apple got to be the exclusive thunderbolt provider for a few months? Intel had not intended for Apple to retain exclusivity for more than just a temporary basis.

Now, when it comes to Thunderbolt, it's a technology which was known to exist before Apple got to put it in their thin offerings. The only thing is that, Apple thought they could gain a big selling point by being first to offer the feature, and for a while, they did have the slight advantage. But, Intel never intended to have just one manufacturer have the exclusive rights. It wouldn't make sense for Intel, but, it made sense for Apple to gain that slight advantage for a period of time. Now, time's up, and the advantage is gone. And, so, like I said before, Apple is going to have to come up with some new feature or gimmick to regain the advantage.