How does System Profiler retrieve the full Mac hardware identifier?
ServerKit.framework
has a property list within its resources that can help you with model identifier <-> model name string translation:
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ServerKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English.lproj/XSMachineAttributes.plist
Did check the network traffic. System Information is connecting to
http://support-sp.apple.com
A full query looks like:
http://support-sp.apple.com/sp/product?cc=DJWR&lang=de_DE
Where 'DJWR' are the last four characters of the serial number
More info here: http://blog.coriolis.ch/get-your-apple-device-model-name-in-a-readable-format/