If there's one factor contributing most to the hesitancy of potential computer buyers, it's probably the constant niggling fear that as soon as they plunk down x dollars for a particular model, a week later the same computer will suddenly be available for, say, x-500 dollars. That's why we're always hesitant to talk about any rumors of upcoming Apple price drops; some people who were all set to buy an iMac suddenly decide that they want to wait for the price reduction-- which may never materialize at all. Apple loses a sale, and the potential customer loses out on having a really cool computer for a while longer. Nobody really wins in such a situation.

In fact, reports of iMac price reductions have been circulating for several months now, and people who were waiting for Apple to make the iMac a sub-$1000 machine for the holiday buying season are probably pretty disappointed that everyone's favorite consumer computer is holding steady at $1299. We never fully believed that the iMac would drop to $999 before the end of the year, given how strong the demand has been at the current price point; Apple's going to sell as many as they can for $1299, make no mistake about that. The latest rumors of an iMac price drop say that the sub-$1K move now won't happen until this February, which makes a lot more sense. According to Computer Retail Week, the price cut will coincide with the release of a new iMac model with a "larger hard drive and more processing power;" the current "revision B" iMacs will drop to under $1000 in price, while the new "souped-up" models will sell at the familiar $1299 point.

Of course, people who have been buying computers for a while usually eventually come to realize that if you keep waiting for the best deal, you could end up waiting forever. It's tough to know just when to buy, but when it comes to the iMac, our personal recommendation is this: if you want one, and you'll get plenty of use out of it between now and February, go ahead and buy it now. Sure, you might be able to save a few hundred dollars by waiting another two or three months, but there's no guarantee that the price will actually drop, and by then, even if it does happen, you'll just be second-guessing yourself again with the rumors of another price drop in May. The people who took the plunge and bought iMacs seem to love them and consider them well worth the price. Your mileage may vary.