Going by the Mac news site AppleInsider's Thursday reports, it is likely that Apple may decide to slash prices of two of its flagship Macintosh computer models - the entry-level iMac desktop computers and the 13-inch MacBook laptops.

AppleInsider said that Apple's proposed plan of reducing the costs of the mentioned products by a couple of hundred dollars is on the cards, particularly due to the escalating fortunes of reasonably-priced netbooks in the otherwise recession-hit market.

Citing unnamed yet "extremely reliable" sources, the AppleInsider reports come as Apple appears to be passing through a rather difficult financial stretch. With the Mac sales reportedly slowing down in the last quarter, Apple was supposedly cutting 1600 jobs pertaining to its retail operations.

Since Apple is well-known for concealing all news prior to an official announcement, the price-cuts on Mac products decision also awaits its formal declaration; with even the Apple reseller partners unaware of the company's forthcoming pricing plans for Mac.

Nonetheless, commenting on the AppleInsider-reported move, Michael Oh, CEO of Boston-based Apple reseller Tech Superpowers, said: "They could be seeing that it's the right time for them to make some moves, price-wise. But if they were to do drastic price cuts across their product lines, it would tick off a lot of people. The only way it would happen is at the entry-level."

(Via TopNews. Contributed by Jimmy Peterson)