Flat-panel iMacs on the way?

Apple Computer may finally be poised to unfurl a long-rumored flat-panel iMac, according to a report Tuesday from Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley analysts Gillian Munson and Stirling Levy said in the report that Apple has placed component orders for producing 100,000 15-inch flat-panel iMacs per month, starting in January.

The all-in-one computer virtually revived Apple when it emerged in 1998, but sales have steadily declined in the past year and a half.

"Supply contacts indicate that an all-in-one flat panel iMac might be announced" in early 2002, Munson and Levy said in the report. "As usual, specific product details are shrouded in secrecy."

An Apple representative declined to comment.

A flat-panel iMac has been anticipated for some time. However, predictions of its arrival have so far proved premature.

News source: CNET