The Mac mini, Apple's entry-level screen-less, keyboard-less and mouse-less Mac, introduced in January 2005 in the sub-$800 segment could be abandonned.

Citing sources for whom it "holds the utmost respect", AppleInsider "sincerily" believes that the Mac mini has no future and is not even sure if another iteration of the line-up is to expect.

The report also says that the Mac mini was launched under shareholders and customers' pressure but never saw a real success. The fact that Apple has not really been generous in line-up refreshes is also noted.

The initial, PowerPC-based, line-up was priced between $499 and $699 with two models but when Apple updated the Mac mini to the Intel architecture the price range rose to $599 and $799.

Apple never provided the number of Mac minis that it sells every quarter but analysts and resellers estimated that the sale numbers were similar to the eMac, or about 100 000 units in the first quarter of the launch and continuous decline for the quarters that followed with an exception for Christmas quarters.

A few days ago, another report claimed that Apple was on the verge of abandoning its 17 inch entry-level iMacs. Historically, many Macs at the bottom of their line-ups disappear well in advance of a revamp of the entire line. We can cite the defunct PowerBook 2400, the eMac, the PowerMac Cube which many considered as an entry-level PowerMac and the 12 inch MacBook Pro which has yet to see a successor on the MacBook Pro line-up.

The Mac mini is probably the Mac which Apple makes the least margin on but it has certainly brought a new kind of customer into the company fold — those who would never pay more than $800 to get a computer.

Our take: Perhaps the only good news in this story is the source, AppleInsider is mainly a rumours and speculation site. We may only hope their source isn't as good as they pretend it to be or that this piece of information is incomplete. BTW, No confirmation from MacScoop sources yet.