Italian-language site SetteB. IT has spotted a statement about a 17-inch, $899 iMac model for the education market on the Apple website. In its recent eNews mailing to education users, Apple has disclosed its plans to persist with its 17-inch iMac - a holdover product sold in 2006 - together with its existing 20-inch $1,199 model and the 24-inch $1,499 model.

The education-only 17-inch iMac reflects the earlier 17-inch CRT eMac, which was discontinued by Apple when it switched over to Intel. The model, which lacked an Intel upgrade, was withdrawn as Apple attempted to move away from noxious heavy metals used in CRTs.

Though there has been no official hint about the release of the proposed education-only iMac model, the news of an under $1,000 iMac would definitely be a welcome one for the strapped-for-cash parents of students.

In fact, the proposed Apple move to continue with the 17-inch model appears has come in the wake of the economic crisis, which is hitting government and education markets especially hard, what with tax revenues sliding and the public sector looking for ways to close budget gaps!

In the previous AppleInsider reports too, there was a mention of the 17-inch iMac for education; however, there has been no listing of the model on Apple's publicly-accessible online store for education, or by any partner's sites.