So we've got a couple of national retailers selling iMacs, now; there's CompUSA, still going great guns, and there's Best Buy, who apparently exists primarily to lend a sense of comic relief. In addition, rumors have been floating around that Sears will climb back on the Apple wagon to sell iMacs and iBooks this summer. All told, that's still not a very pervasive national presence, even once you lump in all the local and regional resellers. The iMac is meant to be less a computer and more a computing appliance, so the ideal case would have iMacs as visible as possible to regular everyday consumers in all kinds of department stores, not just in computer-specific outlets. The "Look, honey! It's one of those iMac things!" factor should be a major selling force, especially given how irresistible the fruit-flavored lumps are in person.

So Apple Insider's rumors that JCPenney is planning to start selling iMacs could be a really good thing. Even though the current rumor has JCPenney only selling iMacs via their holiday catalog this fall, if that all goes well, it's not unimaginable that in-store sales displays might be in the cards shortly thereafter. If iMacs eventually make it into both Sears and JCPenney stores, consumers will be able to buy iMacs at a high percentage of malls in this country. And that's the kind of saturation we'd like to see.

On a similar note, lots of viewers have written in to voice their opinion that Apple should be courting Kmart as an iMac reseller. While we agree that the widespread exposure such a deal could create would be a great thing, there's such a tricky balancing act to contend with-- saturation vs. service. After all, if Best Buy was such a bust at moving iMacs, who's to say Kmart wouldn't fare much, much worse? Or Sears, for that matter? We really wish the economies of scale would allow Apple to open its own retail outlets all over the world so that service and display issues could be kept under control, but until that magical day arrives, it's going to be an uphill battle fighting against the Best Buy syndrome.