Apple Computer, has reportedly scrapped plans to include a built-in iPod dock with some of its forthcoming Mac mini desktop computers, AppleInsider reports.

According to reports from multiple contacts, including some with ties to the Mac maker's component suppliers, initial plans for the first Intel-based Mac mini computers called for some models to include a built-in docking station for the company's iPod digital music players.

The dock connector, which was rumored to be located at the top of the computer, would effectively turn each Mac mini into an oversized docking station for iPods featuring the company's proprietary dock-connector.

Apple originally planned to add the dock only to its top-of-the-line Mac mini model, which it currently sells for $699, people often familiar with the company's pre-production computer plans said. The feature was scrapped for unknown reasons just weeks before the new computers are slated to hit production in the Far East, these people added.