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HP To Start Selling Its iPod

Posted by timothy on from the it-isn't-even-blue dept.

Dozix007 writes "Uberhacker.Com is reporting that HP said Friday it will start selling its version of the iPod in September. HP's white iPod will be sold in a 20-gigabyte and 40-gigabyte version for $299 and $399 respectively. Apple's prices are the same. It is essentially a clone of the current design, with no real modification."

26 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. Is this really news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What else was HP going to do with them? Eat them? Plant them in the ground and hope iPod trees sprout?

  2. if two businessmen come with the same idea by stroustrup · · Score: 4, Insightful

    one of them is useless.

    Why couldn't they have chosen a lower price?

    --


    If you lost your job today, don't despair. You may die tomorrow anyway.
  3. Why didn't they go with the HP blue by antifoidulus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I thought one of the reasons that HP was selling the iPod was so that they could sell it in "HP blue", which would have given at least 1 reason to buy it from them(I don't use HP products, so I could care less but)

    --
    Monstar L
    1. Re:Why didn't they go with the HP blue by Phroggy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe because everybody was calling it "strangled corpse blue" instead. ;-)

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  4. Re:If it works..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    you know, bows and arrows worked pretty well for a time.
    why change em?

  5. Invent? by caober · · Score: 5, Funny

    HP should change their "Invent" tag-line to "Copy what works and will make us money".

    1. Re:Invent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      HP is tryiing to leverage it's print and media technology. They will have skins that can be printed to customize the ipods. I think 10 skins for $14.99 and sort of follows the cell phone market where you can buy various faceplates.

  6. Bad bad bad... by FiReaNGeL · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If the price is the same... they're screwed. Apple's Ipod force is brand recognition... Same feature set too! I wonder who thought that it would be a good idea... and they got a license from Apple (which cost $$$, and maybe a % of profits)... I just don't understand?

    --
    Eureka Science News - automatically updated
    1. Re:Bad bad bad... by maddskillz · · Score: 5, Funny

      Brand recognition and bling bling. Chicks dig Apple

  7. Bundling possibilities? by chrispyman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Perhaps the reason HP is doing this is so that it can perhaps bundle the iPod with some back-to-school computer they'll be selling. Though I think they'd probably get more buyers if they had some sort of "limited edition HP branded iPod".

  8. Re:What's the point? by aflat362 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My guess is that HP is thinking that people will "throw in an HP iPod" when making an HP computer purchase.

    --

    Conserve Oil, Recycle, Boycott Walmart

  9. Re:If it works..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    if "it" works

    What do you mean by "it"? HP's decision to stop all innovation and try to become a follower in everything they do by just cloning and reselling the products of others?

    This aproach may work for the cheap taiwanese knock-offs companies we're all familiar with, but I'd expect better from HP.

    These guys once had everything - the best CPUs (Alpha, PA RISC), and now they're an intel-clone-box-reseller. Solid operating systems (HPUX, VMS), and now they're just a microsoft reseller. The best search engine (DEC, now HP) could have been google.

    Seems their strategy now it to let everyone else do all the innovation, and just become a follower and hope to make money reselling other's designs (such as attempting to resell Linux and use SCO FUD to become the prefered vendor).

    HP... why don't you try hiring back some of those guys you fired and making some of your own advances again.

  10. Dell by lastninja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is this really different from when Dell sold Ipods two years ago? I thought that Apple was going to license the Ipod to HP, now it looks like they have made HP into "just another reseller".

    --
    John Carmack fan, browsing at +5 since 1999.
  11. Re:Please, explain... by LennyDotCom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why would anyone choose the "iPod copy" if they can get "iPod original" from the "cool" Apple at the same cost?
    because believe it or not not everybody has heard of the iPod
    This will open the iPod to new markets

    --
    http://Lenny.com
  12. HP Printable Tattoos for iPod by Anonymous+Froward · · Score: 5, Informative

    No it's not joke. Here're relevant press releases and their "HP Tattoos" gallery:
    http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/ 2004/04082 7a.html
    http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_k its/2004/ digitalexplaunch/fs_ipod.pdf
    http://h10049.www1.h p.com/music/us/en/tattoos.html

  13. <homer> by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    mmmh.... iPod trees....

  14. Dont beat up on HP..Its good for us.. by cOdEgUru · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, its the same thing. No question.

    But think of it, HP will use resellers such as Staples, Officemax, Office Depot and other outlets which gives us a reason to use those 30$ off of 150$ coupons and other 10/20% Off coupons to buy these expensive players. For people who may balk at the 300$ price, cutting it down to 250$ sometimes is all the reason for them to spend the moolah. So repeat after me, its good for the consumers. who gives a flying fuck about whether HP had innovated or not?

    --
    Rapid Nirvana
  15. Re:If it works..... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

    "why change em? "

    Cos my villagers researched ARMOR!

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  16. Re:If it works..... by jimbolaya · · Score: 5, Funny

    These are innovative. You manage playlists using Reverse Polish Notation.

    --

    There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.

  17. Re:Confusing to the End User by Biotech9 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not quite sure I see the point of this, besides throwing HP a bone in return for having iTunes pre-installed on their machines.

    You don't see the point? Then let me show you...

    HP is the second largest PC supplier in the US.Apple, is not. I can gaurantee you Apple will ship more ipods in the next 6 months with HPs platform to sell from than they have for the last year. HP has a market reach that is far in excess of Apples, and is an entirely different demograph. Apples target market of young fashion nerds with fat wallets already know about or have ipods, but HP can sell ipods to people that wouldn't be normally reading /. or apple.com.

    With this and Microsofts entrance into music sales, it'll be an interesting few months running up to Christmas.

  18. HP worse than you think on this... by hirschma · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Compaq _invented_ the hard drive MP3 player. They had their first prototypes in 1997-8, I think. Their marketing folks decided that no one would want one, and they licensed the design off to a Korean company in 1999. You can read about it here and here.

    I got mine in early 1999, unit #4. It still does things that the iPod doesn't do, like gapless MP3 playback. It has a superior interface, battery life and sound quality. A shrunken version with an attractive design would have kicked ass.

    At any rate, HP bought Compaq, which means that they actually own patents covering almost every aspect of the iPod.

    So what does the New HP do? They license the iPod from Apple. Yup, pay Apple for the IP that they own. I'm guessing that the clever MBAs running the company never decided to do a simple patent search.

    Thus, HP wins the Dumbest Big Company Ever award. HP's stupidity regarding this matter has been confirmed to me by former employees who will remain nameless.

    Jonathan

    1. Re:HP worse than you think on this... by znu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think you really understand why Apple sells so many iPods. It's not because it's the best music player in the world, although when all factors are considered it might be. It's because Apple has managed to build an extremely valuable brand. People don't want a music players with the capabilities of the iPod. They want iPods. They want to be seen walking around with those little white earbuds -- which, incidentally, might be part of the reason HP decided to ditch the HP-branded blue iPods we saw when this deal was announced.

      Then there's the iTunes Music Store. Could HP duplicate the technology behind that? Sure. Could HP make the same deals that Apple has with record labels? Maybe, maybe not. HP hasn't got Steve Jobs to capture record company execs under a Reality Distortion Field, and HP hasn't got nearly as much credibility as Apple in the music industry, because it isn't HP's computers that are sitting on the desks of most professional musicians. Even if HP could negotiate deals to get as much content as Apple has managed to get under similar licensing terms, it would probably take many months. And a lot of independent labels would probably just ignore them, because, again, they just haven't got Apple's image.

      All in all, it's really pretty easy to see why HP would rather resell the iPod (presumably on very favorable terms, in exchange for bundling iTunes) than compete with it. Just think of how many 'iPod killers' have come and gone without putting a dent in the iPod's meteoric rise.

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      This space unintentionally left unblank.
  19. Apple is dead... HP is selling the iPod by beamz · · Score: 4, Funny

    I knew it!!! HP bought Apple, I knew this was going to happen all along based on information previously on slashdot... I can't believe it took this long, BSD only took a year to die...

    Oh crap, I didn't rtfa. Oops.

  20. Re:What's the point? by Bricklets · · Score: 4, Insightful

    To this day, do you know how many people have come up to me and inquired about the iPod I'm listening to only to then ask, "But's it's made by Apple right? Does it work on my PC?"

    These are the people HP is hoping will buy *their* iPod.

    --
    Little Bricklets
  21. Re:Support by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Customer: Hello, Support? I'm having a problem with my iPod.

    Support: What seems to be the problem?

    Customer: It's making horrible wailing noises that hurt my ears!

    Support: What you need to do is to open your iPod under iTunes, go into "Artists" and delete everything by Tori Amos or Celine Dion.

    Customer: That worked! Thanks!

  22. Three Words: Approved Vendor List by Nova+Express · · Score: 4, Funny
    Geek wants iPod.



    Geek wants company he works for to pay for it.



    Geek submits request for "40 GB external Apple FireWire HD"



    Accounting rejects request. "Apple not on approved vendor list."



    Geek submits new request for "40 GB external HP FireWire HD.



    Purchase request approved.



    Result: Apple sells another 100,000 iPods they wouldn't have been able to Geeks gaming the system in PC-centric corporate environments.


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    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/