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HP To Start Selling Its iPod
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."
What else was HP going to do with them? Eat them? Plant them in the ground and hope iPod trees sprout?
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
you know, bows and arrows worked pretty well for a time.
why change em?
HP should change their "Invent" tag-line to "Copy what works and will make us money".
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".
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
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.
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.
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
Brand recognition and bling bling. Chicks dig Apple
No it's not joke. Here're relevant press releases and their "HP Tattoos" gallery:/ 2004/04082 7a.htmlk its/2004/ digitalexplaunch/fs_ipod.pdfh p.com/music/us/en/tattoos.html
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_
http://h10049.www1.
mmmh.... iPod trees....
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
These are innovative. You manage playlists using Reverse Polish Notation.
There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.
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.
/. or apple.com.
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
With this and Microsofts entrance into music sales, it'll be an interesting few months running up to Christmas.
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