HP Drops iPod Reselling

Ouch, I suppose someone is not happy with the iPod outlook. Perhaps without Carly around, there is a different direction being taken with regards to HP's strategy.

Good. I never understood why Apple let HP do this anyways.

hmmm, not sure if this is good or bad becuz apple will need help staying on top( or will they) of the iPod market, but when apple was in trouble with computers and the made the Mac clones, that was bad. Im shocked about thi, but this could mean HP is making there own MP3 player!

I don't think HP accounted for a large percentage of iPod sales. No biggie.

I doubt HP is making its own MP3 player. That would be a disastrous move. I wonder if this means that the bundling of iTunes (aka the whole deal) is off.

Thank Goodness

They probably stopped selling them because no one wants to buy something with HP branded on it. When I think of HP I think of bubbly, slow and frustrating computers.

hmm, you could see this as a NEGATIVE, but... was it ever a POSITIVE? I never saw a point in selling Re-branded iPods.

It never really made sense for HP to do this. The only way HP could compete with Apple was in terms of price, and doing that in turn was only going to hurt HP's profitability. Besides, getting an HP iPod could actually be seen as a negative, since you'd be stuck with "HP" engraved on the back.

And yet, this doesn't affect me in the least.

well i guess i have a collectors item in about 5 years now.

As long as my Apple stock doesn't dip, I don't care.

...reselling the iPod no longer fit with HP's current digital media strategy...

Click to expand...

Of course, the presumption being that HP even HAS a digital strategy

I'm so glad I don't work for them. I went through similar "strategy of the week" turmoil at another large company a few years ago. Everything about HP in the last few years has been about them needing get a clue about their core business competencies.

WCat

I vote negative...people were always going around "not understanding" why HP sold iPods. It simply opened up so many more channels for the iPod to be sold in. It also put iTunes on HP desktops and notebooks...no downloading needed. When this deal was announced in Jan 2004 I saw tons of positives for Apple and virtually no negatives.

The end of this relationship is something I feared would happen, and is bad for Apple in my opinion.

I agree, I don't know of anyone who actually bought one, I am sure somewhere, some fool (sorry if your one) did, but not as many as HP was hoping I am sure. I understand the concept from HP's perspective, make a few bucks selling the top portable player with their logo on it without putting anything really into it. I don't see the incentive of bundling iTunes with their boxes, other then the fact that it is still on top. Also seeing that they didn't sell many also makes me think they will not develop their own. However with the phrase "HP's current digital media strategy" being used it has to make you wonder. I think it is of little consequence, but a lose of an ally.

Superdrive said:

Ouch, I suppose someone is not happy with the iPod outlook.

Click to expand...

I don't think so. I think it was just a bad idea to begin with.

Would anyone buy a BMW with a Hyundai logo on it? Same car, same price, different logo?

MacBytes said:

url=""I can confirm we have exited the relationship," Hewlett-Packard spokesman Ryan Donovan said. He could not immediately provide further details."]announced[/url]

Click to expand...

The link (tags broken so I can show it) is bad.

You knew this would happen sooner or later. Apple doesn't need HP to sell more iPods - they've already proved that. No big surprise here.

WCat said:

Of course, the presumption being that HP even HAS a digital strategy

I'm so glad I don't work for them. I went through similar "strategy of the week" turmoil at another large company a few years ago. Everything about HP in the last few years has been about them needing get a clue about their core business competencies.

WCat

Click to expand...

What? Did you work for Sun?

springdaddy said:

Good. I never understood why Apple let HP do this anyways.

Click to expand...

The agreement was that HP could sell rebranded iPods in exchange for iTunes being preloaded onto every computer HP manufactured from the time of the agreement i assume until now. Apple definitely got the better end of the deal...

zv470 said:

I don't think so. I think it was just a bad idea to begin with.

Would anyone buy a BMW with a Hyundai logo on it? Same car, same price, different logo?

Click to expand...

This was a ridiculously bad example. You've obviously never been in the automotive industry; where this exact things happens ALL the time. Witness: Geo Prism == Chevy Nova == Toyota Corolla: all produced at the NUMMI facility. Also GM, Ford, and Chrysler rebadged their vehicles all the time to fall under their different divisions - Ford Taurus == Mercury Sable, etc.

They justified all this on the basis of brand loyalty. Mercury lovers would never purchase a Ford, but would purchase a rebadged one if it was called a Mercury Sable. Same car, different name, sometimes a different price.

To start out with, HP got the iPod into stores like radio shack and Walmart, but even before the HP minis and shuffles came out, Walmart were already selling the normal Apple ones, so replacing the entire line from apple shouldn't be a problem. Also, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't there something a while back about Apple selling iPods and accessories directly through radioshack? HP basically helped Apple get their foot in the door, but now Apple can go just about anywhere they want it seems, and was probably limiting HP's channels. I don't think Apple really need HP anymore anyway. At least they will still be shipping PCs with iTunes preinstalled, probably the part of the deal that helped Apple the most.

rockthecasbah said:

Apple definitely got the better end of the deal...

Click to expand...

I agree, that is why I think this is negative news. Now I certainly don't mean this is detrimental to Apple and the iPod, I do think if I had to choose between +/-, I'd definetly go with -.

also is apple apple is ever let PC makers us OSX, thta would make HP and Apple and friends( or not the first patner choice) which is a good thing cuz HP are not that good

rockthecasbah said:

The agreement was that HP could sell rebranded iPods in exchange for iTunes being preloaded onto every computer HP manufactured from the time of the agreement i assume until now. Apple definitely got the better end of the deal...

Click to expand...

HP did also say today that iTunes will continue to be pre-loaded on all new HP PCs for the foreseeable future, so that isn't going to stop anytime soon.