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HP Drops iPod Reselling

Correct me if im wrong, but didnt HP announce bad quarterly results or something? i was away at the time, probably saw it on CNN at 4am drugged up on Migraleve trying to shift a monster headache. and that they have been asked to focus on one or two specific items rather than trying to cover all bases?
 
dernhelm said:
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.
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The Mercury Sable was a different trim level than a Ford Taurus. Same base chassis but more features. That is one reason the price was higher.
 
More sinister motives...?

Superdrive said:
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.
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Perhaps a well placed phone call from Mr. Gates advising the new management to stop dancing with Apple and use WMA? OR ELSE!
 
From TFA:

HP sold the iPod for the same price as Apple, so there wasn’t a big benefit for cost-conscious consumers to buy an iPod. But HP did provide Apple with channel distribution Apple didn’t have prior to the deal — Apple iPods from HP began appearing on the store shelves of electronics retailer Radio Shack, warehouse stores and elsewhere — HP counts more than 100,000 retail outlets worldwide.

That distribution didn’t translate into huge market gains for either company, however. Apple’s said that HP’s iPod sales have contributed an average of only about five percent to all iPods sold since the deal was first announced. Last quarter Apple shipped more than 6.2 million iPods, which added more than $1.1 billion to their revenue for the quarter.
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Only five percent were HP iPods! This is a good thing. Apple is going to make that up easily with their move into Radio Shacks and other stores in the future.
 
Interesting development. I suppose this is one of the many changes being implemented since Carly was ousted. I don't see this as impacting Apple too much, as I don't think there were a lot of HP iPod sales anyway. After all, doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose to buy an iPod, but then have a big "HP" stuck on it? ;) Maybe HP took the hint that people weren't buying their iPods because of this, and are dropping the line.

Ah well, if nothing else, the people with HP iPods will have a collector's item down the road...
 
goof_ball said:
I don't think HP accounted for a large percentage of iPod sales. No biggie.
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HP had the second largest marketshare of digital players... after apple, I believe..
 
goof_ball said:
I don't think HP accounted for a large percentage of iPod sales. No biggie.
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8% last quarter...which was only about 480,000 iPods. I'm sure they would have just bought the Apple branded iPod if no HP was available.
 
While I don't think iPod sales will suffer at all I am sad that HP computers will most likely no longer ship with iTunes preinstalled. That was great for apple even if the owner didn't buy an iPod. It got iTunes AND Quicktime out there.
 
jholzner said:
While I don't think iPod sales will suffer at all I am sad that HP computers will most likely no longer ship with iTunes preinstalled. That was great for apple even if the owner didn't buy an iPod. It got iTunes AND Quicktime out there.
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Actually, that will continue.

As part of the original arrangement, HP agreed to install Apple’s iTunes software on its personal computers. That part of the deal won’t change, according to Apple. “HP’s current plan is to continue bundling iTunes on its desktop and notebook PCs,” an Apple spokesperson told Playlist.
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xli_ne said:
well i guess i have a collectors item in about 5 years now.
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This is exactly what I was thinking. I've also thought the 1st gen iPods would be collectible one day.

This is going to make the HP shuffle an INSTANT collectible - go get em now at SAM'S.

I don't think this is a big deal to distribution as Walmart AND Radio Shack have both picked up Apple branded iPods.
 
zap2 said:
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
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No they wont (or at least I dont think they should) part of the reason apples have managed to stay so problem free is that they manage software, hardware and everything else (just about) instead of letting PC makers use OSX apple should get PC users to switch to apple

And as ipod is the actual topic of this thread I belive HP no longer selling ipods will have almost no effect on the market considering that 60-80 percent of the people I know own an ipod of some kind but not one uses an hp ipod.
 
That made me curious, too!

mac-er said:
Makes the Radioshack/Apple deal clearer in hindsight.
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When, I heard about that deal, I wondered if you'd go into RadioShack and hear: Would you like an Apple iPod or an HP iPod by Apple?

The HP and Apple situation was not the same as the Geo Prizm/Toyota Corolla one. I bought a Corolla a few years ago, but I checked out the Geo Prizm at the same time. Option packages, financing options and the quality of the dealerships are all factors in car buying that can make one car superior to the other even if it is physically the same. My Toyota salesperson was a kindly, older woman who was very low-key. A few months later, I found out she was fired. I could have guessed that she wouldn't make it in such a cutthroat atmosphere. The current sales staff is the typical crop of greasy, phony scumbags.
 
adzoox said:
I don't think this is a big deal to distribution as Walmart AND Radio Shack have both picked up Apple branded iPods.
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Did both Walmart and Radioshack do it? I only remember reading that Radioshack was going to sell Apple iPods. My Walmart still has the HP iPods.
 
my two cents: I didnt like HP branded iPod's to begin with, any time I went looking at iPods I was like get that HP thing away from me! I'm liking that HP has left, its a Apple iPod, nothing else..........
 
springdaddy said:
Good. I never understood why Apple let HP do this anyways.
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Uhm.. to sell more iPods? They never had anything to lose..

But HP certainly didn't make the best of the situation, they should have been using the iPods to help sell new products, bundling them with digital media centers, laptops, etc. using it as a part of a large product (ie. a digital media home infrastructure) rather than on it's own.. because why would people buy it on it's own when they could get an apple branded one instead?
 
Makes sense to me. I never understood what differentiated the two 'pods in the first place. And who'd want to buy HP when for the same price they could have Apple?

And how, in the age of the internet, did anyone think HP's vending strategy would be a positive for Mac? If it came in different colors or was in any way more customizable (besides tattoos and skins —*those sound far too much like putting a sticker on preeeeecious) it might have made sense. But it just seemed too identical.

Anyway, I totally agree with all the car analogies. You can't look at your GMC Jimmy and call it a caddy.
 
makeme said:
Did both Walmart and Radioshack do it? I only remember reading that Radioshack was going to sell Apple iPods. My Walmart still has the HP iPods.
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my Walmart has both - but I'm VERY close to a distribution center too. Walmart is selling a lot of iPods for HP, so I would imagine they will kick Apple iPods in to high gear.

If they don't - it will be interesting to grab all the accessories in the discount bin in about a month.
 
Radio Shack

goof_ball said:
I don't think HP accounted for a large percentage of iPod sales. No biggie.
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Could be in relationship to the rumored Radio Shack sale of iPods (and I bet other brick and morter sales locations beyond the Apple Store) - looks like Apple found a better way to get iPods to the public and now they get to keep their logo on tose little bundles of joy!
 
Stella said:
HP had the second largest marketshare of digital players... after apple, I believe..
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True, but HP sales only accounted for about 5% of overall iPod sales, so it's no real loss. Besides, Apple will just gain virtually all of that back anyway under their own brand name now.

More importantly though, the agreement to pre-load iTunes for Windows on all new HP PCs will continue on. That's more important to Apple than HP selling re-badged iPods ever was anyway.
 
apple joined with hp (hp joined with apple) to sell these in channels (radio shack) they were not previously in. the ipod is strong enough now that they dont need help getting into channels.

remember the radioshack rumor a few weeks back? it makes more sense now.
 
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