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HP Introduces PC with Built-In iPod Dock

If electronics were in red then they would have made it red!

easymac800g4 said:
""We didn't do it because Apple did it. We did it because our customers told us that they liked it."
--Tom Anderson


isnt this saying "we diddnt do it because apple did it, we did it because our customers liked the way apple computers look, so well i guess we did do it because apple did it..."
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....AND there is nothin wrong in it as they want to sell as living room electronics...

My preference for laptops and or computers/electronics in general is BLACK (with a very contrasting Logo or some thing ornamental - the usual buttons-plastic frils!). But now a days it is hard to find any piece of electronics in black. It started with silver/aluminium ... even before apple moved 70% of the premium electronics were made shinning silver... (so was the powerbook) ... as for the white thing ... contrasting metallic silver with black-dark color is a bad idea ... so people tend to use white/grey(SHARP etc)... etc ... i am not amazed that people here cannot think any thing else than MACs....

secondly i thing HP is being stupid here not having their own music players... they are sort of neither here nor there kind of a situation! I am sure if HP moves in they can definitely get some market share even if it is not the greatest product! (look at their cameras for example)
 
d.perel said:
That iPod looks very snug up there...but why not so in a Mac Mini ? :confused: (or my G5 for that matter...)
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I agree-it does look quite secure, but on Apple's, I think unless enough customers send feedback asking for a built in iPod dock, perhaps it may happen with Apple systems in the future.
 
woodsey said:
iPods look good on people... Not on computers!
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yeah, a horrible idea where hp is trying to make more money based on apple selling ipods. it looks dumb and requires you to put your big, stupid looking desktop somewhere that has some head clearance and that you can access. if it looked good then fine but it doesn't and it is a very weak design. boo hp
 
Faster Transfer Rate?

Well since this dock is built in to the computer can we assume that the transfer rate will be faster than that of Firewire or USB connection? perhaps just as fast as the hard drive on the Ipod?
 
ashon3611 said:
Well since this dock is built in to the computer can we assume that the transfer rate will be faster than that of Firewire or USB connection? perhaps just as fast as the hard drive on the Ipod?
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no. it is either usb or usb 2.0 speed.
 
Just to defend HP on a few different points. HP just about broke its neck on getting the iPod from Apple to sell, HP does not make any money on selling the iPod, as you can see, we(HPSopping.com) sell the iPod at the same price Apple does. Also, HP isn't stupid like Dell is, Carly new that if HP created its own MP3 player, it wouldn't hold a candel to what Apple has to offer. So if you can't beat them, join them. Also, HP took heat from Microsoft for not supporting a WMA software and player, not that Microsoft would pull all software contracts out of HP but lets just say they were a little pissed off(not that I care). So, as you can see, for almost a year now all HP's have had iTunes for Windows pre-loaded on all computers (setting the stage for the iPod no doubt).
I'd also like to say that Apple really isn't in competition with anyone, its both friends and enemies with everyone; Microsoft, Sony, HP, IBM, etc. This is a good thing because when it comes down to it, Apple will have all these ties to Windows-based companies to make the Mac OS work in a Windows world, so like it was said before, its a win-win situation for everyone... except Dell, which tries to win it alone.
 
This should have been done by apple loooong before HP.

iMac and the PM should have it ;)
 
clayjohanson said:
One BIG problem with this design that I can see... if, like me, you keep your computer in any sort of shelving unit/cabinet, having the iPod dock on TOP of the computer may make it impossible for the computer to fit.

Some sort of dock in the front of the computer (like, where the CD/DVD drives are) would make more sense to me.
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Exactly. I know TONS of folks who use that little door to the left on their desk to hold their mini towers, and the iPod's extra 3.5-4 inches would throw that off. Close but no Cigar HP.
 
ashon3611 said:
Well since this dock is built in to the computer can we assume that the transfer rate will be faster than that of Firewire or USB connection? perhaps just as fast as the hard drive on the Ipod?
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USB 2.0 and Firewire 400/800 are both FASTER than the drive in the iPod, the hard drive is the bottleneck.
 
Ya think?

HAViK said:
They should have thrown in some insulation for my Jet Engine run Power Mac G5. o_O This thing bothers me when I'm in the bathroom it's so angry. Must be that folding@home stuff.
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Ya think? I can't imagine why the liquid would kick in while running Folding @home. It's only designed to use over 90% of both processors. I hear my crap PC that sits behind that little door on my desk over my G5 all the time, except when i get a 3D render going or something. You need to adjust Folding's preferences so it doesn't use so much Processor.

shamino said:
That iPod looks very snug up there...but why not so in a Mac Mini ? (or my G5 for that matter...)
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Because some stupid dock on top of the computer would ruin in Industrial design of the G5. . . It's sheer perfection. Mac mini, sure the iPod and Mini are made to look similar. G5 no way, I like my brushed aluminum beauty just the way it is.

And furthermore, I'm gonna go ahead and bet that 75% of people at least put their tower in a hard to readch place, I know one of mine is above my head and the other is on the floor inside a cabinet, (Gotta keep the ugly bastard hidden.) Either or, It would be a major pain in the keister just to plug the ipod into the top of either tower, not to mention it not even having the clearance in the cabinet. This gets two thumbs down. One thumb for trying to ride apple's wave, and another for an absolutely piss poor design.
 
HiRez said:
Wow, yet another craptastically ugly PC design. Those designers must be the saps that Ives got all his mojo from. It's kind of like the Homer car, only in a computer.
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What are you talking about? This thing is a design revolution, it's totally unlike anything we've ever seen before - it is ... Oh **** it - it's the biggest pile of **** on earth since Mammoths became extinct.
 
ekimsekeem said:
Just to let everyone know, the new m7000n Media Centers do not have a built in dock for an iPod/Camera. This is some misinformation on HP's part, the new Media Centers have a place to put an iPod dock that you can purchase separately and place in a compartment (usually used for CD's) on top of the computer.
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There should be an award for debunking misinformation / bad rumors. I nominate ekimsekeem. Thanks.

Just to repeat, because a few people have missed it, the HP m7000n does not have a built in dock. It has a space where you can put your iPod's dock.
 
Koodauw said:
I would like to see some sort of slide in dock, like putting an eight-track in. that would be sweet. Good idea in general though. I doubt we will see it on any macs any time soon though.
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Would you want to slide your iPod in and risk scratching it all up?
 
mac-er said:
No wonder the other PC companies don't have as big of a R&D budget as Apple...all the other companies just use Apple's R&D budget (by waiting for Apple to come out with something and then copying it)
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This reminds me of an old (and possibly true) joke.

McDonald's corporation spends millions of dollars in market research in order to determine the best locations to open new stores.

Burger King corporation simply opens stores across the street from existing McDonald's stores.
 
Not to be outdone, Micro$oft has released a keyboard sporting an iPod dock. When customers complained the dock interfered with the operation of the keyboard keys, a Micro$oft Public Relations person said it's Apple's fault and complaints should be addressed to Apple.

kb2.jpg


(That's some bad PS work, had to go to work...)
 
shamino said:
This reminds me of an old (and possibly true) joke.

McDonald's corporation spends millions of dollars in market research in order to determine the best locations to open new stores.

Burger King corporation simply opens stores across the street from existing McDonald's stores.
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Imitation is the best form of flattery. While it's not a beautiful machine, let them try to "innovate," at least it's better looking than a Dell or Gateway.
 
TheIguana said:
Now the only major problem with HP's new Pc's is they are way to big! Why can't any major computer maker other than Apple get it through their head that maybe people don't want a huge clunky piece of plastic stinking around.

Iggy :)
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Believe or not we're not the majority opinion. The average user wants that clunky piece of plastic because its practical.
 
it looks like some idiot had a ipodDock in one hand and a pc in the other and tried to clap.

to bad for apple, the color white cant be patented

my take,
-matt
 
Does anyone know if HP had to pay licensing to Apple for any reason? (either the feature itself, or advertising it with the word 'iPod')

Their collaboration with Apple on the H-pod seems to be paying off. =)
 
Great Stuff, man!

By not actually integrating a dock into the case, but rather putting a slot in the the case for a dock Apple will gain more sales of docks by iPod users who have HP PCs because people would prefer to have the dock. Its also a benefit because if the size of the iPod changes in thickness and a new dock is required, you can simply buy a new one and stick 'er in.

I am still hoping for a future in which HP will run Mac OS X. BUT, I don't think they should run it on an Intel or AMD processer. I don't see why people are so stuck on the topic of PC manufactures running OS X on x86 hardware -- I think we should talk up the subject of letting HP manufacture "Apple Clones".

Yes, of course, the already discussed subject of revenue loss but what if Apple charged a liscensing fee of some sort both for using Mac OS X and for using Apple-compatible hardware. I don't think sales of Apple hardware would shrink as the multitudes of the Mac faithful would continue to buy from Apple. More people would continue to buy Apple hardware since computer upgrades would be added to Apple products 3-6 weeks before an update by HP and iPod updates would occur by HP 4-8 weeks later.

In conclusion, instead of focusing on this iPod dock semi-integration as an attempt to copy Apple, think of it as an attempt to join Apple and eventually sell Apple-compatible hardware based on the PowerPC architecture rather than x86.

(Comes out of lurking to type this response which has been, well, lurking in my mind for quite some time.)

Maybe should I post this in the OS X 10.4 for PC? thread as well or should it be made into its own topic? Someone decide for me, please :)

Comments appreciated!
 
im_to_hyper said:
I am still hoping for a future in which HP will run Mac OS X. BUT, I don't think they should run it on an Intel or AMD processer. I don't see why people are so stuck on the topic of PC manufactures running OS X on x86 hardware -- I think we should talk up the subject of letting HP manufacture "Apple Clones".
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Good idea. But I think we need a bigger IBM because they are a major bottleneck with G5s.
 
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