More HP iPod Details...

[MacRumors]

ZDNet fills in more details about the upcoming HP-branded iPod device.

Apple will manufacture the player, which will not have the iPod name, but will have the same design and features as Apple's third-generation iPod players, Phil Schiller, senior vice president at Apple, said in an interview. Also, the HP music player will come in "HP Blue," he said.

According to Phil Schiller, the HP device will have an Apple logo at start up and will work with current 3rd Generation iPod accessories.

While Apple does not exclude the possibility of other company-branded iPods, the HP deal to bundle the iTunes Music Store with their PCs is reportedly a "multiyear, exclusive" deal.

Of note, there is still no official word on the capacities or price of the new HP iPod.

 

[Over Achiever]

Well that's interesting. And HP iPod...maybe I'll buy one!

Cost will be the same, or will it depend on HP? Because I can see HP selling it for a bit cheaper, making it more attractive to buy...

-O.A.

 

[tofi]

I think it will be absolete if no new feature has been added ...
if based on 3 g ipod then it would be somewhat old in summer

maybe a 200 $ 3g branded ipod

 

[kjottbein]

This is really weird. Who would want an iPod that has "HP" written all over it?

Besides, isn't iPod a strong brand? Everyone knows they are good. So why disguise it as something else?

EDIT: They should call it HiPod

 

[mdouglas]

hotdamn! way to go Apple!

 

[sethypoo]

I've never really liked HP, but it would be interesting to see if they end up undercutting Apple's iPod sales.

 

[tfr]

Originally posted by kjottbein
Besides, isn't iPod a strong brand? Everyone knows they are good. So why disguise it as something else?

I guess the idea came from HP here, not Apple. Dell has an "iPod clone", so HP wanted one in their line-up to keep up - there are probably a lot of people who want to get a bundle of devices from one brand, to have to deal with only one customer/tech support, etc. And HP figured out it's cheaper and better for them to rebrand iPod than to try to develop their own which probably will come out crappier than iPod.

And for Apple, it was better to sell HP their iPod and make money out of it rather than turn them down and lead them to creating a competing product.

 

[Le Big Mac]

Originally posted by tfr


And for Apple, it was better to sell HP their iPod and make money out of it rather than turn them down and lead them to creating a competing product.

Exactly. This way, Apple has a non-Apple-branded outlet for their product. I'm sure pricing has already been specified, and will be nearly identical to the iPod for the same product.

 

[srobert]

Any first impressions about the HP Blue? ^_^

 

[Dippo]

If HP was going to make a music player, they would have ended up making a poor copy of the iPod just like Dell.

So, it makes sense for HP to just buy some clones from Apple. Why would HP want to invest all that time and money into making another bad copy when they could just buy some clones from Apple of the best music player?

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Originally posted by tfr
I guess the idea came from HP here, not Apple. Dell has an "iPod clone", so HP wanted one in their line-up to keep up - there are probably a lot of people who want to get a bundle of devices from one brand, to have to deal with only one customer/tech support, etc. And HP figured out it's cheaper and better for them to rebrand iPod than to try to develop their own which probably will come out crappier than iPod.

And for Apple, it was better to sell HP their iPod and make money out of it rather than turn them down and lead them to creating a competing product.

Not mention discounts and better financing at places like Best Buy. Really does open the question of price errosion on the Apple iPod....

 

[el_aarono]

thinking outloud....

I assume these HP iPods will be windows and Mac compatible...

It would be weird to see a windows only iPod now.

If it really is just a re-branding then they would have to be compatible with both, right?

 

[sw1tcher]

Originally posted by kjottbein
This is really weird. Who would want an iPod that has "HP" written all over it?

Besides, isn't iPod a strong brand? Everyone knows they are good. So why disguise it as something else?

EDIT: They should call it HiPod

HP custmers, that's who. If someone was shopping for an HP pc, then the HP iPod would make a good attachment to help boost the already low gross margin on the PC up a bit since the HP iPod would have better margins.

Other potential customers would be those looking to get an MP3 player to match their HP pc. And if HP can sell them at a discount compared to Apple prices, then a lot of pc users as well.

I wonder if the HP iPod will also be mac/pc compatible. If so, I might consider one as well, if the price was right.

 

[Dippo]

Re: thinking outloud....

Originally posted by el_aarono
I assume these HP iPods will be windows and Mac compatible...

It would be weird to see a windows only iPod now.

If it really is just a re-branding then they would have to be compatible with both, right?

I am sure Apple made Mac compatability a requirement. It would be hard to convince people to switch if they had to buy a new Music Player (the iPod) when they already had an HPod.

 

[Ransath]

Originally posted by sethypoo
I've never really liked HP, but it would be interesting to see if they end up undercutting Apple's iPod sales.

Okay - a short business lesson to you folks out there that think this will somehow impact iPod sales.

First off - do you fully understand what Apple is doing here? They WILL BE selling the iPod, just with a slightly different package. Now, who do you think is actually going to manufature this player? Apple!!! NOT HP!! Apple will just be "reselling" it to HP. Apple will get the lion's share of the profit of every hPod sold. HP will get a bit of the profit, but Apple is the one that will make out.

That's what makes this such a great deal for Apple. They still control the manufacturing and the quality. They still reap the majority of the profits.

So what does HP get out of this? As we all know, most PC users are clones (bear with me). They just buy whatever the big comany is touting as their best stuff. So, if HP says - 'hey, our MP3 player is the best (which it will be)" all those clones will buy it from HP. Also, HP doesn't have to bear the cost of setting up it's own online music store. So, HP spends NOTHING on manufacturing and software costs, they earn a nice little profit on each hPod sold, they offer their customers an HP branded sloution for the digital music wants, and all they have to do is a little promotion.

That is what is called a WIN/WIN situation!!!

 

[IJ Reilly]

FWIW, this would not have been possible without the Microsoft antitrust case settlement -- which only goes to show, it might have been worse.

 

[blueBomber]

If it costs less than Apple's ipod (purely hypotheticaly) and works with itunes on my mac, I will buy one. And in response to the ipod blue pic; HP is know for making things silver and grey with semi-transparent smoked plastic. So it will probably resemble something like that

 

[Ransath]

Re: Re: thinking outloud....

Originally posted by Dippo
I am sure Apple made Mac compatability a requirement. It would be hard to convince people to switch if they had to buy a new Music Player (the iPod) when they already had an HPod.

Don't you folks realize that ALL iPods are both Windows/Mac compatible? It just depends on how you format them!!!

Example - my gen2 iPod was a Windows iPod. I bought a new Powerbook in October, promptly reformatted my WINDOWS iPod and now I use it my Mac.

 

[diniscorreia]

Hmm I have mixed feelings about this.

I mean, wasn't the iPod/iTMS on Windows supposed to bring folks to the Mac world?
Besides, there will be two similar devices, one HP-branded the other Apple branded?...

Will the consumer be confused or what?

 

[sketchy]

Originally posted by sw1tcher
HP custmers, that's who. If someone was shopping for an HP pc, then the HP iPod would make a good attachment to help boost the already low gross margin on the PC up a bit since the HP iPod would have better margins.

Other potential customers would be those looking to get an MP3 player to match their HP pc. And if HP can sell them at a discount compared to Apple prices, then a lot of pc users as well.

I think HP will bundle then with a computer, possibly making the keyboard or tower dockable. With PC computer prices at low prices, HP can market a computer eith en HP iPod and charge more for it. making money from the iPod and more money from the computer.

 

[blueBomber]

Re: Re: Re: thinking outloud....

Originally posted by Ransath
Don't you folks realize that ALL iPods are both Windows/Mac compatible? It just depends on how you format them!!!

Example - my gen2 iPod was a Windows iPod. I bought a new Powerbook in October, promptly reformatted my WINDOWS iPod and now I use it my Mac.

Yes, I'm sure most everyone is aware of this. But the possibility of lock-out abilities exist, although I would like to think it's something Apple would never agree to.

 

[srobert]

Originally posted by blueBomber
If it costs less than Apple's ipod (purely hypotheticaly) and works with itunes on my mac, I will buy one. And in response to the ipod blue pic; HP is know for making things silver and grey with semi-transparent smoked plastic. So it will probably resemble something like that

HP CEO's SAID it would be HP BLUE himself.

 

[mikeyredk]

anyone know if the HPs' keynote speech from comdex is going to be broadcasted online

 

[diniscorreia]

Originally posted by Ransath
Okay - a short business lesson to you folks out there that think this will somehow impact iPod sales.

First off - do you fully understand what Apple is doing here? They WILL BE selling the iPod, just with a slightly different package. Now, who do you think is actually going to manufature this player? Apple!!! NOT HP!! Apple will just be "reselling" it to HP. Apple will get the lion's share of the profit of every hPod sold. HP will get a bit of the profit, but Apple is the one that will make out.

One word: brand
Right now, iPod equals Apple. What will happen then?

 

[blueBomber]

Originally posted by srobert
HP CEO's SAID it would be HP BLUE himself.

I missed that, my mistake. Thankfully, your unecessary caps lock pointed it out.

Hmmmm.... I've seen some of HP's printers that are HP blue (the Deskjet 3820 comes to mind), I really don't agree with it, but since when do pc manufactures know anything about good design?