[Parky]

The HP site www.hpshopping.com now has the "Apple iPod by HP" on sale.

They don't expect delivery until 15th September, so it's a pre-order only, which is strange as Apple have them available now.

Either HP packaging is taking longer to implement, or there is some other difference.

It's going to be white and silver just like the Apple models, seems they saw sense and dropped the 'HP Blue'.

No indication from the site of any differences between the HP and Apple versions.

It seems quite strange that they named it 'Apple iPod by HP', BIG plug for Apple as well.

Ian

[Eriamjh]

Since the hPod is now identical to the iPod (with the possible exception of packaging or a sticker on the box), what is the point of HP selling them? Dell used to sell them (even at a discount). HP will probably not be allowed to reduce prices either (heck, no one can).

I guess HP thinks that hPods will help sell HP computers like Apple thought iPods would help sell Macs.

[im_noahselby]

Remember, HP has broad distribution at electronics retailers. If they share the same white design, than I think there could be a definite possibiliy of the HP models outselling Apple's iPods.

The only question left now is, when will we see ipod HP mini!!!

Noah

[atlcane]

It looks just like apples ipod. I thought it was supposed to look different.

[SeSawaya]

Identicle in everyway except what its says on the back.

crazy.

[osxisfun]

the tatoos will probably be the only difference in the short term. although HP said they are going to sell the tatoo paper so coming soon ... Porno-Ipod !

[iPond317]

I'm excited because RadioShack is a retailer for hp and we will be selling the new hPod! Check out the top corner of this month's sales flyer "HP + iPod coming to a RadioShack near you"

I nearly crapped my pants when I read that!

[Hydra]

Originally posted by iPond317:
I'm excited because RadioShack is a retailer for hp and we will be selling the new hPod! Check out the top corner of this month's sales flyer "HP + iPod coming to a RadioShack near you"

I nearly crapped my pants when I read that!

With all these new sales outlets for the iPod through HP, Apple may start double iPod sales. I can't imagine a hot product like this getting so much hotter but it looks like it may happen.

-Jerry C.

[atlcane]

Well Target, Comp USA, Circuit City, all sell the Ipod. I guess the HP deal will get in some more remote towns around the country.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Do you think they have some kind of licensing agreement with Apple? Or, does Apple get a certain % of sales...

[GORDYmac]

We are now ubiquitous.

[psk-ele]

CompUSA, Circuit City, and Best Buy already sell the Apple branded iPod. Does this mean they will be carrying two brands of iPod (Apple and HP) or just one of the two brands. Seems a bit redundant to have both at any one location.

[tooki]

Originally posted by Mrjinglesusa:
Do you think they have some kind of licensing agreement with Apple? Or, does Apple get a certain % of sales...

Uhh, Apple will be making them, I kinda suspect that they will want payment for them!

tooki

[Parky]

I guess Apple and HP will be splitting the profit from the HP iPod sales.
They may go for a 50/50 split.

I only hope the increase number of iPods sold will make up for the loss of margin on the HP iPods sold.

Ian

[ThaShef]

I personally think this was a bad move for Apple, a good move for the Consumer.

Apple iPod by HP is already available for $250~ at Buy.com.

In the long run, the price of the iPod will go down because of this deal. And I am hoping the quality of the product wont degrade.

[sbjordal]

my question is:

what target audience does HP aim for? With an identical product already in the marketplace, what *exactly* is the point? It looks the same, it costs the same, so what's the point? It's not like HP suddenly found a market that had never heard of the iPod before???

[telem]

Originally posted by sbjordal:
my question is:

what target audience does HP aim for? With an identical product already in the marketplace, what *exactly* is the point? It looks the same, it costs the same, so what's the point? It's not like HP suddenly found a market that had never heard of the iPod before???

HP doesn't have to spend time and money developing a product, Apple makes some money from the hPods, Apple gets its name in front of even more people AND this makes iTunes an even stronger player in the music download biz.

[Parky]

HP gives the iPod even more credibility within the Windows community.

Ian

[Hydra]

Also it won't hurt to have every HP ship with iTunes from the factory with the looming MS vs. Apple music war. So any margin loss due to cheaper hPods can be offset by improved sales at the iTMS potentially as well as keeping Apple's marketshare up.

-Jerry C.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally posted by tooki:
Uhh, Apple will be making them, I kinda suspect that they will want payment for them!

tooki

Duh. My question was asking what KIND of payment will Apple get. I assume HP pays a marked down price for them and then sells them for what they want.

[Superchicken]

Let me break it down for you. HP is BIG on selling you not just a comp but a printer, a camera and everything else you buy, now they can sell you an iPod. They don't want to sell you a MP3 player, because MP3 players are getting trounced by iPods.
For Apple this means all those people who buy HP comps and just decided to buy everything else HP makes, they will also buy these. It also means iTunes ends up on a LOT more computers, IE the #2 PC maker, that's BIG, This is really going to help iTunes cemenet it's lead.

Also considering HP and Dell's big pissing contest, HP and Apple both doesn't like Dell, Dell is going after the iPod to try and kill it, HP says hey let's pee in Dell's coffee.

[stevesnj]

HP wants to sell a poular device to make money...simple as that.

[mtroute]

HP is doing nothing more than reselling the iPod...They pay Apple probably a great wholesale price and they resell the product. The only difference this will have is that now you no longer have to be an Apple authorized reseller to sell the iPod. Got an Ingram or Techdata account order the hPod and sell it in your crappy PC store...Great for Apple, more channel exposure, incrementally great for HP, no production or research charges and a few buck profit.

[chrisutley]

HP iPod sales won't come close to Apple's. This distribution agreement is pretty insignificant really, unless it leads to something else down the road.

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
Remember, HP has broad distribution at electronics retailers. If they share the same white design, than I think there could be a definite possibiliy of the HP models outselling Apple's iPods.

The only question left now is, when will we see ipod HP mini!!!

Noah

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Parky:
HP gives the iPod even more credibility within the Windows community.

Ian

I think that's the main point where Apple actually benefits from the deal. Financially, they will not gain. I doubt that it will generate a lot of additional sales. Whoever wanted an iPod was able to get one.


-t

[turtle777]

Originally posted by ThaShef:
I personally think this was a bad move for Apple, a good move for the Consumer.

Apple iPod by HP is already available for $250~ at Buy.com

Link, please !
I find them for $ 279 at buy.com.

-t

[umijin]

Originally posted by turtle777:
I think that's the main point where Apple actually benefits from the deal. Financially, they will not gain. I doubt that it will generate a lot of additional sales. Whoever wanted an iPod was able to get one.


-t

I don't think HP lends any credibility to the iPod at all. It doesn't need any crediblity - has plenty on its own and has more than Apple's own computers.

Does it add any real cred to Apple? Nope.

-umijin

[patman600]

One idea I haven't seen discussed yet: is Apple allowing hp to sell rebranded iPods merely a concession to also have hp put iTunes on all their pc's. This seems like the real plus for apple. It gives a broader base for iTunes, which should help with the survival of the music store against microsoft, and would thus help the iPod. HP selling iPods may only be a marginal benefit to iPod sales, but it certainly won't hurt them, and it should greatly help iTunes music store. Apple having the number 1 position in one market helps them maintain the number 1 position in the other. This seems like the real goal to me.

[Parky]

Originally posted by umijin:
I don't think HP lends any credibility to the iPod at all. It doesn't need any crediblity - has plenty on its own and has more than Apple's own computers.

Does it add any real cred to Apple? Nope.

-umijin

I think you are wrong.

I have seen quite a few people who are anti-iPod simply because they come from Apple and not a 'PC' supplier. They don't even consider looking at the iPod or read info about them with open eyes, because they are so anti-Apple.

I think the fact that HP are now selling them and installing iTunes will get to some of the 'hard core' Apple haters. I may soften a few and in some cases may just get them to consider the iPod as a viable option.

Ian

[phillyjoe]

I read in an article from Ziff Davis (An hp iPod and More) that HP will have a better warranty "one year warranty (compared to 90 days for Apple's iPod) and tech support."

This would beg the question, why buy from Apple if all else is the same?

[krokodilen]

as I see it, HP can sell iPods to a different market, and consumer base then apple.

regular people who walk into their local computer store and thinks, hey, that's a pretty cool device, I'm gonna get one of those.

People who never seen a ipod before, people who didnt feel they need they wanted one.

It's not directed to the group of people who knows apple make the iPod,
they know about apple stores, they know where to get one.

So far Apple on put up commercials for the iPod in big cities, and only resellers in big cities sell them, atleast in sweden... what about the rest of the country?

With HP's sell channels I think they will even sell more iPods then apple.

I think it's great they look identical as apple's iPod, this is something that both HP and Apple will gain alot from...

My only concern is can apple produce the quantities neaded?

[Fellow2000]

You guys are missing the reason Apple did this. HP has agreed to ship every computer out its door with iTunes set up as the default music player. That is HUGE for apple.

well, patman had it anyways.

[kerryb]

What I understand about this is that HP wants (needs) to make an entry into the digital appliance world like so many of the big computer companies have already done. They figured they could or would not compete against the iPod directly and by selling a slightly re-branded version they would get a start into that world and pick up some cool factor from the incredible gadget. If this goes well Apple and HP may be introduce other digital lifestyle products with Apple designing and HP opening the PC world for that product.

[B.I.L]

I remember in my readings about the Microsoft antitrust case, that the major PC makers are (quietly) upset about the power and leverage that MS holds against them. I think HP saw an area where they could break from the MS regime, so they went for it. This would only be part of the picture, but a factor none the less.

[StrongBad]

Originally posted by phillyjoe:
I read in an article from Ziff Davis (An hp iPod and More) that HP will have a better warranty "one year warranty (compared to 90 days for Apple's iPod) and tech support."

This would beg the question, why buy from Apple if all else is the same?

Apple has a one year warranty, and extended AppleCare for $59 for a 2nd year.


They'll let anyone write an article, all you need is the ability to drool.

[quesera]

Just noticed Apple HP iPod for sale on Costco.com. That's gotta be a pretty big distribution channel and hopefully will allow Apple to make inroads with a market segment they maybe haven't yet reached.

[ratlater]

Originally posted by chrisutley:
HP iPod sales won't come close to Apple's. This distribution agreement is pretty insignificant really, unless it leads to something else down the road.

Most people expect the HP iPod sales to outstrip Apple's very quickly. I don't think you realize how large HP's distribution channels are. Radio Shack, Costco, every computer store in the country sells HP gear.

Plus HP is the second largest computer seller, and all of their systems are coming with iTunes pre-installed. More iPods means more power for iTMS. This is a great deal for Apple.

-matt

[uochris]

According to HP

Requirements-
PC with FireWire or USB 2.0 port, or FireWire or USB 2.0 card; Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or Windows XP Home or Professional

And if you go to buy it online at http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/h...me=product.cgi under the compatible with section there is only a windows icon. Interesting. I'm sure they just left out any mention of Macintosh compatibility but it's interesting to me that they did it.

[gadgetgav]

Originally posted by uochris:
According to HP

Requirements-
PC with FireWire or USB 2.0 port, or FireWire or USB 2.0 card; Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or Windows XP Home or Professional

And if you go to buy it online at http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/h...me=product.cgi under the compatible with section there is only a windows icon. Interesting. I'm sure they just left out any mention of Macintosh compatibility but it's interesting to me that they did it.

Last time I checked, HP didn't make Macintosh machines, so why would they need to include compatibility with them when trying to sell 'their' iPod..?

As for warranty issues, we just had an iPod replaced because the HD was dying. It was well over 90 days old, but still within 1 year. We walked into the Apple Store, they tried to boot it up, heard the noise the HD was making and disappeared into the back room. They came back out with a refurb which was in prisinte condition and we walked away with effectively a brand new iPod 10 minutes after going in. Will HP have support like THAT..?

...and I assume the poster who was getting excited about it being stocked in Radio Shack was being ironic... Radio Shack is hardly a brand concious outlet and as others have pointed out, you can already buy iPods in Target and Circuit City. There can't be many places that have a RS store that don't have one of the other retailers within reasonable distance.

To my mind, this is only about getting iTunes into more PC users hands. That's probably why the HP blue one was dropped - too much added cost considering the margins on the iPod through this deal.

[Parky]

Originally posted by gadgetgav:
Last time I checked, HP didn't make Macintosh machines, so why would they need to include compatibility with them when trying to sell 'their' iPod..?

As for warranty issues, we just had an iPod replaced because the HD was dying. It was well over 90 days old, but still within 1 year. We walked into the Apple Store, they tried to boot it up, heard the noise the HD was making and disappeared into the back room. They came back out with a refurb which was in prisinte condition and we walked away with effectively a brand new iPod 10 minutes after going in. Will HP have support like THAT..?

...and I assume the poster who was getting excited about it being stocked in Radio Shack was being ironic... Radio Shack is hardly a brand concious outlet and as others have pointed out, you can already buy iPods in Target and Circuit City. There can't be many places that have a RS store that don't have one of the other retailers within reasonable distance.

To my mind, this is only about getting iTunes into more PC users hands. That's probably why the HP blue one was dropped - too much added cost considering the margins on the iPod through this deal.

Just a few small points.

The HP iPod is compatible with Macs, so why not say so, this can only make it more attractive, why not mention a feature, unless Apple insisted. Are you saying that Mac owners can only buy 'Apple; iPods and that if an Apple owner was looking to buy an iPod and they saw one in the store they were in they should not buy it because it was an HP one? If they look at the box and it says 'PC' and not Mac they might not buy it.

In the UK if we buy goods from a retailer and they are faulty we can return them under the sale of goods act, within 3 months it would be usual for the retailer to swap the item (for a new one, not a refurb), after this time it is seen as reasonable to allow the retailer to repair the item, but in the case of the iPod I suspect they would give a new one as they can't be repaired, we don't have to accept refurbs. And the warranty on a replacement starts from the day it is replaced, so another 12 months cover.

Don't assume the only place that HP will be selling these is in the US. In the UK we should get the same service at all stores, John Lewis for example will go over and above what is usual and exchange anytime in the first year on faulty goods, they even give free 2 year warranties. We also don't have any Apple Stores yet, we will get the first one in November in London.

Ian

[wei]

well, i'll just wait and see, i wonder whats the mysterious feature apple & hp is keeping from us. if it does matter a lot, i will just sell my 3G and get a 4G

[Welnic]

Originally posted by gadgetgav:

...
...and I assume the poster who was getting excited about it being stocked in Radio Shack was being ironic... Radio Shack is hardly a brand concious outlet and as others have pointed out, you can already buy iPods in Target and Circuit City. There can't be many places that have a RS store that don't have one of the other retailers within reasonable distance.
...

As I read it, it sounds like the guy worked at Radio Shack. That seems to be a good reason to be excited about it.

[sligett]

Originally posted by gadgetgav:
...and I assume the poster who was getting excited about it being stocked in Radio Shack was being ironic... Radio Shack is hardly a brand concious outlet and as others have pointed out, you can already buy iPods in Target and Circuit City. There can't be many places that have a RS store that don't have one of the other retailers within reasonable distance.

Well, Target and Circuit City are an extra hours' drive away for me. And then an hour back, of course. YMMV

[Athens]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
Remember, HP has broad distribution at electronics retailers. If they share the same white design, than I think there could be a definite possibiliy of the HP models outselling Apple's iPods.

The only question left now is, when will we see ipod HP mini!!!

Noah

Apple wont let that happen, in the end Apple still controls the supply of the iPod and will always make sure they have enough for there customers. HP might be a bigger distribution network but in the end there supply will come from Apple.

[Manthas]

Originally posted by mtroute:
HP is doing nothing more than reselling the iPod...They pay Apple probably a great wholesale price and they resell the product. The only difference this will have is that now you no longer have to be an Apple authorized reseller to sell the iPod. Got an Ingram or Techdata account order the hPod and sell it in your crappy PC store...Great for Apple, more channel exposure, incrementally great for HP, no production or research charges and a few buck profit.

Still, I don't think this association is such a great idea. Apple is FINALLY being widely recognized for making a quality product. When you buy an iPod you get the impression that its a carefully crafted product made by a smaller company that cares about what they make. I'm afraid that tacking the HP brand 1) creates confusion, and 2) cheapens their name. Now this is like saying 'the new Porsche 911...from Hyundai'. More exposure but at what cost?

[f1000]

More adverts for the HP iPod, from Yahoo's front page:

[mtroute]

Originally posted by Manthas:
Still, I don't think this association is such a great idea. Apple is FINALLY being widely recognized for making a quality product. When you buy an iPod you get the impression that its a carefully crafted product made by a smaller company that cares about what they make. I'm afraid that tacking the HP brand 1) creates confusion, and 2) cheapens their name. Now this is like saying 'the new Porsche 911...from Hyundai'. More exposure but at what cost?

But remember the audience, most of whom have a poor or non-existent opinion of Apple. Most HP customers consider HP a quality manufacturer, consider your inkjet printer and your opinion of it.

Porsche 911 and Hyundai!? I think the Ford Contour / Jaguar X-Series is a better example of cheapening a brand...

[Hydra]

I hate to break it to people but HP has a much better standing in the business community and many other markets than Apple does. The Hyundai comment makes no sense in that a 911 badged as one being sold at the same price is the identical product. Porsche's Cayenne is based on VW's Toureg but they seem to not have trouble selling $100k VW's under the Porsche crest Some people hate Apple and won't look any further. A PC maker like HP can at least give some of the cynics an excuse to look at the iPod. One thing I hear from some PC fanatics is that they refuse to buy anything from Apple becuase of hearing stories of horrible service, what company doesn't drop the ball occasionally?, and this takes that exuse away with HP supporting the thing.

-Jerry C.

[Lancer409]

the secret? ... maybe the new ipods have the ability to sprout diamonds on the back. ... seriously though ... for the price of p diddy's diamond encrusted ipod, they coulda held a promo and gave a bunch away ... pff .. like he doesnt have the money to put diamonds on an ipod ... i dont get it .. it seems the richer you are, the more diamond encrusted handouts you get ... what the feck. i'm just moaning cause i'm jealous ... =P