It
has been one year since Hewlett Packard and Apple partnered up allowing
HP to resell their own version of the iPod but now both companies have
confirmed the end of the agreement. HP’s iPod was identical to the
Apple iPod, but branded as a HP product. Claiming the iPod does not fit
with the company’s current digital entertainment strategy, HP says they
will stop selling the player by late September. The company says they
will continue to offer support for current HP iPod owners.
The alliance was formed when Carly Fiorina was still at the head of the company but new CEO Mark Hurd is more interested in streamlining and cutting down costs. An industry analyst suggests the iPod was never an important source of revenue for HP. Currently, sales of HP iPods are estimated at only five percent of total iPod sales. Even though HP iPods were the same as Apple’s, HP lagged behind. The fact that the company only started offering the iPod mini and Shuffle this past June is an indication of just how unimportant iPods are to HP right now.
As part of the agreement, HP cannot release its own competing music player until August 2006. The company has not announced any plans to develop their own player and will continue to bundle the Apple iTunes software with new PCs.
Sources:
www.Reuters.com
www.SiliconValley.com
The alliance was formed when Carly Fiorina was still at the head of the company but new CEO Mark Hurd is more interested in streamlining and cutting down costs. An industry analyst suggests the iPod was never an important source of revenue for HP. Currently, sales of HP iPods are estimated at only five percent of total iPod sales. Even though HP iPods were the same as Apple’s, HP lagged behind. The fact that the company only started offering the iPod mini and Shuffle this past June is an indication of just how unimportant iPods are to HP right now.
As part of the agreement, HP cannot release its own competing music player until August 2006. The company has not announced any plans to develop their own player and will continue to bundle the Apple iTunes software with new PCs.
Sources:
www.Reuters.com
www.SiliconValley.com
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