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  • SATURDAY JULY 30 2005 12:00 PM

HP To Stop Rebranding iPods

Submitted by jake_lex

Edited by Shal

One of the stranger corporate alliances in recent memory is coming an end, as Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will stop rebranding and re-selling iPods. HP-branded iPods had accounted for about 5% of iPod sales.

The move seems a bit puzzling, since HP had just introduced their models of the iPod Mini and Shuffle, but analysts think it's part of a larger effort to clean up the mess Carly Fiorina made of Hewlett-Packard in her recently-ended term as CEO, and to strengthen their own name in manufacturing entertainment products.

Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research, said the breakup was logical for HP.

"For a company like HP, it does not make sense for them to resell someone else's product," he said. "They are a technology company. They're an innovator. ... It makes a lot of sense for HP to do their own. Whether it actually sells or not, that remains to be seen."

HP said it will continue to honor all warranties and service contracts. The HP devices will remain on sale until supplies run out sometime in September, Camp said.

The announcement ends one of Fiorina's biggest announcements before her ouster earlier this year. Since then, new CEO Mark Hurd has embarked on a major reorganization that includes 14,500 job cuts and the undoing of some of Fiorina's initiatives, including her combination of the company's printer and personal computer businesses.

"This was Carly's deal and it's being unwound," Wu said. Hurd "is putting his own stamp on the company."



Under the original agreement, HP cannot sell its own MP3-type player until August 2006. They will continue to ship HP computers with iTunes pre-installed.

The news comes as reports continue to circulate the sales of iPods are levelling off and, indeed, in decline, so this can't be seen as particularly good news for Apple.

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Comments
Greenwolfman

Greenwolfman

Park Ridge, IL
January 2004

JUL 31, 2005 01:42 AM

Of course sales will level off and even drop, most people that want and ipod, have one. Apple has made their money and are being smart and expanding into new areas.

AceTracer

acetracer

Hollywood, FL
January 2004

JUL 31, 2005 01:47 AM

I like HP, they make relatively solid products and have openly embraced open technologies. But HP hasn't innovated in a very long time.

I also feel a bit sorry for that CEO, must've been really hard for her in about the most male-dominated market that exists today. How they outed her had to be tough.

adjunct

adjunct

Philadelphia, PA
July 2002

JUL 31, 2005 01:59 AM

I think that Fiorina made it tough on herself. When she took over, rather than rely on HP's research to give the company some direction, she made high-visibility decisions that basically smacked of marketing and pandering to a lower-end consumer base. It came off as fighting for the lower end of the market, instead of trying to deliver the better quality products HP has traditionally been known for.

BiggerThenBen

BiggerThenBen

Antarctica
June 2005

JUL 31, 2005 02:59 AM

HP never manufactured iPods for Apple period. This title is totally misleading. HP simple took a standard Apple iPod and gave it a HP brand blue cover.

As for the "Apple's iPod shipments probably dropped in the third quarter from the second, Bloomberg.com says" - is just another analyst the same analyst's who have been proclaiming the end of the iPod since the day it came out.

Just like last quarter were analyzed were claiming that the iPod would shrink only to have it break sales forecasts again.

Infinity

Infinity

USA
June 2004

JUL 31, 2005 06:38 AM

HP sold about 7% of the total iPods. This really isn't anything important

freshprncebelair

freshprncebelair

Ellicott City, MD
June 2004

JUL 31, 2005 10:27 AM

AceTracer said:
I also feel a bit sorry for that CEO, must've been really hard for her in about the most male-dominated market that exists today. How they outed her had to be tough.




The only reason I feel sorry for Carly Fiorina is because she is borderline retarded.

She took a once great company, and basically destroyed it.

She is to HP what Michael Eisner is to Disney. The damage she did to HP will take years to fix, assuming it ever becomes undone.

Carmady

Carmady

United Kingdom
January 2005

JUL 31, 2005 12:02 PM

Unless Hurd & the board of play-it-safe corporateers put more of an emphasis back onto R&D and innovation, rather than just producing consumer-targetted goods on the back of other's discoveries, the future surely can't look anything but bleak for HP?

fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

JUL 31, 2005 02:30 PM

MrPotatoHead said:
HP never manufactured iPods for Apple period. This title is totally misleading. HP simple took a standard Apple iPod and gave it a HP brand blue cover.

As for the "Apple's iPod shipments probably dropped in the third quarter from the second, Bloomberg.com says" - is just another analyst the same analyst's who have been proclaiming the end of the iPod since the day it came out.

Just like last quarter were analyzed were claiming that the iPod would shrink only to have it break sales forecasts again.



i kinda wondered: why would apple let somebody else manufacture one of their hottest products for them?

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