HP and Apple Separate; Apple gets Custody 213
Kasracer writes "Yesterday, The Register reported that HP separated from Apple's iPod selling agreement. 'Doing its best to erase Carly Fiorina's mistakes, HP has culled an iPod reselling agreement in place with Apple since January of 2004.' It is unclear whether or not HP will create an mp3 player or partner with another computer to fill the void."
Is it just me... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Is it just me... (Score:5, Insightful)
It worked for Apple because it got iPods in more retail outlets, expanded production lines, spread liability and production expense, and got iTunes put on HP computers.
It worked for HP by allowing them to associate themselves with the cool cachet of the iPod brand.
That was the idea, anyway. I think Apple got a lot more out of the deal, though, which is why HP pulled the plug.
Re:Do you think... (Score:5, Insightful)
Invent? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Is it just me... (Score:3, Insightful)
It doesn't guarantee a file isn't corrupt.
The problem under OS X is the preference files are not flushed to disk when they should be. (They occasionally get corrupted and cause grief)
My favorite quote from the article... (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't make me laugh. Sony pre-announced the VAIO Pocket over one year ago. In that time, Apple has sold, what, something like 18 million plus iPods?
3Q2005 iPod sales ~= 6.2 million units
2Q2005 iPod sales ~= 5.3 million units
1Q2005 iPod sales ~= 4.5 million units
4Q2004 iPod sales ~= 2.0 million units
3Q2004 iPod sales ~= 0.86 million units
Do Mr. Robinson and The Register seriously think that the VAIO Pocket is going to "kill" a product line which has sold nearly 20 million units just in the time since Sony pre-announced the VAIO Pocket? Never mind what the rest of the world has already said concerning the viability of the VAIO Pocket...
Apple isn't stitting in Cupertino on their hands, I'm certain.
Re:No wonder they split. (Score:2, Insightful)
Many customers went so far as ordering an out of stock Apple version instead of buying the in-stock HP ipod - Last Christmas season we quiickly sold out of Apple iPods and only then did the HP units start to move.
Technically the only real difference between the two is that Apple provides support for only the Apple branded ones, same with HP & their model. Many customers were not aware of that, so I think that the Apple brand itself was the draw.
No just the calculators. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Do you think... (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft is not concerned about the physical player per se, but every iPod that's sold means there's one more person who won't be buying music from an online store that uses Windows Media format. So Microsoft does have something to lose.
Just the fact that Apple and MS are market rivals doesn't mean that MS would try to threaten a company like HP from promoting Apple products.
What are you talking about? They've already done that! [usdoj.gov] Years ago, when PC makers started trying to bundle Netscape Navigator, Microsoft pressured them to stop with threats like increasing the price they paid for Windows, or revoking their Windows distribution license entirely.
It's not really likely that MS threatened HP in this case, but MS is certainly no stranger to such behavior (Read from paragraph 230 in the above link).
~Philly
Re:WAL-MART (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Any which way but up. (Score:3, Insightful)
I've worked for 2 fortune 500 companies, and no, there often is no logic to these deals. My suspicion is that most of them get done in the club house after a round or two of golf and some cocktails.
It was so bad that when we had ideas to make things run smoother the catch phrase was 'That would make sense'. Meaning, good idea, it would probably work and save the company a ton of money but either management will refuse to consider it or if they try to implement it they will screw it up so bad your name will be mud and your career at the company essentially would be over.
See Dilbert for more insights...
HTH
HAND