CEO Mark Hurd seems intent on purging HP of the effect of just about every decision ex-CEO Carly Fiorina made during her tenure.
HP will no longer sell the iconic Apple iPod media player, branded with the HP logo. The arrangement always seemed like an odd pairing. Apple is well-known for flashy hardware and a dead-sexy user interface. HP is known for making printers that will probably outlive many of the admins who’ve changed their toner cartridges and filled their paper trays for years and years.
BusinessWeek has reported the companies mutually decided to end the partnership. “HP has decided that reselling iPods does not fit within the company’s current digital entertainment strategy,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said in the article. “As a result, HP plans to stop reselling iPods by the end of this September.”
Probably more astonishing to the casual gadget fan would be the notion that HP has a digital entertainment strategy. Much as we appreciate the super-talented HP support people who can resurrect a 3Si printer from the hardware graveyard, we just can’t see them dropping deep trance mixes on a crowd of ravers at 3 am.
HP’s sales reportedly contributed five percent of total iPod sales to the Apple bottom line. The article notes 500,000 HP-branded iPods were among the 6.2 million Apple glowingly reported it shipped in its most recent fiscal quarter, one that was a record for the Cupertino-based company.
A quick look online confirms one detail for now: no discounts on the remaining inventory, but HP will throw in a free pack of Printable Tattoos with the purchase of a 20, 30, or 60 GB iPod.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
