Hewlett-Packard Co. unveiled its own version of the iPod portable music player Friday, showing the fruits of a groundbreaking partnership it had previously announced with Apple Computer Inc.
H-P is now taking orders for the player, which it has dubbed the “Apple iPod from H-P.” The product is a replica of Apple’s latest models of the popular white 20-gigabyte and 40-gigabyte iPods — but carries the H-P brand instead.
The licensing deal, which was announced this past January, is a break from Apple’s usual isolationist stance and should help it capitalize on the broad retail reach of H-P, the world’s largest computer printer maker and second largest PC maker.
For H-P, working with Apple, the leader in portable music players and online music store sales, gives it a quick foothold in the digital music space.
“Clearly Apple has done a great job of making the iPod popular, but we have a wide distribution globally, so it’ll really help in driving up the volume,” said Vyomesh Joshi, an H-P executive vice president.
The price will be $299 for the 20-gigabyte model, or $399 for the 40-gigabyte model, matching Apple’s current prices. The products will be available in early September.
The H-P-branded music player will not feature H-P’s signature blue color as initially planned because it found that the clean white look was important to iPod customers, Joshi said.
As part of the deal, H-P has also begun bundling Apple’s iTunes jukebox software and iTunes Music Store with all of its computers. H-P’s upcoming new digital entertainment center — a hub that stores digital music, photos and videos and hooks up with a home television and stereo system — will also feature the iTunes software.
Also, H-P will sell photo labels in which users can choose and print their own art, or select cover art from artists H-P has partnered with, such as Sting and Alicia Keys, and wrap the tattoo-like stickers around their iPods for a personal touch.