Apple and HP announced today that HP would no longer be reselling Apple's wildly popular iPod portable music player come September. After a highly touted deal that was met with great fanfare when it was announced in January 2004, HP-branded iPods have made up only 5% of total iPod sales. HP insists that all product warranties will be honored for entire length, and no changes will be made in the company's other entertainment product lines such as home theater PC's and televisions.
Many analysts questioned the partnership from its infancy, since HP's own "Invent" advertising strategy was called into question with the simple rebranding and marketing of Apple's product. After the deal was signed, HP desktop and laptop computers shipped with Apple's iTunes software preinstalled, a move that is to continue after this September.
News source: Yahoo! News
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