“A company introduces an iPod-based portable audio player in January, silently ignores it for several months, and potential customers still can’t find it. Nope, I’m not talking about the iPod Mini, although I might as well be. Instead, I’m referring to HP’s horribly misguided iPod, which HP reannounced in final form today. The HP iPod, or hPod as some people call it, is a simple copy of Apple’s device because, after all, HP isn’t exactly the bastion of consumer cool, if you know what I mean. My take is that HP won’t demonstrably improve iPod sales (which are through the roof, anyway). But the compatibility question remains. HP still hasn’t announced a way of moving music back and forth between the hPod and the company’s other Windows Media-based devices and PCs, making the hPod a lost cause and completely uninteresting. Sorry,” Paul Thurrott writes for WinInfo.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Both HP and Apple announced the HP-branded digital music player based on Apple’s iPod in January and both were quite clear that it would go on sale in summer 2004, which it has today. Last we checked, it’s still summer. Perhaps Paul sees the writing on the wall for his beloved chunky, yet clunky Dell Digital Junk Box and Microsoft-controlled WMA? Remember, this is the same guy who, while endlessly waiting for the beef mirage called ‘Longhorn’ that’ll never arrive as promised by his precious Redmond vapormeisters, stated, “Mac OS X is even with, or behind, Windows XP,” so cut him some slack: the infinite wait has obviously driven him completely, utterly, and totally insane. Moo.
Related MacDailyNews article:
HP to debut ‘Apple iPod from HP’ TV ads during the MTV Video Music Awards – August 27, 2004
Thurrott: Apple’s ‘iPod Mini isn’t a sales phenomenon at all’ – March 25, 2004
Thurrott: Apple iPod mini off to a ‘slow start’ with only 100,000+ preorders – February 20, 2004