Exclusive: HP halts orders for Apple's iPod music players
Exclusive: Hewlett-Packard, which recently entered into a strategic alliance with Apple to deliver HP-branded versions of the iPod under name 'iPod+ HP', has stopped placing orders for the digital music players with Apple Computer, AppleInsider has learned.
Hewlett-Packard is reportedly quarreling with Apple over a lack of price protection offered with the iPods it manufacturers through the Mac maker, possibly explaining why the two companies have yet to set a date for the rollout of the HP-branded iPod photo.
Without a set price protection policy from Apple, HP will be vulnerable to sudden iPod price cuts that would leave it biting the full cost of those reductions. Apple currently offers HP no price protection, whatsoever, on the two models it currently sells.
"I find it striking that even a company that is larger than Apple, and has better distribution channels, can?t get anywhere with them in terms of protection of their business model in the event that price drops take place down the road," said one reseller.
As a result of the dispute, HP has reportedly refused to place any further orders for Apple's iPod. "HP won?t re-order manufacturing until Apple is willing to sit down at the table and agree to something that?s reasonable for both parties," a source close to the company said.
During Apple's Q1 2005 financial conference call on Wednesday, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that HP-branded iPods accounted for only 7% of the 4.58 million iPods sold during Apple's December quarter. Curiously, this figure rose just one percent from the previous quarter, even though both parties vouched that the December quarter would be marked by an increased presence of HP's iPod offerings.
HP's online store is currently out of stock of the 20GB iPod and retains only a limited supply of the 40GB iPod. Sales representatives for HPShopping.com confirmed that they ran out of 20GB iPods about a week ago and do not expect new shipments anytime soon.
Representatives from HP failed to return repeated phone calls for comment over the past 48 hours.
Apple Computer has a long standing policy of not communicating with AppleInsider, and hence declined to comment.
Hewlett-Packard is reportedly quarreling with Apple over a lack of price protection offered with the iPods it manufacturers through the Mac maker, possibly explaining why the two companies have yet to set a date for the rollout of the HP-branded iPod photo.
Without a set price protection policy from Apple, HP will be vulnerable to sudden iPod price cuts that would leave it biting the full cost of those reductions. Apple currently offers HP no price protection, whatsoever, on the two models it currently sells.
"I find it striking that even a company that is larger than Apple, and has better distribution channels, can?t get anywhere with them in terms of protection of their business model in the event that price drops take place down the road," said one reseller.
As a result of the dispute, HP has reportedly refused to place any further orders for Apple's iPod. "HP won?t re-order manufacturing until Apple is willing to sit down at the table and agree to something that?s reasonable for both parties," a source close to the company said.
During Apple's Q1 2005 financial conference call on Wednesday, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that HP-branded iPods accounted for only 7% of the 4.58 million iPods sold during Apple's December quarter. Curiously, this figure rose just one percent from the previous quarter, even though both parties vouched that the December quarter would be marked by an increased presence of HP's iPod offerings.
HP's online store is currently out of stock of the 20GB iPod and retains only a limited supply of the 40GB iPod. Sales representatives for HPShopping.com confirmed that they ran out of 20GB iPods about a week ago and do not expect new shipments anytime soon.
Representatives from HP failed to return repeated phone calls for comment over the past 48 hours.
Apple Computer has a long standing policy of not communicating with AppleInsider, and hence declined to comment.
Comments
Let me be the first to start the Sony iPod rumor!!
wheee!
Originally posted by TednDi
OOh
Let me be the first to start the Sony iPod rumor!!
wheee!
Shut up.
Originally posted by TednDi
OOh
Let me be the first to start the Sony iPod rumor!!
wheee!
Well, Steve did say that 'maybe we can work on computers and music together' (I'm paraphrasing) during the Keynote at MWSF (it was at the very end of the speech given by the Sony President).
Makes you wonder....
Originally posted by TednDi
OOh
Let me be the first to start the Sony iPod rumor!!
wheee!
...Or maybe a 200$ mac, goddamnit, the mini is too expencive...
Sit back, pop some popcorn, and watch the fireworks, kids. This'll be fun.
Without the iPod, HP is about as hip as Depends Undergarments.
Deal with it, Carly.
Originally posted by converted2truth
They really should start playing nice with HP. If Apple pisses them off, they'll stop shipping itunes and go for media center. Eventually that will help contribute to the demise (or loss of market share) of apple.
Yea,really! No pc user could download itunes for themselves.
I wonder if HP wants or will be allowed to distribute the shuffle. It'd be a great impulse item to throw in with an HP desktop, or perhaps even package with an HP desktop for special sales or warehouse club packs. I bet shuffle will be Apple-exclusive at first, just like iPod photo, and eventually will filter down.
(Also, look for Target to be very aggressive with iPod shuffle - I think it's at a price point where they could move a ton of them quite easily.)
It is good for Apple to have healthy relations with other companies, whether it is HP, or Sony, or IBM, or Adobe, or whomever.
Originally posted by a_greer
...Or maybe a 200$ mac, goddamnit, the mini is too expencive...
I hope that is sarcasm. Go build a PC with the exact form factor and comparable power and functionality.
Best of luck.
Originally posted by zpapasmurf
what would make anyone wanna buy the ipod from HP? lol why not just buy from apple if HP is out?
That's our point of view.
Consider though, that there are still many people out there ignorant enough to outright refuse the purchase of anything made by MAC while dying to get their hands on one of those iPod thingies. Enter the hp iPod. It's a trojan horse to put Apple equipment into the hands of the stupid and easily influenced. Once hooked, their simple minds are easily turned to the ways of righteousness and they buy a Mac mini (or the upcoming hp mini, for those subjects who require one more dose of enlightenment before full conversion).
1. No Price protection (unless you are a Specialist store)
2. No Spiffs
Originally posted by zpapasmurf
what would make anyone wanna buy the ipod from HP? lol why not just buy from apple if HP is out?
Believe it or not, HP has SALE prices for their iPods. Apple NEVER has a discount on ANY of their products unless they're EOL.
Originally posted by JiveTurkey
Consider though, that there are still many people out there ignorant enough to outright refuse the purchase of anything made by MAC while dying to get their hands on one of those iPod thingies. Enter the hp iPod. It's a trojan horse to put Apple equipment into the hands of the stupid and easily influenced. Once hooked, their simple minds are easily turned to the ways of righteousness and they buy a Mac mini (or the upcoming hp mini, for those subjects who require one more dose of enlightenment before full conversion).
That was the original plan, but it really hasn't panned out that way and the HP iPod sales numbers prove it. This is just yet another demonstration of how pathetic HP's reputation has become and yet another example of how much of an idiot Carly is.
I remember when Carly first announced the deal saying proudly, "Apple came to us, because we have the ability to make the complex things simple" No Carly, Apple was after your 200 000 sales channels, plain and simple.
What is HP's slogan again? INVENT - they even type it in capitals. I guess "INVENTING" an MP3 player was just too daunting.
Another reason HP did this, was to decrease their dependency on MS technology. So what do they do? Just transfer that dependancy to someone else. Pretty slick Carly.
And now they want price protection. Price protection is for _resellers_ so if they stock up on supplies they don't have to lose money if there is a drop in price, I know Apple doesn't offer it to a lot of their resellers, but that's another debate. You can't have price protection if your acting as a distributor and simply re-branding a product. They expect _Apple_ to pay for the iPods that HP can't sell? Apple has no problem selling iPods, why should they pick up the slack for someone else?
And that;s another thing. With 200 000 channels, how can you sell less than 400 000 iPods a quarter? That is fucking disgraceful. What in the fuck are they doing? Apples doing all the marketing, their improving the product, the iTMS, and the experience. If they could actually move the product, price protection wouldn't even be necessary.
I'll tell 'ya why they don't sell though, and that's because HP is a peice of shit company, and everyone knows it, and people want an Apple® logo on the back of their iPods, and not an HP logo.
Apple is not getting anything out of this deal at all, and frankly, giving HP price protection at this point would only encourage their slack ass attitude.
Well, I think you are right that HP has been having a lot of problems. I am not sure just what their plan is. They seem to like to try to do a lot of things. Mdme. Fiorina seems to be too much all over the place, now they are moving more strongly in to television/ media centres, good luck on that venture.
I do not remember seeing an advertisement on HPs part for their iPod. They need to market it. They really needed to market it before Christmas, during all the holiday season. They need to improve their marketing over all anyway.
Probably a lot of people don't even know that there is a HP iPod.
HP is a company that had a fine record and background, from William Hewlett. They do printing and servers well, and they have done original research. So I hope that they find their bearings and direction.