HP To Introduce Entertainment Hub This Fall

[Gregg Lengling]

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - News) and Apple Computer Inc. (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) agreed to develop an HP-branded digital music player based on Apple's iPod.


In a joint press release Thursday, the companies said H-P's digital music player is expected to become available this summer and be priced competitively to other digital music players currently available.


As part of the agreement, H-P personal computers and notebooks will come preinstalled with Apple's iTunes jukebox software and a desktop icon for the iTunes Music Store.


Beginning this summer, the iTunes software and a desktop icon guiding users to the music site will be preloaded on H-P Pavilion, Media Center and Compaq Presario desktop and notebook consumer PCs.


On Tuesday, Apple, seeking to expand its share of the growing market for digital-music players, unveiled a cheaper version of its iPod, called the iPod Mini. The new product will sell for $249, $50 less than Apple's least-expensive existing model. With four gigabytes of storage, the device will hold about 1,000 songs, considerably less than other iPod models.


Separately, H-P said it plans to unveil an entertainment hub this fall, designed to serve as the single, central storage repository, distribution and access point for all music, photo, video and movie collections in the home.


Additionally, consumers will be able to watch and pause live TV and record TV shows from any source, including cable, satellite or HDTV.


H-P also plans to unveil a new 30-inch LCD and 42-inch plasma digital displays due out in June and digital projectors in the fall that serve as a cost- effective home theater component to its digital entertainment system.