HP unveils branded iPod replica Licensing deal should help Apple capitalize on HP's retail reach

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard Co. unveiled its own versionof Apple Computer's iPod portable music player Friday, showing thefruits of a groundbreaking partnership it had previously announcedwith Apple.

HP is now taking orders for the player, which it has dubbed the"Apple iPod from HP." The product is a replica of Apple's latestmodels of the popular white 20-gigabyte and 40-gigabyte iPods -- butcarries the HP brand instead.

The licensing deal is a break from Apple's usual isolationiststance, and should help it capitalize on the broad retail reach ofHP, the world's largest computer printer maker and second-largest PCmaker.

For HP, working with Apple, the …