Elsewhere in the iPod Q&A, “What is the difference between the Apple iPod & HP (Hewlett-Packard) iPod?
There is extremely little difference between Windows-compatible Apple iPods and the corresponding models that were offered from Hewlett-Packard. Each are identicial except HP added an HP logo below the Apple logo on the back of each player and shipped their models in a box that matched the design of other HP products. At the time the HP iPod models were shipped, PlaylistMag mentioned that the primary drawback from a Mac perspective is that “you won’t be able to call HP for technical support” and in turn, Apple says “HP, not Apple, provides support and service for Hewlett-Packard iPods.” Effectively, if you’re a Mac user and want to use an HP iPod, neither Apple nor HP will provide technical support, so you’re on your own. This was a major disadvantage at the time and PlaylistMag concluded that: We don’t see much reason for Mac users to purchase an HP-branded iPod unless that iPod is sold at a significant savings and the Mac user is comfortable troubleshooting software issues on their o
