Steven Levy at Medium:
In return, HP got the right to sell iPods. But not in a way that could possibly succeed. Fiorna boasted to me that she would be able to sell the devices in thousands of retail outlets; up to that point Apple mostly sold them online and in its own stores. But by the time in mid-2004 that HP actually began selling its branded iPods, Apple was expanding to multiple retail outlets on its own. And soon after HP began selling iPods, Apple came out with new, improved iPods — leaving HP to sell an obsolete device.
I always wondered why Apple made this partnership at the height of the iPod’s fame. Turns out there was a great reason, and it did not go well for HP.
What’s that terrible deal-making former HP CEO up to these days?