A good mystery always fascinates me, and today I have one.
Enter: The 2005 iPod Shuffle+HP.
I’ve had this little guy for ages. It was my very first mp3 player, back when I was 12. Today I was cleaning out my closet and found the box. Not long after, I cleaned out my desk and found the device itself. I smiled at how new it still looked, and put it back into its original packaging.
Being the curious person that I am, I looked it up online.
I’m not sure how long it takes for a piece of technology to transition from “old piece of junk” to “valuable antique”, so I had to know what they are selling for these days. Here’s the thing: every iPod Shuffle I have found so far is in green packaging. As far as my search has currently lead me, I’ve found one photograph of an iPod Shuffle in a box like mine and it was part of an article on storiesofapple.net.
What I have learned so far…
1.) Apple and HP had a partnership that lasted from January 8th, 2004 to July 29th, 2005.
2.) During this short-term relationship, Apple & HP released a line labeled iPod+HP, which included the iPod, iPod mini, and iPod Shuffle, plus a line of printable “tattoos” for the iPod Mini and Shuffle.
3.) The partnership was agreed upon because it would open up a new market for Apple products. They would then be able to sell in Walmart, Office Depot, and Radioshack. Additionally, this allowed HP to piggyback on Apple’s successful mp3 player line rather than compete with their own.
4.) The sales for the iPod+HP products lasted a whopping 9 months before they were deemed unsuccessful and pulled from the market.
Do you know anything about this product?
Comment below! I’d love to gather more info, whether it’s another piece of the story or current value information.
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