Hewlett-Packard (HP) has introduced its new Media Center m7000, a desktop PC running Windows that features, among other things, a molded holder designed to fit an iPod.
HP partnered with Apple in 2004 to sell the Apple iPod from HP. Apple manufactures the HP-branded iPod, which HP sells from its Web site and from various retailers. While Apple has diversified the iPod line to include the iPod mini, color iPod photo and tiny iPod shuffle, HP continues to sell black-and-white iPods with Click Wheels in 20 and 40GB capacities only.
HP’s Media Center PCs are desktop computers that run on Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system software. They feature multimedia capabilities include TV tuning and Personal Video Recorder (PVR) functionality.
The apparatus found on new m7000 models isn’t the same as a Dock Connector, as would be found on an iPod dock or various peripherals designed to recharge or sync the contents of an iPod with a PC or Mac — this is just a molded piece of plastic that gives iPod users a place to rest their device on top of the computer. HP sells Media Center PCs direct starting at $1,200.