HP and Apple today announced a strategic alliance to deliver an HP-branded digital music player based on Apple's iPod. As part of the alliance, HP consumer PCs and notebooks will come preinstalled with Apple's iTunes jukebox software and an easy-reference desktop icon to point consumers directly to the iTunes Music Store. HP's digital music player is expected to become available this summer and be "competitively priced to other digital music players currently available."

According to internal HP research, more than 54 percent of current HP consumers download music to their PCs. Beginning this summer, the iTunes software and a desktop icon guiding users to the music site will be preloaded on HP Pavilion, Media Center and Compaq Presario desktop and notebook consumer PCs.

Read more: MacNN.

I wonder if
is in regards to other iPods or all mp3 players on the market...

If it's the latter, I might just buy one as I really like the iPods, but they're too expensive for me right now..

im wondering if it is gonna be more or less than the ipod would cost. ironic how microsoft's biggest partner all of a sudden decides to ditcht he wmp formats and go iTUNEs