HP might be about to drop its rebranded IPod ((nice one Engadget). Thus closing the book on the MP3 player that never could have been.

HP do have some sort of plans to create the multimedia lounge room experience. But these are “Carly” plans, not “plan” plans that the real HP could have pulled off a decade ago. If they do proceed with the multimedia route, they could still make it compatible with IPod without having to rebrand the IPod. HP’s supposed to be a gigantic multinational hardware manufacturer isn’t it? A custom MP3 for the intelligent home should not be beyond their capabilities, and would make a better solution than having to slavishly follow Apple’s standards.

Innovation, good. Rebranding, ???.