HP Joins The Online Music BandHP Joins The Online Music Band

Hewlett-Packard expects to have a portable music player to demo early next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. HP says it plans to unveil its Internet music store before it begins selling the player.

HP's entry into the combination Internet-music store cum high-end music player arena marks the most recent foray into this market. While relatively inexpensive MP3 players have been around for years, the more recent success of Apple Computer's iPod--despite its high price--seems to have baited other big players to join the party.

HP has confirmed reports that both the player and the music service will be in operation next month. It's expected to use an established provider of Web music as its music source.

The field has suddenly become crowded, as Microsoft, Samsung, Wal-Mart, and Sony, among others, have jumped into the field offering players, Internet-music service, or both. The competitor catching HP's eye, however, was certainly archrival, which is offering a line of players starting at $199. Dell's online music store is operated by Musicmatch Inc.